Taunya Runs and Knits

Post Marathon Blues

2008-10-25T08:29:00.001-07:00

I've got the blues! The combination of the weather/light changing (I HATE Winter), the lack of exercise, complete and utter work stress, and the fact that the one thing that I have looked forward to for months and months is over, is taking its toll.

I'm just BLAH and a complete grouch.

Like I said, work is INSANE; we're overworked and under appreciated. We have a new management structure and I just feel like our new bosses don't have our backs like the old ones did. I am trying to be vocal about it, which is a balancing act because I don't want to come off as a whiner, but things have got to change! Years (and years) in a crappy and utterly dysfunctional married has taught me that you don't have to remain unhappy and miserable. You have alternatives. I hope my bosses know that. ; )

I'm glad to report however that my knee is feeling fine and I'm not sore anymore. I did a couple of gentle hikes this week, went to kickboxing (upper body workout), and tried out a 2 mile run. These workouts really pale to what I was doing before, which was often 2 hard workouts a day. There is really nothing like a hard workout, or in the case of my running, a long slow ordeal to clear your head and help you process things. It's amazing to see how much I benefited mentally from these workouts, and how much different I am without them.

My eating is off the hook, there's nothing like nursing the blues with a big bowl of ice cream!

But I'm trying to stay busy. Today, I have my knitting group, shopping to do as I am hosting a baby shower for my sister-in-law tomorrow. Saturday officially has been my rest day, but I plan to do some yoga and/or get some upper body resistance training in. I might start a totally crazy and whacked out multi-year knitting project that will literally take years for me to complete. I'm just that crazy today... ; )

I think that's enough whining today!

For those of you running the Healdsburg 1/2 tomorrow Good Luck!

RACE REPORT Explicit Language Warning

2008-10-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I finished it, and it wasn't pretty.

I slept badly the night before, and finally woke up for good at about 3:00AM. In a way that was nice, because I could lounge around a bit before leaving at 4:45 to pick my Sis for the Drive to SF.

We got to SF around 6:10 AM and had an easy time finding parking within a block of union square. We felt it was a warmer than it was, and left our warm gear in the car, which we regretted the whole day.

After getting to Union Square and using the porta-potties, we get our speed group and waited. I think it was about 6:45 at that point. We wasted time by sharing a candy bar and dancing to Sean Paul on my iphone (with shared head-buds). I'm sure we got some strange looks but we were so amped to get started that we couldn't help it. I remember the first marathon sis and I didn't even want to move before the race because we didn't want to waste needless energy. Today, however energy was overflowing.

I'll break down the race in my "memorable segments"

Miles 1 -6
It took us about 12 minutes after the gun went off to get across the finish line. We ran at a comfortable 12 minute mile pace for this time, not slowing down for the first 2 hills, Sis commented that the hills were welcomed because "they focused on different muscles", I actually agreed with her and we both were amazed at the difference from 2 years ago. Sis had to take a potty break around mile 5, before the big hill that would take us up through the Presidio.

Mile 7 - 10
Totally uneventful. This was the hilly part and we took the hills a bit slow, knowing that we'd have the downhills to make up for any lost time. Lots of people walking these hills, and when we did run, it was hard to navigate through the runners. The weather was still cold, but it was nice in a way because I wasn't sweating and didn't feel like I needed water. We didn't feel winded or tired at this point. Everything was good and it seemed like we would have a fine race day ahead of us.

Mile 11 - 16
At mile 11 things started to falter. My sis asked for the Biofreeze because her hip started bothering her a bit. My left knee (not like my ITB that used to bother me, but a deeper pain) started feeling a bit of a twinge, so I lathered some on it was a precaution.

At mile 12 or so, we get to Golden Gate Park; here my knee really starts to act up. To the point that I'm feeling a sharp deep pain when I run. Not a very strong pain yet, but enough to know that I still have 16 more miles to do and to get a little worried. We slow and start doing more walking than running. Sis' hip is still bothering her but she decided not to turn off with the 1/2 marathoners and keep with me. Our energy levels were great.

At about the 1/2 way point we both stop to stretch a bit and use the porta-potty. Stretching never felt so good, but I didn't really make my knee feel any better.

At the first downhill in Golden Gate Park, my knee pain got suddenly worse...Worse to the fact, that I announced that I was done running. I was really worried that if I continued to run on it, that I would really injure it and would not be able to do Atlanta in March.

I think it was a good call.

I'm a really fast walker and that didn't bother my knee at all, so I was able to do about a 14:30 - 15:00 mile walking pace. Sis' had a hard time keeping up with this walking with her hip so she opted to walk slow and then jog up to catch up to me. Every time I'd look back for her, she'd wave me on, a signal that she'd catch up. At this point. I just wanted to see mile 16, I just wanted to know I "only had 10 miles to go".

Mile 16 - 20
Most of these miles were done on the Great Highway. It was nice to call out the number of miles we had left to do. Sis still continued to stay with me. She could've crossed over on the great highway and finished and waited for me, but she still had energy and her hip was holding up with my "pace" so it was nice to have her around. Sis forgot her timing chip and never really even intended to finish the full marathon, she knew the bling was the same for the 1/2 as the whole so she didn't think it matter how she finished as long as she completed the 1/2. She knew she was going to get a DNS since she didn't have the chip..she didn't care.

Anyways....around mile 19 she makes the decision of to continue on with me around Lake Merced. This is really the point of no return. She finishes the full marathon or nothing. We keep continuing in the walk fast, sis slow and then runs to catch up fashion this whole time; we stop at every mile to do a minute or so of stretching; it just felt good and at this point, I wasn't caring about finish time. I so wanted to run..I had the energy, and my body felt great, except for my stupid knee. It was really slow and getting really, really, lame.

Miles 20 - 23
I hate Lake Merced. It is the most boring, trafficky part of the course. I lost count on how many times I told my sister how much "I hate this fucking lake", at one point, Sis and I imitated her 2 year old son, and shook are fists to the lake and called it a "big fat dummy" and completely fell into teary hysterics, like on-the-floor-can't-breathe funny. I'm sure the runners around us thought we completely lost it...Actually I think we did. Sis and I both agreed this was the last time for Nike, we can't bear to see this fucking lake again.

My brother calls me around this time and tells me he and his girlfriend were at the finish time and we should "hurry up". ; )

At this point both my hip joints were starting to bother me from this quick walk thing that I never trained to do...more biofreeze....

Chocolate mile was welcomed, as we blew through our 3 candy bar (not enough) stash by mile 13. We both got like 3 chocolate squares each and gobbled them down.

Miles 23-to 26!
The really really bad part about this marathon was I never felt safe. I never felt like I reached the point that no matter what, I would finish it. I always felt the danger of my knee completely giving out and that I won't be able to finish. When we were finally done with that fucking lake, we got back on the Great Hwy, and there was one last hill to climb (no problems) and to descend (big problem!). I couldn't go down the hill without my knee killing me, I had to walk downhill backwards (and SLOWLY), but luckily it was a pothole free stretch and I was okay. These 3 miles were bad for us both. We were both hurting, my knee started to act up from walking now, and my hip joint thingies were really starting to feel tweaked.

It felt like the final stages of labor. We both wanted it to be over, and there was no joy at all. I wanted it to be done. It was the longest 3 miles in my life. The most frustrating part of this was that our energy levels were still great.....but we had gimpy body parts to contend with. It was lame, really lame.

Mile 26 - 26.2
I was never so happy to see the sign for mile 26. Only at this point did I know that I would make it. I could even crawl to the finish line at that point. My brother and his gf were at the 26 mile point and cheered us to the finish.

Our official time was 6:33:28, which actually is a PR for us, since we did the first one 2 years ago at 6:53. So, really, I can't complain.

We got our bling, which my sis pointed out right away that it was made for us...2 girls running...This was our run, and somehow we ended up doing it together once again.

Today, my quads are sore (weird), and my knee feels okay, but I haven't tried to run on it. I'm just been sleepy tired. I'm not sure what was/is up with my knee. I haven't had any knee problems this training season.

Today I got an email from my brother's GF (she's a runner), and her and my brother want to do Nike with us next year. I asked her if my brother would want to do a more guy friendly race like SJ rock and roll, or Sacramento International, but she's got her heart set on Nike. So, we might be seeing that lake again...Yes, Sis and I talked, and we're still game.

Something Big

2008-10-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

I love epiphany moments. I had one driving on the way home from the Women's Nike Expo. Sis and I were talking about our first Marathon and how she just wanted it to be over and how I was enjoying every minute of it despite the pain.

It finally hit me why I felt that way.

I was doing something BIG.

Not just big for me, but big for thousand of others that decided to endure this challenge; something that most of the rest of the population cannot even conceive of doing.

Tomorrow we will be BIG once again.

We should always strive to to do something that we feel is beyond us. Something that pushes us to our limits and may inspire ourselves and others on our journey; Something freaking BIG.

I am again reminded of my favorite poem by Marianne Williamson; one I have on my fridge and that I often overlook:

Our Greatest Fear

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

Best of luck to all those running tomorrow, and even though I will probably not see you, I will know that you're doing something BIG with me, and that will make all the difference.

And to everyone else....Think BIG.

I'll post about my journey on Monday.

Getting Excited!!!!

2008-10-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Nike is only 4 days away! I'm not as nervous this time around since this will be the 2nd time; I'm just really excited; Like hard-to-sleep-already excited. I remember how much I really enjoyed it the first time, even though I was woefully unprepared and in pain for much of it. So this time it should be all the better!

Saturday, Sis and I are taking the Ferry into SF and plan to pick up our packets and have a great lunch somewhere. My Sis is actually working Saturday night but she hopes she can get off a bit early. We'll need to leave by 5:00AM to drive, park and comfortably get to the starting line on time.

I'm really shooting for a time around 5:30 - 5:45; and I'm hoping that my sis can keep up with me for the first half, she's a faster runner than I am, but hasn't done any distance training, and I'm really not about to ditch her in favor of getting this time. Actually, if I have a slow 1/2 half, it will be interesting if I can get in some negative splits. That would be cool.

So in reality, the goal is just to finish and enjoy it. I should really leave the any timing goals to Atlanta in March, where I'll have some serious Winter training done and I will be running on my own.

I'm starting to think about what race I want to run this Fall....I'm still feeling that Chicago is calling my name!

It'll have to do.......

2008-10-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted. I wish I could say I was doing something exciting...but in actuality just tied up with the humdrums of life and work.

I had a bit of a stomach bug, so I skipped my 20 miler so I'm officially in taper mode. I'm pretty sure I'll do okay, since I was able to play basketball later on the same day as my 18 miler; but I have been lighter on my training (running 3 days a week) and supplementing with other stuff.

My goal is to get through it without a lot of pain, I would like to finish it around 5:30 hours, but that might be bit unrealistic. Actually, my goal is to just enjoy the damn thing.

Sis' has decided to run the 1/2 half with me and she'll see if she can't get the bling at the 1/2 finish. So it will be cool to have someone to run with for the first bit.

Today, I'm going to a Yarn Harlot book signing with some knitting friends, and after that maybe going to a Rock Band Party at another friends house (hold your enthusiasm)....Gotta to a little carbo loading to do too for tomorrows easy 12 miler.

On Track Again!

2008-09-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

It's been one crazy work week, but in spite of that, I was able to finally get my eating back under control. I'm now back down to my UBC graduation weight.

Since volleyball season is over, the team has decided to move on to Ultimate Frisbee and Basketball. This is great for me because I pretend that what I am really getting in is my speed workouts. All those short running bursts are little fartleks!

Today, I'm going to a baby shower for my 20 year old niece (wish she would've waited, but what can you do). My daughter and I knitted her a basketweave patterned blanket, that I just finished last night, but it badly needs to be blocked (ie...shaped). I am thinking of wrapping and giving it to her at the shower then taking it back to block it and send it to her before the baby is born in late November.

Here are a couple of pics. For those of the knitting mind, I used super-wash merino from crystal palace.

Oh! My sister officially is dropping out of the Nike Marathon. Julianne you're in! Email me (address is on my profile) and we'll work out the details.

ENOUGH!!!

2008-08-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Since UBC, I have been eating furiously. And it's completely lame. Something about a nice, good-looking guy taking a pic of you in a sport-bra is real motivation to be good. Well, I don't have that anymore...some how I have to hold myself accountable. I don't even want to step on the stupid scale, since it won't lie.

So last night, after my 3rd deep fried mozzarella thing, and after today's 1/2 pound gourmet lunch burger (with extra helpings of chips and bacon, and a strange look from my co-worker), I am sticking a fork in this eating fiasco.

I'm done...I hate how it makes me feel, and I hate thinking about what it's doing to the belly I've spent 10 weeks to whittle down.

Training for the marathon, doing extra workouts is no excuse for this eating tirade...I'm disgusted....and it ends NOW!

God help me.

UBC Results!!!

2008-08-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we had our final UBC evaluation, and I promised that I would post my before and after pics.

I am very happy with the results.

In total, I lost 7 lbs (down to 127 now), lost 4% body fat (to 21%), 5 and 1/2 freaking inches from from my waist! One inch from my leg and and 3/4" inch from my arm.

My fitness levels improved too...I'm up to girlie 45 push ups in one minute (from 21), 47 situps (from 31), and improved my 1 mile run from 10:24 down to 9:30.

So... Here are my before and after pics side by side. I'm sorry for the poor quality, they didn't have a digital camera, so I had to take pics of the pics.

NOTE: Blogger is acting funning...so I'm ending here. I'll post a couple of pics of our graduation night and tell you about my training in my next post.

Something Crazy!

2008-08-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

Before I could think better of it or talk myself out of it. I signed up for another Marathon!

On March 29th, 2009, I'll be running the ING Georgia Marathon in Atlanta!

My best friend from high school just moved out there so it's a good excuse for a trip and a marathon.

To further nail down my commitment, I already bought my plane ticket. I found a flight rountrip from Oakland to ATL for $258; which, I think, it pretty unheard of! I think the stars are aligning on this one. I'm already envisioning a 5:00 marathon!

Anyone want to come and join me?

Volleyball!

2008-08-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Super fun, but we got killed! It's not necessarily a bad thing because the winners have to move up to A league and those guys are good! And we prefer to drink while we play!

My friend and co-worker video taped our slaughter and put the "highlights" to music. I'm the only girl player in the video and in the team pics (in case you are wondering). The video is probably boring if you don't know the players, etc...but I'll put it up here for posterity sake:

Exhausted!

2008-08-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'm so tired!

I haven't had a rest since the SF Marathon on Sunday (unless you count Sunday afternoon). Monday I went back to doing daily kick boxing since this is week 9 of the program. Monday, I felt a little sore, but it wasn't too bad. I just didn't have any energy. To make matters worse, I decided to work on Monday (I was scheduled to take a vacation day) because I had a very nasty customer escalation that I didn't want to burden (ahem.....Jenn) anyone with, so I decided to postpone it. Good thing too, I've been working 11+ hour days all week; and it's now finally calming down.

I haven't even mentioned that we've been doing extra volleyball practices this week, in preparation for our business park's volleyball league finals today. Finally after 8 seasons of playing our team has finally made it to the finals. We play at 3:00pm today, and I'm trying not to let on to the team how tired I really am (especially since I'm team captain). It should be loads of fun though, and I'm looking forward to it. The tourney is coupled with a party complete with a couple kegs of Lagunitas beer (which is just around the corner). Beer is not on the UBC diet, but I might have to make an exception, especially if we win!

I'll post results and hopefully photos (if someone remembered their camera) this weekend.

WOO! Race Report!

2008-08-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

First off, I got very little sleep last night...Maybe at best 3.5 hours. I just wasn't sleepy and had a hard time falling asleep. Then, of course, I woke up at 3:00AM, 1/2 hour before my alarm.

The drive to SF was nice. I had some time to drink some coffee, water, and eat a few grapes. When I arrived downtown, the parking garages that were listed as opening at 4:30AM, were still dark. Luckily there were quite a few parking spaces on the street, and even better the meters aren't enforced on Sunday. I noted the street where I parked, and headed to the Ferry Building (this was about 5:25). My wave didn't actually leave until 6:25 so I had plenty of time to use the potty, stretch and find my place.

I found the 5:00 Marathon pacer easily. Her name is Marie, and ran the 135! mile Badwater Ultramarathon) just 2 weeks ago. Talk about amazing! She told us that we'd be running 7/ones (run 7 minutes, walk a minute) and we'll be walking through the water stations. She'd also said she would talk her head off the whole race, but also offer advice on nutrition, fitness, etc. Sadly I didn't hear much of this.

We set off at about 6:26 AM. Our wave was the last one and seemed a bit crowded, but it kept the pace up.

Mile 1: 11:26
The first mile on a race is always easy for me. It's the adrenaline. My Garmin beeped 1 mile about .10 before the marker. I thought it was a glitch. So far so good. I stayed pace with Marie, although I wasn't close enough to hear much of what she said.

Mile 2: 10:47
Super fast (for me). Still felt okay with the pace. I assumed Marie was banking a bit of time for the rest stop coming at mile 3. Our walk periods were only what seemed to be a few seconds. We chugged on. I think we hit Fisherman's wharf and pier 39. So far it was really quiet. Really no spectators--one of the drawbacks of such an early start. Mile 2 was hard for me, the excitement of the start gone, faced with the thought of the miles ahead of me, and starting to think I was a bit crazy to even consider this pace.

Mile 3: 12:31
At the rest stop Marie instructed us to drink up not only the water but also the sports drink (very important she said). I waited for my drink to be poured, drank down both drinks and headed off. I looked for Marie's sign, but couldn't see her....then I found her...about 50 yards ahead of me. Arrg...time to kick it up. Feeling better about running.

Mile 4: 11:00
Caught up with Marie's group, or within 10 yards from her. All is good, running along the water towards the bridge. Started to pace myself, doing my own walk breaks and running faster to catch up with Marie, foolish or not, it's what I felt like doing. Talked a bit with a barefoot runner...nice guy...and even though I really can't stand shoes, I wouldn't even think of running a full marathon without shoes.

Mile 5: 11:40
Another rest stop (I think), more catching up with Marie, and seeing the hill up ahead that will take us up to the GG Bridge. Eek! Doing a little more walking now, even though I feel like I should bank a little time for the hill. Picked out a bag of sports beans from my pack and tried to gobble them down, even though I didn't feel like it. What I really feeling like doing is hitting the porto-potties, but the lines are just too long to justify it, so I just continued on.

Mile 6: 13:59
See the bridge..see people running on the bridge...and there's no fog! Sweet! What is not sweet is this dang hill I have to "run"....decide to use my banked minutes and power walk it instead....many others around me are doing the same...There's got to be a downhill at some point, right?

Mile 7: 11:31
Lost Marie on the hill and I'm on my own. Still see the barefoot runner, so that was a comforting sight. It's really different running without either a ipod (the literature said "please, no ipods", but most people still had them), or my sis. I was left alone with my thoughts. The official photographers were on the bridge in what seemed to be like every quarter mile. I tried to smile for the cameras and to make sure I was running. My shoulder and knee started to twinge a bit, so I pulled over and smothered them with some BioFreeze (LOVE that stuff).

On the bridge, they closed down 3 lanes, one for each way and one as a buffer between us and the cars. We had a lot of honks and hollering..which helped push us along. I don't really remember even looking out at the water or anything.

Mile 8: 11:56
Still doing okay, off the bridge on the Marin side, around the parking lot (there were real bathrooms, and real long lines), and another aid station to load up on water and drink, then it's back on the bridge.

Mile 9: 11:53
WTF? the 5:15 pacer just passed me! How can that be? According to my watch I'm still doing 12 minute mile averages and on pace to do a 2:30 1/2....I heard the pacer saying something about being a bit ahead of schedule so I calmed down.

Mile 10: 12:35
This mile sucked! The lane was so narrow and there were so many people walking (some side by side) that I had to run/slow/walk/dodge almost the entire time. Walking always feels better and it's hard to get running again after an abrupt stop...then the roadblock happens again. I'm starting to doubt my calculation.....on whether 12 minute miles for 13 miles equals a 2:30 1/2. Running is not the time to do math....

Mile 11: 10:51
What? I can't believe a dumb calculation error. 12 minute miles would bring me in at 2:36, not 2:30; Marie wasn't banking time, that really was the pace for the 2:30 half. I felt like an idiot. There's no way I'll be able to make it up at this point. But we're off the bridge and it's all down hill. Let's see what I can do!

This is the wonderful part in a race, where you know you're gonna finish and get a medal, even if you walk (or crawl) the rest of the thing...It's a great feeling, but not a good motivator.

My right calf is starting to do a funny thing down this hill, it's like for an instant, the entire calf muscle feels like it's compressing to the size of a golf ball, and right before it threatens to hurt, it relaxes. These "contractions" went on for a good part of this mile and I'm praying they don't turn into a charlie horse.

Mile 12: 14:00
More hills, all up...more hillier than I expected. My ITB (which hasn't plagued me since Nike Women's), in my left leg is starting to twinge. More BioFreeze.

A few more spectators, but then it is after 8:00AM now and people are starting to wake up. There was a cute little boy (about 5 years old), on the sidewalk with a little table and a Big bowl of Pretzels...A handful of pretzels never looked so good!

My body starts telling my brain that finishing at 2:40 would be perfect, and that I should take the rest easy. My Brain listens, and I just go along for the ride. I do have volleyball tournament finals on Friday, and it would not be good if I'm too injured to play (not likely at all, even if I pushed a bit, but I was weak minded at that point). I remember my blog post stating I'd be very happy with a 1/2 marathon time under 2:45. Seriously, I have done only 3 runs over 4 miles to prepare for this race, what the hell was I expecting?

Mile 13--13:33
More hills, approaching GG Park, try to crank up this last mile, but it's hard...I know I'm going to hit the goal doing this walk, walk, jog thing, and there's no one to tell me otherwise and I really don't want to be sore tomorrow. I know the end is just around the corner.

Mile 14 -- 11:06 (pace)
Kick it up a bit for the last 10th of a mile. Maybe I can do it under 2:40, but no...my body tells me, 2:40 is just fine...thank you very much:

Official finish time: 2:40:10, pace 12:13.

Grabbed my medal, mylar blanket, water, and took the shuttle back to the start. The overcast day that we LOVED during the run, was giving me shivers now and all I wanted to do was to get to my car, turn up the heat, and find a Starbucks. Took me wandering around for a 1/2 hour to find my car (must take better notes next time...post race Alzheimers really kills car-finding abilities).

I was able to get warmed up, get some coffee, drive to make it home by 12:00 in time for nice long shower and lunch. Turns out I LOVED the early start after all!

Hours later, I feel great! I might be a little sore tomorrow, but won't have the marathon hobble. My energy is just zapped, but I'll chalk that up to the lack of sleep more than anything else.

Well...I got 10 weeks until Nike's Womens...Plenty of time to get those needed long runs in.

I'm thinking a 5:30 marathon might be in my future!

EEK!

2008-08-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

In 12 hours I'll be standing in line waiting to start the race and I am excited!

I took the ferry to SF this morning and picked up race packet, bib, and this cool disposal timing chip; which isn't really much different than a piece of glossy paper with adhesive. (sorry about the bad photo quality):

I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to carbo load for Dinner tonight. I'm almost too excited to eat!

This marathon is going to be vastly different for me since my only other marathon was the Women's Nike Marathon, so 95% of the participants were...well you know..So I'm really looking forward to my first serious co-ed race.

My real goal is to just finish before the course ends (3 hours). This would be 8 minutes faster than Nike, but then Sis probably took 20 minutes in the potties alone on that first half. I would be happy if I could do it in under 2:45, and completely over the moon if I did it in 2:30. I'm going to find the 2:30 pace group and and see if can I hang with them.

I've been thinking a lot about my first marathon and how much excitement, adrenaline, and my almost OCD nature of always having to be on time really helped pushed me along (pulling my sis with me). I really wonder how much it's going to help tomorrow.

I'll know soon enough!

P.S. Here's a link where you'll be able to see my results in real time. This might help push me along a bit too knowing that you all might be "watching". My bib # is 15329!

San Francisco Giants Pitch and Stitch

2008-07-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a Giants fan! I am almost ashamed to say it since they are having a dismal season and we're still reeling from the "Barry" debacles (I mean Bonds AND Zito). As bad as they are, I couldn't pass up a night where 2 of my favorite things were combined.

It was nice to know there are others with like minds. BTW...the red scarf nearest in the pic made with Noro's Silk Garden...Yes, I know some yarn make/models identify on the spot. I own that same stuff and Color (oh...Dori, I hope you like what you see...hint hint!).

I actually had to show the Pitch and Stitch event on the SF Giants site for a friend of mine who thought I was pulling his leg.

It was quite fun (my daughter came too and actually did more knitting than me); and I somehow was able to avoid garlic fries, Polish sausages, beer, malts, etc. And somehow the Giants (and Zito) pulled off a win!

In running news, I did a 8 miler today. I was supposed to do 10, but cut it short because I ate something bad and got sick to my stomach. Sis came with me and we had a good time none-the-less reminiscing about our last marathon training. Besides, feeling like I was going to toss my cookies, the rest of my body felt good. I think I'll be okay for the 1/2 next weekend.

Time to get cracking!

2008-07-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

First of all, my 8 miler yesterday was pretty uneventful, but I had little energy or enthusiasm either. I stayed up too late the night before and didn't eat/hydrate as well as I should have. But all in all, the times were in line with what I want to do the half-marathon in and best of all, I'm not sore today.

I've got less than 2 weeks till the 1/2 Marathon and 4 more weeks of UBC; and I got to get cracking; especially in the eating department.

I'm starting to do a little slips, like a piece of pizza at work on Friday, and handful of doritos another time, a shot (or 2) of tequila...when added up will really undermine the progress I'm trying to make. Added stress at work is not helping.

So...today, I am rededicating myself to working out hard, eating right (and in proper portion!) and finishing the 1/2 marathon and UBC strong. After-all, I did promise to post my before and after pics and I really don't want to be humiliated with a before/after pic that doesn't show any difference....that would really, really bite.

Woot!

2008-07-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

First of all; my mid-term UBC evaluation went well and so far I'm pleased with the results!

I lost 3" from my belly (from 33 down to 30" five weeks ago)
I lost an inch from my leg (from 19" to 18")
I lost 1/2" from my arm (from 10 3/4" to 10 1/4")

I can do 41 situps in one minute (from 31)
I can now do 31 pushups a one minute (from 20)

and...I lost 3 pounds and 3% body fat.

I celebrated by buying some new clothes ; )

Today (which was supposed to be my rest day) I did a 6 miler. I ran the first 4 miles without a walking break (unheard of for me), and took the last 2 miles easy since I hyper extended my hip during kickboxing and I was beginning to feel a bit of a twinge. For the first 4 miles my times range was from 11:30 - 12:00 miles (which is also unheard of for me on longer runs...I'm such a turtle).

I think I have been incorrectly training for running all along. My legs became strong but I COMPLETELY neglected my core and upper body. Now that those areas are getting into shape, running is becoming easier (and I never, ever thought I would say that).

All reasons to celebrate!

Wish me Luck!

2008-07-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

The UBC thing has been going well, but I've been too tired to do much running. I'm thinking each of the next 3 Saturday's I have to do long runs, so it will look something like this:

July 12th - 6 miles
July 19th - 8 miles
July 26th - 11 miles
August 3rd 1/2 marathon.

At least this will tell me how it goes. I have to complete the 1/2 in 3 hours, so I'm thinking even with minimum long distance running under my belt lately, I might be okay. I think my 6 miler Saturday will be a good indication on how things will go.

Saturday is also the 1/2 point for UBC and our 2nd evaluation. I'll let you know what my results are!

Day of Rest

2008-06-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I got up this morning at 4:30 AM to see this!

Pretty awesome. This is the HotAir Balloon Classic in Windsor, CA. Too bad it was overcast and the 30 balloons assembled couldn't take off, but seeing these balloons fired up at dawn was worth the lack of sleep!

Just finished the 3rd week of UBC, and I'm tired but feel really good and strong. After the 5th week, we have our 1/2 way mark evaluation. I'll let you all know how it goes; but I can tell you now...I'm seeing results! Hardest freaking working I've ever done though, and I'm doing it 6 days a week! I've been playing volleyball, but haven't been getting my runs in...that's gonna change this week. SF Half Marathon is looming and I need to get cracking! I will say that my sis and I did a 8:30 mile the other day (a record for me), and it felt relatively easy.

Tomorrow is my rest day. We have to watch what we eat for 6 days, but Sunday (provided you were good for the week) is a food free day. I bought fixings to make Calzones tomorrow (I really miss regular cheese). I will probably also hit the farmer's market for some fresh (and naughty white flour) french bread.

Hope you all get to indulge a little too!

: )

And Now with Feeling

2008-06-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

So it has begun....

A few weeks ago I started doing fitness kickboxing a few of days a week at martial arts center near work. The workouts are the hardest, but most exhilarating exercise I've ever experienced. I leave literally drenched with sweat but feeling completely happy and accomplished. It was the best way to end a day of work.

This martial arts center (check out the instructors, my sister has a big crush on Colin!) also does this 10 week fitness course called the Ultimate Body-shaping Course or UBC. Check out the cheesy national site, but more importantly check out the results!

The course consists of taking classes there 6 days a week; the classes include fitness kickboxing, bag work (punching and kicking is fun), and resistance training. You also are given dietary guidelines (6 meals a day consisting of healthy proteins, carbs and fat, no "white food" ie...sugar, white flour, white rice, no fried foods, or cheese) all that you have to log. The instructors will routinely go over your log book and see how you're doing there and keep you on track.

In the UBC before this one, I saw people literally transform in front of my eyes. They started out sluggish, heavy, and looking quite miserable during the workouts and now they come to class leaner and energetic. These guys became my heroes.

So I just completed my first week (sore, tired, but pretty happy). We had an evaluation where we had our measurements taken, bodyfat and weight recorded, our before picture taken; as well as a fitness eval (how many sit-ups, push-ups in one minute, our flexibility, timing a 1 mile run); then the real fun began daily workouts.

So, the plan is to do UBC 6 nights a week, Volleyball practice 3 lunches a week (I didn't tell you I'm on a vball team, and we have a business part league), and get 2 runs in....a short one early before work, and a long one Saturday after my UBC class; to gear up for the marathon.

I've been "ramping up" for a few weeks now, so I'm hoping that it's not too much of a shock on my body. I'm very careful about stretching and eating the right things (I found out quickly that hard-alcohol and working out do NOT mix at all) and staying hydrated.

We'll see how it goes.....and I promise at the end I'll post my before and after pics...another way to keep me in line!

Oh...and somehow I have to find time to knit! Here's my latest project that I finished yesterday...These are for my sis-in-law for her bday (only 5 days late!)

Have a great week!

What If???

2008-05-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

What if I totally and completely dedicate myself to a rigorous workout/diet program for 10 weeks AND also train for a marathon at the same time? My journey begins on June 8th! More to follow!

In other news...my favorite movie that I've seen this year, hands down is No Country for Old Men (I seem to be in the minority here with my friends, who found it to be too "depressing" and preferred Fargo). My daughter has this habit of watching movies with the subtitles on, I just recently watched it a 2nd time with the subtitles on and picked up much more of the witty/deep/strange dialog. I totally recommend trying it!

For those who have seen it, here's a variation of the coin toss scene....All the dialog is the same but Anton's voice has been dubbed with a effeminate voice-over.

Totally Freaking Awesome.

Good News

2008-05-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

My foot just had "tissue damage" I have to be careful on hard surfaces and cut down on my workouts but all is going to be okay.

Now, I'm dealing with a cold that is literally kicking my arse. I've had it for almost a week now, and although it hasn't really got into my chest or been really bad, it's not getting any better either. I hate waking up completely dry and stuffed, so consequently, have not had a good night sleep in quite some time. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to stop everything and spend the day in bed, which is something I should've done in the first place.

My daughter is starting a GED program at the local Junior College (a great JC at that) as I write this. The goal is to get her GED soon, work the rest of the summer then start college courses in the Fall. This is her idea, and I'm holding my breath.

Work is insane. I'm increasingly becoming disenchanted (keep quiet Jenn!), and I'm considering a Month long sabbatical this Winter or Spring doing something like this:

It's something I wanted to do as a teenager, but foolishly got married and pregnant instead.

Maybe now is the time.

My sis, even though is registered, is still on the fence about running the Nike marathon. I'm gonna have a hard time training if she bails on me. Time will always tell!

F*CK!!!!!

2008-04-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

2 things:

1. I might have a stress fracture in my foot. My foot has been bugging me for a couple of weeks, and this crazy, hoppy, Turkish dance in Folk dance last night on those hard gym floors threw the pain over the edge. I looked it up online and the symptoms seem to match a stress fracture. Hopefully it's mild and I caught it early and I will just need to be gentle on it for a couple of weeks.
I think between running more, Volleyball, Dance, and now kickboxing (more on that later), I did too much too soon on my poor footers. I'm going to the doc tomorrow.

2. My kid is not graduating on time. Nuff said.

So, I had to do a little retail therapy.....I ordered a new Dyson vacuum cleaner (please hold your enthusiasm), and a book on the science of sex.
A girl's gotta get her kicks somehow! Seriously, Mary Roach is a quite a funny and engaging writer...I recommend her other books, Spook and Stiff (not about sex, but cadavers).

Don't get your hopes up!

2008-04-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

So, my daughter is now 18 and has exactly 23 school days until graduation; and I believe she's going to keep me guessing on if she's actually going to walk until the last possible moment. She's had really bad senoiritis, some legitimate illnesses and complications, and a new boyfriend who is not in school and lives 2 blocks away from campus.

It's a very bad combination.

She got a failure notice in one of her classes and she's got a lot of making up to do to pass that class, then she's short a credit so she's got to take an extra after school class for 2 weeks. This is on top of a makeup night science class that she's taking at the adult high school.

I have actually given up at the thought of her graduation on time and seeing her walk with her classmates. Grieve is more like it; but she suddenly has a renewed motivation to do it. It's going to be a hard and exhausting month for her and she buckles under stress quite easily, so...I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I know what she doesn't complete this Spring, she'll finish at the adult high school in the Summer, but she's my only kid and it would be nice to see her walk.

So Friday night she told me her biological dad called her and told her to save him a ticket for her graduation (he lives in Massachusetts), and she asked me if she should even get her hopes up that he'll come. You know what I wanted to answer her with, but in the end I told her not to dwell on it.

She's at a teen Buddhist retreat right now for the weekend and she usually comes back from them centered and motivated. I hope it helps her decide what she wants to do...deal with the stress and exhaustion of finishing on time, or letting it slide until Summer.

I'm trying not to be emotional about it around her. I find that it just makes the stress worse for both of us. I'll let you know next month what happens.

Yes, I'm a dork!

2008-04-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

I know...I post over a month ago, promising a prize...then completely drop the ball and don't post again. Even with almost weekly prods from Jenn!

Ok....So answer to the question:

8.3.2008
10.19.2008

Yes, they are race days, Yes, they are marathon days, and yes, they are days that Kurt will wake up and still breathe.

But most importantly, they are days of the SF Marathon and the Nike Women's Marathon. And I'm registered for both (SF the 1/2, Nike the Full). So, since Dori was the most specific and correct in her answer, she wins the prize.

Dori...Email me at taunyam at hotmail dot com and tell me that you're not allergic to wool and what you're address is....

I will do my best to post weekly (Sunday's and catch up on what you're all doing). I'll post more soon...really!

Question

2008-03-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

What do these dates have in common?

8.3.2008
10.19.2008

Yes, you will get a prize if you guess it first.

And you call yourself a Blogger!

2007-08-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, this statement was actually messaged to me earlier this week. Yes, I guess I call myself a part-time blogger. Haven't been good at doing anything computer-wise in some weeks.

In other news, you never know what you might like. Case-in-point; I totally love this freaking (frakking) Folk Dancing class I'm taking with my daughter. I'm not one to dance, unless I have a few in me (do I sound like a dude or what?), but this class is totally fun. All ages too; not the group of old ladies that my daughter promised me it would be...it's surprisingly hip and good exercise.

You gotta stretch sometimes; try something you don't think you'd be into...because you really never, ever know. You know??

Happenings....

2007-08-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well, vacation is over and I'm back at work, and my daughter is back at school. Yuckiness all around.

We found out that my daughter cannot earn credit for running a 1/2 marathon so that idea is out. My sis is not interested in doing another marathon until Maui in 12/08 (if that happens), so my race plans are up in the air. My daughter hates PE and spent most of her time in high school taking art classes instead, so she now finds herself woefully short on PE credits. So hence, the Senior PE. We are also taking a (don't laugh) folk dance class at our local JC class together for additional credits and "some bonding" as my daughter puts it. I think she wants me to take the class to keep her motivated....what ever I have to do to get her graduated, you know?

So...about the beer cozies...I suppose they are meant to keep your hands warm and to shade the beer a bit if you were sipping outside. I have gotten 'orders' for a couple more, and my boss was a bit jealous that I didn't make her anything, but I have special plans for her--A felted wine bag.

So...is knitting relaxing? There's nothin' better, and I'm serious about that. And it does leave me sore in the morning! I absolutely love it.

Changing the subject completely now...as far as a workout schedule goes, I'm running about 4 days a week, 2 to 4 miles a pop, 2 hours of volleyball, and one day of hiking. Nothing really extreme, but I still feel like I'm staying in shape, keeping the weight down and feeling good. So if I ever figure out a race to do, I can hit the ground running, er...sort of speak.

Vacation Week!

2007-08-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

Woot! I'm on vacation this week!

Work was becoming really overwhelming and I was waking up tired every day so I so need a break.

I spent 3 days at my brother-in-law's family cabin up near Mount Lassen, which was about 40 yards from a beautiful lake. I didn't want to leave, it was so peaceful up there.

I'm spending a lot of time working on my knitting projects. I'm getting really good at knitting little tubes. Here is something that I finished up for a beer buddy of mine:

I know it's a bit silly, but he actually asked for one out of the blue. Speaking of blue, I just completed a blue and black cozy for another friend who independently asked for one too (he even found me a pattern).

Can't say I have done a lot of running this week. I didn't do any runs at the cabin--unless you count chasing after my niece and nephew. I did a trail hike/run yesterday and will do another one today. I've got to get in gear, I feel my belly growing on me!

OH....I also want to say that you guys are the best! I haven't blogged in a month and couldn't believe I even had 1 comment when I came back from the cabin. I guess I must keep posting.

Bad, Bad, Blogger!

2007-08-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

One of the big disadvantages about working in technology is that I never really want to be on the computer anymore on the weekends.

Good excuse, huh!

I've been fine, although very burned out from work.

I'm still pursuing the simple things in life, mainly running, knitting, coffee and a little beer drinking. I'm trying to keep my daughter focused on her upcoming senior year of high school....

Of course I flaked on even signing up for the SF 1/2 marathon. I've been running, but not very long and not pushing it at all.

I believe I might have a race to do in the Fall. My daughter needs PE credits to graduate and she doesn't like the idea of taking PE in her senior year so we're going to talk to her counselor about her running a 1/2 marathon instead. I think it's a good idea to keep us both motivated.

Today is the Vineman
I'm volunteering tonight during the marathon part. I watched it last year, and want to participate somehow in this event.

Hope you are all doing well.

Oh, Sod It! Whatever happened to OSS and other stuff.

2007-07-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

I've given up waiting for my daughter to load and send the pics that I took with her digital camera (long drawn-out explanation on why I can't do that) for my next post and I realize it's been some time since I've last posted that I'm going to go ahead without them and insert them later.....

As many of you know I endured Operation Swimsuit which my goal was to be able to "fit" in a swimsuit and reduce those "problem areas". I think I even promised to post the resulting suit (but NOT with me in said suit).

RESULTS after 8+weeks:
Weight 128 (loss of 2 pound)
Fat % 21.5 (loss of 1.5%)

This is a little disappointing, but entirely expected as I really didn't crank up the exercise as much as I would have liked, but more importantly I kept eating a lot of crapola. I'm afraid I am continuing to eat much more crapola and I'm sure that if I stepped on the scale now, it would not be very kind to me.

So without further ado...here's a pic of my suit.

INSERT CUTE, BUT SLIGHTLY MODEST PIC OF 2 PIECE

(yeah, I do realize you have to put a little imagination into this)

In knitting news (runners can skip this bit of you want). I am nearly done with a pair of socks that I am knitting for my mom for her birthday. She always tells me she wants socks for her birthday (I don't know why), so I'm knitting her a pair. She knows I knit, but I am sure she has no idea I can knit socks.

So here's a pic (imagination hats on please):

INSERT CUTE, SLIGHTLY UNFINISHED, STRIPED SOCKS

I'm completing a Grace Kelly Scarf
that I'm giving to my daughter's counselor who is moving to Colorado to teach Buddhist meditation retreats full-time, and here's that pic:

INSERT ELEGANT, UNFINISHED SCARF

The point of this one is that my daughter and I were going to take turns knitting it since it's a simple garter stitch. Well, that hasn't happened. I hope she will work on it a bit today and tomorrow so at least we can say that. I'm using this neat Rayon/Metallic yarn from Blue Heron Yarns. I would've preferred to go with a natural fiber but it's what my daughter picked out and I'm glad she did, since I love the way it drapes.

Well...time for a run and then some public knitting.

Have a nice week.

Mixing it up

2007-06-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

My running has gotten stale. I really haven't regained my mojo from the Winter months. I get out there, but I'm just not into it. So I'm thinking, maybe I'm just overloading on one form of exercise and it's time to mix it up a bit. Here's what I'm thinking:

Sat: run
Sunday: trail run/hike
Monday: swimming & volleyball
Tuesday: Weights
Wednesday: Run & volleyball
Thursday: swimming & volleyball
Fri: rest

Maybe this will freshen up my routine a bit.

I'm still undecided about the SF 1/2 marathon at the end of July. I know I could fake my way through it...I'm just so undecided. I think next time I'm not even going to bother writing about a race until I'm actually signed up.

Last Day in my 30's

2007-06-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, folks..I turn 40 tomorrow. More of my thoughts on that later. Guess who I share a birthday with?

Donald Trump (ugg)
Steffi Graf (kinda cool)
Boy George (I can take that to so many different levels, but I did love Culture Club in high school!
And....
The Yarn Harlot (yes...for you non knitters out there, there is such a person and there is no knitter that doesn't know her name).

My friend and I claimed a little fame...Tiny Tyrant gets the shout out..but I'm still in the pic!
(I'm on the left btw).

Interesting group, huh?

Weird Sabbatical is OVER!

2007-06-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

Can't even give you folks a good reason why I was away for so long, but I'll try:

The sun was shining
I was knitting
Work was insane
My daughter was needy
We have a new addition:

This is Marly (ie...Marlz, Marzipan, Marmaduke, MarMar) Persephone--and she's a very sweet kitten.

What the heck, when a 17 year old young woman comes to you and tells me that she has had a lot of loss in her life recently and that she needs something to love for her very own, and this young woman has a steady boyfriend for a 1 1/2 years, how can a mother ever possibly say no to a kitten! I did personally feel I wasn't ready for another cat--but she was ready.

I'm actually spilling over with things I want to write about, things I want to tell you. I'm also thinking about changing my blog a bit, to include my other creeping obsession; Knitting.

So, what will I be, a runner that knits, and knitter that runs? How the heck do these 2 things relate?

And yes, I have knitted my first pair of socks. And no, they are no yet the best for running. But I am determined to perfect that skill!

More to follow!

Now time to see what you all have been up to!

Doing better...and Thanks for being there....

2007-05-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

I want to thank you all for being there for me last week. I couldn't even bring myself to tell a friend about Spooka when I went out with her on Sunday--I just couldn't feel I could talk about it and keep it together.

But I could blog about it and it did help me to ease the pain a bit. Ah, the power of blogging and the RBF!

We buried Spooka in the back yard under a young oak tree that she liked to sleep under. We sprinkled wild flour seeds over her grave. I think she would be happy there.

My daughter goes out daily and "waters Spooka" as she calls it--she's religious about it. We all have our way of coping and it's her way right now.

And I run.......

I'm Sad...............Warning sad post.

2007-05-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

My cat died this morning.

Spooka was almost 16 years old--skinny, but active and happy.

Just last night she was begging for some leftover sausage, jumping up and sleeping on our high bar stools.

It's funny, because as I was waking up this morning, I could've sworn I heard her purring even though I had my door shut and there were no other cats were in my room.

She was in the hallway in her usual sphinx position, but she didn't follow me in the kitchen as she always does. She didn't move.

I sat next to her, and I could tell something was wrong. Her eyes looked glassy and she wasn't blinking. She started purring when I started petting her--but she wouldn't get up.

I sat with her a few minutes more and then she tried to get up, but her back legs failed her.

I picked her up and carried her in my room and put a light blanket over her and started crying. I went in the kitchen to grab the phone book to call the vet and I just broke down.

I had spooka for so long......I never had one of my pets die on me as an adult.

My daughter gets up and overhears me crying--soon she's crying too.

We both go back to the bedroom and sit with Spooka. My regular vet does not open until 10AM, and she's a long drive away for me now....so I call a closer 24 hour hospital...and I don't know what to say...

"I think my cat's dying" is all I can muster. They tell me to bring her in anytime and that their doors are always open.

Spooka is still purring. She tries to get up again, but her legs won't hold her up. She lays on her side and starts breathing more shallow, her purring is quieter

My daughter and I start getting dressed, and I get the cat carrier out of the garage.

I come back to check on Spooka a couple of minutes later, but she's already gone.

Not sure what took her so quickly, perhaps it was a stroke (if cats get them)--maybe it was just old age. But I'm glad she was happy yesterday and she didn't seem to suffer.

And I'm especially glad that she waited until we woke up to say goodbye.

I'll miss you Spooka!

I'm Not Dead, Really!!

2007-04-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

Just been really busy and staying off the computer.

I have been running!

More to follow......

Week 5 results

2007-04-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

Without ceremony here are week 5 results:

Weight: 128 (-2 lbs)
Fat % : 22% (1%)

Better than nothing. Only have 4 weeks until the pool opens and with Easter coming (chocolate), and a vacation coming (more on that next time)--will I even maintain?

But...I have a secret Weapon!

Volleyball Season!

Yes...I have added yet another workout to my regimen. 4 days a week I will be joining my fellow team mates (and co-workers), out in the sand pit for practice. We never have a full squad out there practicing at once so we usually have a nice 3 on 3 scrimmage...and in the sand that's quite a workout. I've been playing with some of these guys now for nearly 7 years so we have a great time out there.

So...that makes my weekly workout schedule look like this:
Volleyball 4 days a week
Running 4 - 5 days a week
Weights 2 days a week

If that doesn't at least keep off the pounds, I don't know what will....Now, if I can only stop putting bad things in my mouth (well, you know what I mean).....

Change in Plans

2007-03-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

I decided not to run the Avenue of the Giants in May. It's a 4 hour drive from my house and that leaves me to spend the night somewhere up North. Of the places I called to get a reservation, they are all filled. The ones left are expensive and I really trying to be careful with my funds as I have had quite a few unexpected expenses over the last couple of months.

So...I'm signing up to do the SF Marathon (1/2 for me) in July. The neat thing about this race is that you can decide whether you want to run the first 1/2 (across the Golden Gate Bridge), or the last half which has a greater time limit but may not be as pretty.

I'm also thinking about "Bay to Breakers" at the end of May with my daughter which will be more of a fun people watching feast than anything. But it would be a way to get her out there, train lightly for a 12k, and just have some fun!

As far as a full marathon is concerned, I probably shouldn't shoulder yet the expense of doing Chicago in October, that one may have to wait a year. I'm also leary about doing those 15+ milers on my own (boring)--but I really want to do another marathon.

I know the Nike Marathon is going to sell out within a month so I have to make a decision soon!

One last thing: OSS week results 4 and 5 pretty much sucked...I guess I'm happy to say I haven't gained all my fat and weight back. I promise to post week 6 results and subject myself to riducule if my results bad.

T.G.I.S.

2007-03-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad it's the weekend. It's the first weekend in ages that I have nothing I need to do. Besides training, I plan to get the house straightened up a bit and get plenty of R&R. Only a week and 1/2 before true baseball season starts--I've already got a place (pub with food) picked out to watch a few games during the season.

Running is better this week, thank goodness...it's always a rollercoaster. I'm actually looking forward to the 6 miler tomorrow (and thank goodness for recovery weeks).

Work-wise, I'm going to have a hectic 2 weeks. We are very busy and the boss has told us that we are going to have to work some long hours to get the backlog down. Not that I mind too much as this happens only a couple of times a year. But I think my boss is starting to tire of my realisitic attitude (which she is reading as being negative). I tell her that things are different now; the product we are supporting has grown so complex and customizable that it's just HARDER (and takes longer) to solve the issues. She sets unattainable goals, and I set mini-realistic goals and she views that as giving folks motivation to not work as hard.

She fails to see that the game has changed.....I think I'm just going to put my head down, work hard, and keep my mouth shut, I've already said what I need to say to her and we will just have to wait and see if she comes around.

Status Quo

2007-03-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

Not much to report.

A small gain OSS for week 3 partly because of my over-indulgence over the weekend. Let's just say I fell off the sugar wagon completely. Today is my 2nd day of being good.

OSS Week 3 results:
Weight: 128.4 (-1.6 lb loss overall )
Fat % : 21.4 (.6% loss overall)

I'm diagnosing myself as a bipolar runner as my 2 previous posts can attest. At this point, I'm just trying to get out there and do the miles, however long it takes.

And Sunday I have to do 8 miles--only question what mood is my body going to be in?

I Hate Running

2007-03-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I really hate running. I was supposed to run 7 miles yesterday and barely did 5 and most of that distance I walked. It was just NOT happening. I even found a new scenic place to run.
I just didn't want to do it. It didn't feel good to be out there (although I really didn't have any physical complaints) and I couldn't make myself think otherwise.

It just sucked.

I think I just needed a mental health day away from running. Maybe I should make every DST change day a running holiday.

I hope I get my mojo back.

Runner's High

2007-03-08T12:56:00.000-08:00

My six miler on Sunday went wonderfully. It felt good to be out there. I finished well below my target time.

I have forgotten how great you feel after doing a long run.

After the run, I took a nice long shower, got dressed and met my sister for lunch. I felt happy, energetic, powerful, and even a little sexy. The beer at lunch couldn't have tasted better, the sky couldn't have been bluer, the world simply could not have felt any better.

I was in my element.

How did I forget this?

In other news OSS week 3 results:
Weight 127.4 (2.6 lbs loss)
Fat % 22.2 (-.8% loss)

Stalling........

2007-03-04T08:25:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful Sunday morning! I'm scheduled to do a 6 miler this morning (solo)--this is the longest distance I have done since the marathon last October. I should be out the door by now, but I'm in my PJs and thinking about other things......

What sort of things....you ask??

Ahem....well it's a little embarrassing...It's almost the last thing I think about before I go to bed, and one of the first things I think about when I wake up.

You see, I'm a little obsessed at the moment....

Now you're dying to know....I can tell.....

Alright, fine....You all are my bestest RBF are you not? and I can tell you almost anything.....

I'm a little in love at the moment....

with.......

This sweather I'm knitting (and yes...I'll post a pic when I'm done).

I'm afraid I have developed a passion for knitting and high quality yarns.

My goal is to be able to knit socks soon and then perhaps develop a perfect running sock (merino wool blend of course). That would be so awesome!

Sigh....I know I'm pathetic...Sis laughs at me, because I'm always knitting when she calls....I should probably get out more.......

On that note....time to get those running shoes on....Wish me luck......

O.S.S. Week 2 Results and Other Stuff

2007-03-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

Without further ado:

Week 2 weigh in results:

Weight: 127.4 -- 127.4 lbs (-2.6)
Fat % -- 22.2% (- .8)

I like this trend. I fully expect a leveling of the weight next week, and hopefully a little
more fat loss as my eating becomes more normalized.

My daughter has given up on her quest to run the 1/2 marathon in May. It's just been too dark, cold, and rainy for her to really want to run 15+ miles a week. She is still coming out and doing a mile loop with me and then leaves me to complete the mileage. I hope that maybe she'll consider running a 1/2 marathon in the Fall. So, so much for the matching running outfits--at least for now. I'll still post some pics of us soon....

But now this leaves me to consider what kind of personal goal I want to have for myself for the Avenue of the Giants 1/2 marathon in May. I did run the first half of the marathon with sis in 3:08....actually a minute a mile faster and that would put me at 2:55. A nice even time, wouldn't you say?

Sunday Bits

2007-02-25T07:52:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report that we're all feeling better and back to our regular training schedule. I plan to run a 4 miler today with my daughter. I think we're actually supposed to run 6, but she's really not there yet. She's losing a bit of enthusiasm for the training, citing soreness or homework for reasons to drop off early. I haven't actually signed her up for Avenue of the Giants yet (it never fills up), so I'll give her a couple of more weeks and see if she kicks it into gear.

Speaking of the Giants, did I ever mention I'm a HUGE San Francisco Giants fan? Did I ever mention that I have a secret crush on the Giant's announcer Jon Miller? Sure, he's not much to look at, but boy, he could tell me stories all night! If you want to know where to find me in 30 years, just go to a Giants home game. I'll be one of those old ladies wearing a baseball cap with a hundred buttons, with a hand-knit Orange and Black throw over me.

Today I'm having my 3 year old niece over for a few hours. I've watched her plenty of times at sis's house, but this is the first time she's coming over solo. I'm looking forward to it. We're going to make lunch, have tea (she's into that sort of thing), and do some crafts....or "craps" as she likes to call it.

You may have noticed that my links are so totally out of date. I'm going to do my best to get those all cleaned up and updated over the next day or 2.

Hope you all have a nice Sunday.

Operation Swimsuit Week 1 Results

2007-02-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

Weight: 128.6 (-1.4 lbs)
Fat % : 23.2 ( +.2 %)

I'm afraid my "dramatic" weight loss wasn't due to careful eating, but from a nasty stomach bug that left me eating nothing but broth, ginger ale and crackers for 2+ days (and NOT exercising). I still have to be careful with what I eat, which is helping my "sensible" eating.

I'm going to try an gentle run tonight in the pouring rain. Should be an adventure.

Quantitative Operation Swim Suit Goal

2007-02-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

I just purchased one of those digital scales that also measures body fat. I've read that the technology for these have gotten much better over the last couple of years, and my scale boasts a .01% accuracy. I doubt that's true--but at least it gives me a ball-park.

I've never been one to be secretive about my age or weight. So where better than a blog viewed by the world to announce my present body fat % and my target goal??

The chart below lists the standard body fat recommendation for men and women (via wikipedia)

Description	Women	Men
Essential fat	10-13%	2-4%
Athletes	14–20%	6–13%
Fitness	21–24%	14–17%
Acceptable	25–31%	18–25%
Obese	32%+	25%+

I'm currently weighing 130 and have 23% body fat.

Yes, I'm at the fitness level. I think fitness level means you look decent in clothes, but questionable in a swimsuit. In the higher Athletic range--I would think you would look decent
in a swimsuit.

I don't really care about what I weigh, but I would love to get down to a 19ish body fat % (ie athletic!). That's about 4 pounds of fat, gone--and hopefully from my "problem areas".

So, here's the plan. Every Tuesday morning, I'll weigh in and post my results. I think posting my progress will help me to stay on track--Do I really want to post weight gains and more body fat? I think not!

In addition to following Hal's Half marathon training (which includes 2 days of weight training). I'm going to throw in another day of weight training.

As far as eating is concerned, I've given up candy (my biggest vice) and *trying* to eat more fruits and vegetables and less fat.

I really don't know how long this will take me--I guess it depends how hard I work. I would like to think 2 or 3 months--but realistically, it may take even longer.

Stay tuned.....

And My Next Race Is.....................

2007-02-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

Avenue of the Giants 1/2 Marathon on May 6th.

On Monday I'll begin Hal's Intermediate 12 week half marathon program--which consists of 5 days running and 2 days of strength training. I might even bump up the strength training to 3 days depending on how the training goes.

Sis is opting out of this one. It's a 5 hour drive from where we live and she doesn't think she can manage the trip with her 2 little ones.

I'll have a new running partner for this one! My daughter has decided to give it a go. She's a fast runner when she puts her mind to it, so we probably won't be running the whole thing together--but she's already talking about getting matching outfits for the race. Somehow this soon-to-be 17 year old, wants to wear a matching running outfit with her mother. Go figure.

As far as full marathons go, I'm considering running Chicago in October!

Stay tuned!

Swim Suit Season

2007-02-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

Not quite yet...but got to start thinking about it.

I moved a couple of weeks ago and I will have access to a community pool come May. Let's face it. It's been several years since I bought a new swimsuit, and I'm turning 40 in June, so do I want to be 40 and dumpy or 40 and able to wear a 2 piece? I'm shooting for the latter.

So Operation "Gotta-look-decent-in-a-2-piece" begins. Just for kicks I tried on a very cute suit last week and saw my ahem..."problem areas" that I'll need to address. I've got 3 months to do it. I'm beefing up my miles and strength training--(my next post, I'll announce my next race) and now I'm cutting out sugar and trying to eat more "sensibly".

Can she do it? Can't say it will be fun trying...but maybe I can just pull it off. I've got nothing better to do......

A Now for Something Completely Different

2007-01-28T16:36:00.000-08:00

Very recently I have started to incorporate strength training in my workouts. I'm *trying* to do 3 days of running, 3 days of weights.

I found that only from a week of doing this, my runs are much, how do I say it, stronger.

I'm finding that my legs have more energy, that they don't tire as they did in the past. My posture is straighter, well...everything is better. And you guess right, I'm running faster too (don't really know how fast, I'm keeping my Garmin at home lately.

So maybe one day, I'll be strong, toned, and faster? Sounds like a win-win to me.

Out from the Ashes

2007-01-18T16:51:00.001-08:00

It's a somewhat cheesy analogy, but I view my life over the last 3 weeks as a forest fire. At first it's devastating almost impossible to look at, but eventually, new growth emerges that's even stronger and healthier than before. If someone would have told me where I would be now both mentally and physically a couple of months ago I would've thought them crazy.

But here I am.

I'm not sure if I'll ever post what happened--blogs are just too much of a public place (if you want, you can email for the scoop). My daughter and I are emerging from the ashes stronger than ever.

Life in Upheaval

2007-01-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

Something awful has happened and I don't think I can bring myself to write about it yet.

You just never know when your life will turned upside down in an instant.

I can say that running has been a godsend for me. Sometimes you forget how much running relieves you of raw emotion and helps you put things in perspective. I'm not forgetting it now.

Happy Holidays

2006-12-28T08:59:00.000-08:00

A little belated but sincere.

I've had computer problems lately. My daughter decided to download a hacked copy of the Sims when she couldn't find her install CD, and infected my computer to high-heaven with spam, viruses and the like.

It still isn't quite recovered, so it makes internet use a bit of a bear.

I am starting to catch up on your blogs tho.

I'm on vacation this week and I'm happy to report that I've been running/exercising almost every day. I think I'm getting my groove back and it feels great--especially since I've been eating all those not-so-good-for-you holiday treats!

I'm close to choosing my goal for next year...I'll keep you posted.

At least I feel like running

2006-12-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid I don't have much to write about. Work has been extremely busy and I have been forced to commute to the South Bay most days last week (85 miles from my house). So, besides work, my daughter stressing about finals, a house that's so dirty that it should be condemed, I actually squeezed in 2 runs this week. Not bad all considered.

Winter Solstice is almost upon us, that means that finally it will start getting light earlier every night than getting darker. I'm thinking of doing something special to mark the event--but I have no idea what to do.

Well, back to cleaning. Have a nice week.

Do hope to check your blogs soon!

Number of Miles Run this week: 0

2006-12-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

That's right...I've done 0 miles.

Yeah, I've been busy. Yeah, I've had activities after work that have prevented me from going out. But I would always make the time to run.

Not this week.

And no, I can't run tonight either. I'm going to a concert that I got tickets to months ago.

I need a kick in the pants---or I'll need to start buying bigger pants.

Which is it?

Winter is bad for running

2006-12-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

I can give you a list....but in the Winter I shut down. When it's dark, my body tells me to sleep. I lost count of the number of times I felt tired and ready for bed and the clock just say 7:30pm. Just think what it does to my running.

I'm managing a pitiful 2 miler 3 times during the weekdays. Saturday I usually do a 4 mile trail run with sis or we do a track workout. On Sunday I hike for a couple of miles.

That's it...I hope it's enough to maintain some sort of fitness level--I don't think I'll be much better until the Spring.

I need a goal...I'm thinking the Avenue of the Giants 1/2 marathon in May...but I'm just so undecided.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2006-11-23T07:15:00.000-08:00

I've been seriously slacking on everything (but work and household duties) lately. I do promise to catch up on all your journeys.

I didn't go for the house, or another one for that matter. I'll seriously think about it in the Spring, but right now I want to relax a bit.

My running has been sporatic. I haven't been out longer than 3 miles since the marathon. I just can't get motivated to run long in the dark.

Enough of me! Hope you all have lots of Turkey, Rest, and Relaxation!!!

Cheers!

Pushing Limits

2006-11-11T10:15:00.000-08:00

I like yoga. There's a pose called Cobblers Pose where you sit frog legged with the heels of your feet together and you try to bend your torso so your head can eventually touches the floor in front of you.

The fool in the video makes it look easy. I think I'm pretty limber, but I can't get my head closer than 12 inches from the floor.

"You may find with the 'gentle massage' that Cobbler's pose brings, you can bring yourself deeper in the pose" The yoga master calmly narrates. "In fact, the goal of Cobblers pose is to find the place where to go farther would be excruciating (she doesn't say "excruciating", but I know that's what she means), and doing less would be no challenge at all."

That my friends, is where I am with the house.

They countered my offer...and not by very much at all--the difference in the payment would be about 80 bucks a month. The owner would like to give me the house. The other offers were better money wise than mine--but they really like me (In my best Sally Fields voice). If I accept the offer, the house is mine.

What I offered would be challenging, but not excruciating. But like Cobbler's Pose, just a hair lower to the ground and it's unbearable.

Of course they gave me the weekend to think about it. But I already made the decision.

I can't let the excitement and the lure of homeownership put my in a place where I'm uncomfortable. The market is crappy right now anyways...I'm sure they'll be other houses
where I walk in and it immediately feels like home. At least I hope so........

OMG! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!

2006-11-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today I put an offer on the cutest little house ever. There are multiple offers on it (it's priced very, very well) and they will be reviewing the offers tomorrow.

I'm so scared!!! What if they actually accept my offer????

What's with me! First marathon, then a homeowner???

What's Next???

2006-11-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report that my daughter has started running and wants to run the Nike Marathon with me next year! She's even visited her school counselor and is petitioning to get PE credit for her efforts! You never know you are going to inspire!

I've done 3 runs this week. 2 interval runs with my daughter (3 minutes of running/3 minutes of walking). My daughter runs fast--about a 8:30 to 9:00 minute mile--so it's an effort for me to keep up with my post marathon body. I also did an easy 2 miler and was surprised at how my hamstrings got so sore after only 1 mile of running. I'm not pushing it at all, and walked most of the 2nd mile. It's all about recovery right now anyways...my body will shape up.

Today, Sis, me and my daughter are heading to the track where we are going to do 400s "fast" run/and 400s walk intervals. Don't know how many yet...maybe just 4 reps. We're looking forward to working on speeding up.

We are also toying with the idea of running the Avenue of the Giants half marathon in May. My daughter could get credit for that too.

Happy Running!

Marathon Pics

2006-10-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics as promised.

Nike Marathon billboard on Union Square, right on the starting line.

Me (I'm the short one) and Sis near the start in front of the porta-potty oasis!

Almost to the finish!!!! We're gonna make it!!

I can't believe its been a week already since the marathon. I going to go on a little hike today and then start my post-marathon week 1 training (ala Hal on Tuesday).

Some things I learned from the Marathon:

Space Blankets are the bomb--even ones that you snatch from the garbage.
Bring your own source of water. We're glad we did. Those water stops didn't come soon enough!
Be prepared to have temporary "Alzheimers" after the race. Thank god my daughter had her brain! I just couldn't think straight.
Enjoy the crowds, but more importantly, support and talk to your fellow runners--I wish I had done this more during the race.
Don't sit down too soon after the race. Walk around a bit. I had to walk about a 1/4 mile to the bus shuttle and then a couple of blocks to the hotel. It helped me keep loose.
Do prop up those legs that evening and when you go to bed. I was very uncomfortable in my bed until I got my legs elevated.

Until next time speed racers!

Marathon Race Tome -- Part II -- WE FINISH!!!

2006-10-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

After a few minutes Sis emerges from the bathroom and pronounces that she is feeling a bit better. She asked me what the new plan is. At this point we have 10 minutes in the bank, so I tell her that we need to at the very least we can't lose any minutes, and maybe should try to gain a few minutes until mile 20. She agrees and we head off.

Sis is still lagging behind and whenever I decide to slow down to let her catch up, I see her picking up her pace. I ask her if my pace is okay and she reminded me again that she will speak up if it's not.

The crowds were pretty light in Golden Gate Park. We did have a couple of groups kids lined up wanting to do some high-fives so that was a little pick me up.

Finally around mile 17, we were back on the Great Hwy and on the water. The fog lifted enough so we could see the crashing waves and the surfers out there doing their thing. Mile 17 & 18 went
okay, Sis kept up with me and I slowed my pace to around a 15 - 16 minute mile—which was fine by me at that point. Sis slowed down even further at the beginning of mile 19. I stopped and stretched a bit right near an aid station. She told me was getting dizzy and light headed again. I suggested that she go to the aid station and get her blood pressure checked and make sure all was well. At this point, we had already seen 2 ambulances pick up injured runners and I didn't want her to push it. She thought about it for a few seconds, but refused to get checked out. She didn't want to be pulled from the race involuntarily.

So she took another pottie break. A couple of minutes later, we're back to running.

At mile 20, we had about 10 minutes in the bank. I was getting pretty stiff and my knee was really affecting my gait. I was going so slow that it wasn't really hurting me, as long as I moved a certain way. That was fine by me...even if it meant not really bending my knee and sort of swinging my leg around instead of straight ahead. At this point, I couldn't go slower, Sis told me she was fine with me going ahead of her and then meeting up at the mile markers. I would have a few seconds (minutes sometimes) to stretch while she caught up.

From the Great hwy, we turned off and had to run around Lake Merced. Lake Merced is one freaking big lake; I couldn't see the path around it. This was the most difficult part of the run, it was pretty boring being without sis and there was a lot a traffic on the other side of the road. I didn't find it very scenic...but maybe I just couldn't see the beauty in much of anything at that point.

Around mile 21, a group of girls catched up to me and ask me if I have seen the girl with the striped socks. “uh...I haven't looked at anyone's socks in ages” I reply. They explain to me that they are the very same group of girls that overheard my challenge about beating the girl with the striped leg-warmers. Those TNT girls looked all the same to me at that point. I told them that I did pass her, but then found out she was only a half-marathoner.

The next 2 miles went about the same way. Sis lagging behind, and me stopping and stretching so she could catch up. I couldn't do the math anymore to figure out the banked minutes—it was more like me thinking, 4 miles to go and hour and a 20 minutes to do it.

After Eons I finally see the marker for mile 23...3 miles left--Even we can do that in our sorry states. I start yelling, to now one in particular—even Sis is not in shouting distance.

“CHECK IT OUT...MILE FREAKING 23!!! WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT!” “GO GO GO!”.

Needless to say, I got a few strange stares.

Sis catches up to me and we walk a bit together. “We do 3 milers all the time, they're are super easy rest runs...we can do this!” I tell her. She nods “I have to use the bathroom again. Last time. Don't wait up for me. I'll catch up.” She says.So...I go on ahead. About a ½ mile down I spy some empty porta-porties and decide it's a good time to go myself. Near the 24^th mile marker, Sis catches up to me. We're back on the Great Hwy and in the final stretch.

I tell Sis that she has to stay on with me if we're going to complete the marathon without course closing on us. She keeps up with me this time. I'm going super slow at this point. We can do 18 minute miles at this point, but we can't afford to go much slower.

At mile 25, Sis perks up a bit and we quicken our pace a little. There were plenty of TNT coaches around to offer encouragement and advice for my IT Band problem. One coach looked at me and told me that I should hit the medical tent after the race. Another one told me that walking backwards helps(?).

Most of the coaches were really cute guys. They would come out to the middle of the course between us and offer us high-fives. As we got closer, they would tell us to count the stop-lights and the 3^rd one we saw in the distance is the 26 mile marker.

“Oh, Shit...Mel” I tell my Sis. “We're actually going to complete a marathon!”

“Stop it” Sis replies “You're gonna make me start crying”

Sis goes on to say, that while she'll happily do another ½ marathon, she's not so sure about another full marathon. “Mile 25 is NOT the time to be discussing another marathon” I tell her....

Even though even at this point I'm already thinking about marathon #2!

Finally we approach mile 26. I don't remember what the time was...I didn't care. We knew we were going to make it. We decide to run to the finish...Sis leads.

We cross the finish line and grab our Tiffany boxes. I forgot to turn off the Garmin or even look at the finishing time. We had no idea how long it took us....we can only estimate to the nearest 15 minutes.

Results came in today on the Nike Site. Official finishing time: 6:52:40!

We'll take it....after all the goal was only to finish!

Part III Post Marathon report and things I learned and PICS coming next!

Marathon Race Tome -- Part I

2006-10-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

I awoke ahead of my alarms (yes, 2 were set just in case), about 5:00AM. I laid in bed for a while and tried to wrap my head around the fact that today is the day that I've been training for what seems like forever. At 5:30, I get up, shower, and dress for the day--all the while taking sips of water and eating a plain whole-wheat bagel I bought the night before.

I didn't feel like eating at all but I got about 1/2 of it down. I make coffee for Sis and I. She's in a room down the hall with her husband and 2 kids. I expect her to arrive in my room and finish getting ready at 6:00. Somehow I was put in a room that is actually a suite of some sort--2 beds in 2 rooms which was very nice since I could move around very early without waking up
my daughter who was asleep in the 2nd "room".

At 6:05 sis comes in. We both sip our cups of coffee, and try to down more bits of bagel and some juice. We were both very giggly at this stage. My daughter gets up and gets dressed and just shakes her head and both of us--telling us repeatedly that we are crazy.
She plans to walk us down (2 blocks from the hotel) and take pictures us of at the start.

At 6:30, after triple-checking that we all had everything we could possibly need, we leave our room. We walk to the elevator and when the door opens we're greeted by women that look just like us. All dressed like they are going out for a morning run. My daughter was the only one in street clothes.

Outside the hotel, the street was just packed with women headed towards the start. We got there in about 5 minutes and found a LONG row of porta-poties. Sis that my daughter take a picture of us in front of them--it was like heaven to her. So with 25 minutes
left to the start, we wait in line. Sis somehow picks the longest line, that somehow just takes forever. When all that was done we only had 5 minutes to get to our corral.

The weather was very comfortable. Almost too comfortable for that time of morning in San Francisco. I didn't feel cold at all in my tank and shorts.

My daughter walks us to the intersection barrier and gives us both a hug, and leaves to find a good vantage point to photograph the start. Sis and I push our way to our corral (12 - 14:59 mile) and wait a very short time before we heard the starting gun. The line moved
surprisingly fast. We actually got to the start at 7:06 on the nose. I started my watch when I heard the shot, because we were told that the course closes promptly at 2:00pm and we had to factor in any start delays. We found out later that they did keep the course open
much later than 2:00pm.

The first mile was completely effortless. It didn't feel like we were running at all. I didn't feel it in my breathing, or my legs, or anything, it felt like walking. It was the easiest mile I have ever done--EVER. Actually the first 4 miles were super easy. I was very careful of our pace, slowing
us down when we were going too fast--all in all these first 4 were done at around a 13:30 pace. Perfect for us.

The crowds were great. Lots of TNT cheers "go team", but since we were both in pink (hair and all) we got a lot of "go pink team". So that was a nice boost in these early miles.

We passed by several porta potties but they all had super long lines. Sis doesn't have a strong bladder and we had to get serious about stopping soon. She spied a public restroom at a park about 100 yards away from the course with only a couple of people in line
(or so we thought). So we run off to the bathroom. While Sis is in there, I slather on some biofreeze on my knee. I didn't want to say anything, but that old ITB pain was coming back and wanted to nip it in the bud if possible. I didn't want to say anything outloud--
I didn't want to acknowledge it to anyone.

The bathroom turned out to have a long line INSIDE the bathroom, so all and all the stop cost us 6 minutes. For each mile during the marathon, I would shout out how many miles we had in "The Bank"--these are miles that we could use in the later on if something bad happened and we had to slow down. We used 16 per minute miles (a 6:59 marathon time) as the zero point.
When we started the race, we started 6 minutes in the red, and as our good miles progressed we would soon be in the black. But, with this bathroom trip, we "spent" our minutes and we were back to almost nothing in the bank.

And....the BIG Hill was coming at mile 6 and I had no idea how well we would do against it.

For mile 5 we tried to make up a little time, looking back, it was probably too fast--Sis kept asking me if we were running faster than normal, and for some reason I couldn't get a good read from the Garmin. Turns out mile 5 was fast for us--12:25. But we started
building our bank again.

Then we came to the hill. The hill lasted nearly the entire 6th mile. Lots of runners were walking it. We trailed blazed through the packs of slow walkers, either power walking or running--but it was hard to dodge all the walkers (some walking 6 abreast,
and on the left). Up ahead I spotted a girl that I have seen before who was wearing rainbow legwarmers. "See that Chick" I tell my sis, "I am NOT going to let her beat me in this race!" A group of runners nearby overheard me and shouted "You go, girl! We're with you on that one!".

I retrospec, I should've made sure she was running the full marathon!

With that hill done (around 14 minute mile), we were greeted with a nice long downhill--we just let gravity do its thing and our bodies went along for the ride--that mile was done in 11:39--the fastest mile we EVER done together. We still had a couple of more miles of up and down, that we pretty much handled the same way.

At mile 10, Sis announced that she could tell that my knee was bothering me. "No, it's not...you're seeing things" I tell her, but then whisper to her that I just don't want to acknowledge the pain.

Finally around the 11th mile or so, we hit the Great Hwy...on the Ocean...and the cool fog. We both felt pretty good at this point and were continuing to bank those miles. The goal was to have 20 minutes in the bank by mile 20. A mile or so passes and, we turn into
Golden Gate Park, here where the half marathoners split off from us. And yes..I did pass the chick in the rainbow leg warmers, and then found out she was a half marathoner!

The miles in Golden Gate park started off fine. It was hillier than we thought--or it felt that way. It was very pretty and a nice break from the ocean fog. Around the 14th mile, my sister started to lag behind a bit. I asked her if my pace was too fast and she told me that I should keep setting the pace and that we will just keep catching up. If she needed me to slow down,
she'll speak up.

I should mention here that my sis tried and ate everything during the run (to this point), bananas, luna bars, power shots, you name it. I tried to tell her not to, but she can be very stubborn.

Mile 16 was bad. Sis really slowed down and I stopped and stretched so she could catch up. She said she felt naseauted and a bit dizzy. She decided to stop at the porta-poties to "sit awhile". So sis goes off to the port-a-pottie for some alone time. Meanwhile, I'm lathering on BioFreeze on both knees.

and we still have to run 10 more miles.......and we only have 14 minutes in "the bank".

PART II Coming Soon

T-Minus 21 Hours and Counting

2006-10-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

And we're so Punk Rock! Well, as much as Moms can be...........

We got matching hot pink tops for tomorrow's run. When I saw Sis on Wednesday she jokingly told me that we should dye our hair hot-pink! The more we thought about it (or didn't think) we thought it was a great idea. So, that night, after our 4 miler we both put in big chunky fushia highlights in our hair.

We both regretting not just doing the whole darn head (so I guess we're just partially punk-rock).

The goal here is to get noticed, yelled at, and to feel a bit sassy.

So now, I'm sitting here on the computer...blasting BECK, and trying to finish packing at the same time.

We leave for SF in about an hour.

I squeezed in 8 hours of sleep last night--but it was really hard. I don't have any expectations that I'll sleep well tonight.

I'll be thinking of everyone running Chicago tomorrow! Good luck to all of you.

Talk to you all on the flip-side!

Short Notice---Need a movie recommendation!!

2006-10-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

I know this is short notice, and I don't even know how many people will see this, but I want a good movie recommendation to watch tonight to get me PUMPED for the marathon.

I'll watch almost anything!

5 days and counting

2006-10-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's sooo close. Did an easy 3 miler today--actually, it was my first run since last Wednesday. I ran at a very good pace and felt pretty strong so I'm happy about that.

The Nike Marathon site has a virtual tour of the marathon. I have watched it like 20 times so far. I think I've memorized every DJ and Aid station.

Tomorrow, I'm going up to Sis' for our final 4 miler together before the marathon.

It almost doesn't feel real, ya know?

Almost There

2006-10-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

After spending the weekend convalescing and NOT running. I'm happy to report that today I'm feeling much improved.

I think I've beaten this thing down and am no longer worried that it's going to turn into a chest cold, or worse, bronchitis. I'm still going to take it easy today, don't want to rush back to anything too soon. I just plan to do some gentle yoga and maybe a tiny bit of yard work.

In other news, I got my registration card for the Marathon. They listed my bib # as 2234 and age 27! I took that as a extremely good omen. Sis' card had her # as 3358 and aged 49!
The next day we both received an apologetic email from Nike saying that some of the cards mailed out were incorrect (duh). As a result, I got a new bib number (a very boring number) and a corrected age (12 years older).

With 6 days and counting, the marathon still doesn't feel real to me yet. I don't think it will sink in until we're in SF on Saturday.

I hope I'm ready......

OH NO!

2006-10-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

Sniff...sniff.....

No, I'm not crying, that's the current condition of my nose. My throat feels like I swallowed a bunch of sandpaper, and I'm tired, run-down even.....

And this is 9 days before a marathon.

I'm not one of those folks that normally gets a slight cold. I'm afraid colds are my achilles heal. They almost always turn into a chest cold and then often end up with bronchitis.

But, it can't happen this time.

I'm downing vitamin C's like they're the main course of my supper. I'm drinking lots of fluids. I plan on being in bed by 9:00pm tonight.

It's still early in the game. I felt fine yesterday. Tomorrow will be the deciding day. Will my symptoms subside and maybe even just go away, or do I have a battle on my hands???

Who would've thought a 12 miler would be.....

2006-10-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

so easy???

We had a great run (but lazy run) yesterday. We did trail running so it was a lot of climbing and descending. We weren't very motivated..not after our great 20 miler--I didn't feel like I needed to work very hard at all.

I kinda like this tapering business!

Everytime I visit Nicole's blog my tummy does this crazy flip-flop. She's got the count-down to the Chicago marathon (same day as the Nike's Women) and I'm reminded once again how darn close the thing is.

How am I even going to force down my marathon breakfast that morning is beyond me.

Today, I'm actually motivated to clean my house. I've already cleaned the kitchen, laundry room, and swept the back patio. I love not being sore & tired on Sunday and actually have energy to get stuff done!

WE.........ARE...........SO............READY!!!

2006-10-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

Our 20 was great, fantastic, awesome!!!!!!

Sis was still getting over her cold and I felt a little tired from doing the 20 total miles during the week, so we didn't have really great expectations for the run.

We wanted to do our marathon pace (no more than 16 minutes per mile average) including bathroom, stretch breaks, and red light stop signals. That would bring us in at 5 hours 20 minutes. We wanted to see if we're going to actually be able to finish the damn thing on time--before they officially closed the marathon course (hypothetically).

And we blew our own expectations away!

When we reached the 16th mile, the Garmin was at 3 hours 52 minutes. I told sis that we could walk the last 4 miles and still get in under 5 hours.

And walk we did. Not because we really had to....but because we were enjoying it so much!

We came in at 4 hours 59 minutes and 12 seconds!!! Under 15 minute miles my friends, even with walking the last 4!!

We didn't have any pain at all. We were stiff, but we found that as long as we kept moving (running) or walking really, really fast, the stiffness went away. I think the last 4 miles were the most uncomfortable because we were slow....

OMG! We are so ready! We might even be able to do the marathon in 6 1/2 hours (don't want to put a goal here)...but it is possible!!

Now it's taper time.

Has it been a week already.....

2006-09-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

from my last post???

Time just vanishes when you're working, mothering, and running 36+ miles per week!

The 14 miler on Saturday, turned out to be a solo 11 mile run. Sis had a bad chest cold so she excused herself from the run. My knee started acting up a bit on me so I walked the last 2 miles and skipped the last 3 altogether. I substituted yoga instead for the 3--not really equal, but it was needed.

Actually, I'm doing quite a bit of (focusing on poses that work on the legs) over the last few weeks. Today I can happily report that I had not even a twinge of ITB pain on my hilly 6.5 miler today and I finished the route 10 minutes faster than my last PR!

I'm doing another 6 tomorrow and then resting up for the 20! on Saturday.

I'll post on Sunday (I'm promising) and let you all know how that went.

Cheers and happy running!

There are no bad hills...

2006-09-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

We did 18 miles on Saturday. Most of the running was done on trails at the local regional park. Sis wanted to stay close to home and the park offered water fountains and 'real' bathrooms (we could write a travel guide on the best porta-potties in Sonoma County at this point). The caveat to running in this park is that you can't go 50 yards without encountering a hill of some sort.

The first 3 miles weren't all that bad, we reasoned we'd walk the hills and run the rest.

Then a funny thing happened. We were running UP the hills too. I got this crazy boost of energy. My breathing felt good, my legs were strong, my mood was up up up. I had a Beck's "Summer Girl" stuck in my head (which has a great rhythm for running). Sis felt the same way (although she hates Beck).

At 10 miles we stopped at the bathroom and did the usual and refilled our water. I had some sports-beans too. I had the first bag around 6 miles (first time I actually ate while running...I just didn't want to stop). I just wanted to stay on this boost. I felt so energized I felt a bit like The Great Cornholio
Sis didn't know what to make of me.

The next 6 were uneventful. My legs started to tire, Sis started to really slow, so we took it easy (ie....walked or hiked a lot)

The last 2 miles we picked it up again and ran most of it. Not bothering with intervals, we just wanted to see if we could run. And we did!

With the crazy hills we did on this run we have convinced ourselves that this run was really like 22 miles. Don't really care what the reality is.....

We've got 14 on Saturday and I'm thinking we'll do the hills again.

Rice
is so right!!! There are no bad hills. Thank you for reminding me of that!

One Run

2006-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's funny how one single run can turn things around.

I've been feeling really burned out from running lately. I just can't find any mojo or energy to do it. I began to think that maybe I was running too many miles; that maybe this whole marathon thing was a bad idea.

I have to admit I slacked a lot on my runs lately. Either doing shorter runs than scheduled or doing a lot more walking just because I didn't feel like running.

But something happened on my run yesterday. I decided to do this 6.5 mile loop that goes through some pretty hilly (but very scenic and peaceful) areas. The run started off exactly like all my other ones have recently--all of those thoughts and feelings bubbling up. I don't want to do this, I'm too tired, I am really not cut out for this...you know, standard stuff. I bargained with myself that I as long as I did these miles I wouldn't run up any of those steep hills (aren't we always bargaining when it comes to running?). I just go to get these miles in.

What turned the run around, was for some reason I decided to run up one of the more steeper hills. Yeah, it was hard. Yeah, my heart rate was through the roof, but I did it. After conquering that hill, something changed. I finally felt I had energy...maybe I got a little of my mojo back. I don't know--but that run was the best one I've had in a few weeks.

Good thing too, because tomorrow we've got to do 18 freaking miles.

Oh lordy.........................

Losing It

2006-09-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

What a week. I realized almost 3 weeks too late that I somehow forgot to mail my rent check. When I went to call my landlord from my cellphone, I got a message that it was turned off for non-payment. I've been forgetting to pay my bills! This normally doesn't happen!

WTF???

Between work, my daughter back in school, and spending seemingly endless hours on the road--more things are slipping through the cracks, and the cracks are getting bigger.

This week I was supposed to run 4 miles on Tuesday, 8 on Wednesday, and 5 on Thursday. I did run the 4 miles on Tuesday, "ran" 5 miles on Wednesday, and skipped Wednesday altogether.

On top of this, I had my "husband" (God, I really don't know what to call him anymore...we've been separated for over a year) over for dinner yesterday--I guess his other "relationship" has become rocky--and now he wants to work on getting back together. This is after me giving him my blessing to seek other "relationships" months ago. How can one tell a crying man that you don't want any romantic relationship--I felt like if I said something that I would be kicking him when he is down.

Well...I'm actually looking forward to our 12 miler tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a nice, easy run and I'll be able to talk about this crap with sis. We do use our runs as a bit of a problem management session. It does make the miles pass a little quicker.....

16 miles--4 hours 4 minutes

2006-09-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty happy with Saturday's 16. My sis has been really worried about having to do the whole marathon, breaks and all in less 7 hours (16 minute miles). She really cranked it up for Saturday's run.

Instead of stopping the Garmin during potty breaks, long stretches, stop-lights, and even a long 5 minute stretch-powerbar eating brake, I just let the Garmin tick off the minutes. This is something I never did.

We started off with our standard 5 minute walk and then ran the first 3 1/2 miles before settling into our run/walk intervals. We decided to try doing Four/Twos instead of Three/Twos because sis found it really hard to transition so frequently. It worked well! We both actually found that it felt about the same or even a bit easier.

Around the 9th mile, I started feeling a bit stiff and started getting the ITB pain in both legs. The biofreeze helped quite a bit, but I really felt the pain around mile 12. I switched to Race-Walking. I remember a runner friend in high-school telling me that race-walking is all about the hips. I had still had lots and lots of hip action left so I put it in gear. Sis was slowing down at this point and I found that I could still race-walk at about 14 minute mile--with NO pain. Sis found that slow running was easier than race-walking so I just let her set the pace and I used my hips to keep up with her.

At the end of the run we both felt like we could go on longer--even maybe a lot longer.

We finished in 4 hours 4 minute...and like I said this included all the stretching, potty, and eating breaks--Just like a real marathon. Sis didn't realize that our walking breaks are pretty slow...like 19 minute miles (when she has her way). She vows to keep that in mind and walk a bit faster next week.

This week is a recovery week, so we'll be doing 12 on Saturday. We are going to do our 5 minute warm-up walk before we start our run and go around 4 or 5 miles before we slide into intervals. Depending on how we feel at that point, we may try doing Five/Twos.

I was only a little sore the next day and today I'm feeling great. I'll post my new ITB strategy next time.

Real Quick

2006-09-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

I mean, this post is going to be real quick

It's 7:14 AM and I'm supposed to be leaving at 7:30 to go up to sis' for our 16 and I'm still in my PJs. It's amazing how much this marathon training has taken over my life. The important things are still important, like parenting and work. But some things have been falling through.

Like housework, for instance.

My house is a complete mess. I couldn't even find a clean towel this morning. There are cobwebs everywhere (doesn't help I live in the country), I cringe every time I open the fridge.

I haven't mowed my lawn in over 2 weeks--my garden is overgrown and unloved.

I haven't picked up my mail from the post office in over a week.

But those things aren't a priority for me right now. This damn marathon is.

We "only" have 5 more runs that are over 12 miles then it's taper time. I think my house can wait until then......Thank god I don't have to worry about what the Mother-in-Law thinks anymore.

Scared to Death

2006-08-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

First off. The 15 miles went as well as can be expected. My ITB gave me little trouble and I felt pretty good. Sis did really well the first 8 miles or so, but really, really faded in the end. She was really slow. I kept having to stop and stretch while she caught up. She said she just didn't have anything in her legs.

All-in-All, it took us 3 hours 45 minutes (garmin was stopped during bathroom breaks too, so we're not counting that).

We're gonna pack some power bars in addition to the sport beans--we got pretty hungry and hope maybe that will help things. We were happy that we finished it and felt pretty good afterwards.

So...why am I scared to death?

I went to the Nike Women's marathon site today and now it's plastered all over that we have to finish the marathon within 7 hours. I thought we had 8 hours--I remember specifically reading that! I was really hoping we'd finish the marathon in 6 1/2 hours (including all the bathroom breaks etc) and that was going to be a push. And we still had an 1 1/2 hour buffer. We'd be able to finish the marathon within the time limit...easily....

But now?

I feel pretty comfortable with this time constraint, but I'm not sure if sis will be up for it. She's been slacking a bit on her weekly miles and she's just had a baby 4 months ago.....It's too late to switch to the 1/2 marathon...I don't know if we would even want to at this point. And I really don't want to run it at our own pace...we've been training together for 3 1/2 months now..so either we finish together or we both get the DNF and no tiffany bling.

Well....we have 2 months left....still lots of training to go....

Shhhhh! Don't Tell Anyone!

2006-08-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

I'm posting from Work!

The 10 miler was fine--It was actually our fastest per mile time ever! Sis had the idea of running slowly the first 3 miles before we started on our intervals to warm up our bodies. It worked well for us. I felt pretty energetic the entire run. We'll try it again Saturday and see if we get the same results.

My ITB started acting up again around mile 8--it didn't get very bad, but that twinge got me thinking that I really need to work on those strengthening exercises. I stretched really well after the run and felt no residual pain/soreness afterwards--so that's a good sign.

I'm doing 29 miles this week, including a 15 miler on Saturday. This is 5 miles more than what I've done. And it only gets worse from here.

I'm gonna order some Biofreeze today and carry it on my Saturday runs. A.Maria swears by the stuff.

The more I can feel prepared, the better!

Need Audio Book Suggestions!

2006-08-19T07:03:00.000-07:00

I'm almost done with my current audio book and for some reason I'm really at a loss on what to listen to yet. I LOVE to read and I'll read nearly anything. What I'm looking for is a good book that will work with listening on the run (sort of speak).

I book I'm finishing up right now is "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. I made it a resolution of sorts to read one "classic" every 6 months and why not combine this with running?

I understand now that 19th century books really don't work well with running. It's just way too much commentary.

So what have you?

Today is our 10 miler, then going to the hippy Solfest with a friend.

Should be fun.

The Vineman

2006-08-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

Our 13.1 miler was uneventful. We did the distance and my ITB wasn't nearly as bad as the week before. One word of note: Chalk Hill Road is the devil....Cambered surfaces like you wouldn't believe--no wonder I was in pain last week!

A funny thing happened during our run.

We saw bicylists...Hundreds of them....and they were racing...and they had numbers written on their arms.

The were riding the same route as we were running by coincidence (on our part). They were very friendly "morning ladies" they often shouted to us. They were encouraging "Good job". Once I was stopped and stretching, waiting for my sister to catch up when one gal encouraged me to "Keep Going".

And these guys were fit! OMG were they fit! I knew I was witnessing a tri--but didn't have any idea until I got back home that it was the full Vineman.

While I had showered, had a huge lunch out with sis, took an hour nap, the tri-athletes were still at it. I realised at 6:00pm that if I left my house then, I could drive to the finish and cheer on the athletes finishing around the 12 hour mark. Little did I know at the time that I would stay at the event cheering them on for over 3 hours!

It...was....incredible!

I saw a woman cross the finish-line into the arms of her husband and young children. It was her first Ironman and she finished 11th place women's overall. She just couldn't believe it. She laughed and cried and her family along with her.

I saw a guy complete the race, sat down on a chair to receive his metal and to get help getting his timing chip off, only to realise that he couldn't get back up. He couldn't stop shaking. He was carried to the medical tent.

I saw another gal cross the finish line doing a cartwheel!!!

I walked a 1/4 mile along the side of the course and met up with a man that had already finished the race and was looking for his wife. He asked me who I was waiting for. It was nearing 8:30 at this time over 14 hours since the tri began and most of the spectators have left. I told him I was waiting for no one, that I was just there to cheer people on. He just smiled and told me that he appreciates people like me that just come out for no other reason but to cheer strangers on and in the later hours....
His wife soon appeared down the road. Her husband took a couple of photos and then she started running faster calling back to her husband "He won't be able to catch her". "Ooh, Baby" was his reply.

It was getting late and I had to pick up my daughter at her friend's house. I told her about the tri and about those still coming in to finish in the dark and she wanted to go. So we went back, parked and walked near the finish. We cheered on a few finishers and my daughter looks at me,
and said..."I want to do this some day!".

We shall see.....

One thing is for sure though. I am going to volunteer to help out for next year's Vineman!

Feeling Better

2006-08-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you ALL for your great suggestions.

I spent the week nursing and stretching my ITB. I haven't had any pain to speak of since Tuesday. I did a gentle 3 mile run on Wednesday (scheduled 6 miles) with no problems, and did a 3 mile walk on Thursday. I skipped Tuesday's 3 miler altogether. This was a good time to take it easy. I was out of town for a work function for a couple of days (boy, these guys know how to party when they are out of town...and away from wives)--so I wasn't really feeling much like running anyways.

I've been pretty religously stretching, icing, ipubrofin'ing. The only thing that I haven't done was get new shoes---but I will this weekend.

So tomorrow's 13 miles--a 1/2 marathon. We are going to stick to flat roads for the most part. The only hills we might do is a soft trail run at a nearby park.

I'm carb loading tonight. I picked up linguini with red clam sauce with a nice salad at Cafe Citti (one of my favorite restaurants in my tiny town), and I'm enjoying my feast.

Wish me luck tomorrow!!

Stupid ITB! Why can't I Just Have a Great Run!

2006-08-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had to run 12 miles. The conditions were perfect. We were both well hydrated, nurished, rested from our vacation. The weather was very mild, and most importantly, we were motivated!

The first 5 miles were uneventful--actually I would call them great. We both were running very strong and faster than normal (about a 11:00 per mile pace) and we were pretty peppy during our walk periods too. I even remember thinking that there was nothing that I would be rather doing than running this 12 miles (except maybe being on a tropical vacation). I even commented that this might be our fastest, and strongest run yet! JINX!!

Around the 5th mile we had to climb this hellacious hill, that went okay, but the running down the hill seemed to go on and on (actually it was over a 1/2 mile according to the garmin). We both agreed that we would not try to run back up this hill as we didn't want to poop ourselves out for the remaining miles. At the 6th mile turnaround point, I started feeling a twinge and stiffness on the outside of my right knee.

I ignored it.

The twinge turned into a dull ache and would stop completely during our walking breaks. I tried to stop and do some stretching (touching my toes) and though it felt good, it really didn't do anything for the ache that began when I started running again.

We continued on...The dull ache turned into a mild pain......

Around the 10th mile (just 2 miles left) I started doing the marathon shuffle. My pace was no better than 13:30 per mile. The pain kept on coming and actually started to shift upwards to my hip.

The 11th mile was greated with a really sharp pain in the outside of the knee. I stopped running. I could still walk without pain so I just tried to "walk it out". We did one more 3 minute run (wobble) and finished the distance with walking....

The most frustrating thing about this run is that everything else felt great. I still had TONS of energy and motivation to keep running; sis did too. If it wasn't for this damn pain this would've been the BEST run ever. It turns out that our time was still great (about a 14:30 mile average) for us, but it just didn't feel great.

*SIGH*

After the run and shower, I felt pretty good. A little stiff but no knee/leg pain. Back home, I searched my running books and the internet and it appears that I have the beginnings of ITBS.

*SIGH*

I tried some of the stretching exercises and I definately felt the twinge again. I also found some
strengthening exercises too. I stupidly did them yesterday (leg lifts and such). Today my ITB is sore...from the running and the exercise. I'm trying to gently stretch it today and I'm also trying this self massage therapy that I found on Rainbow's Blog. I'm also taking 2400 mg of ibuprofin a day to get the inflamation down (if there is any). This all might be overkill for one occurance, but I don't want to take any chances.

Other things I'm gonna do:

1. Get a new pair of running shoes for my longer runs. I have about 300 miles on my present pair and maybe they are starting to break down. I'm also going have FleetFeet evaluate my gait on my mizunos and make sure that this is still the best kind for me.

2. Stretch after my runs. I never have before but I think this is way overdue.

3. Ask for advice from fellow running bloggers. Have you had ITB problems? What is your best advice for nipping this one in the bud???

Today is crosstraining day. I was thinking about doing some yoga, but I'm worried about over-stretching. Maybe I will just go on a lovely long walk.

Back to reality

2006-08-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

My trip to Colorado was nice. Lots of visiting, eating, and R&R.

True to my word, I gained 3 pounds on the trip. Too many late night eating binges with sis (we always get into to trouble like that)

It was very different traveling and living with 2 children under 3 years--I enjoyed them for sure, but I was also thankful that I am over that bit with raising younglings. My daughter made the best of her time there--even though I knew she would rather be home.

I swear my mom never appears to age. She's 67 and still looks great. Her key to youth is that she is VERY active. She's up at 5:30 every morning and after coffee and the internet (yes 21.6k connection still), she's out on her little ranch feeding the animals. She's always been extremely physically active. Not an exerciser, just a do'er.

And the running? Well, we did do all our scheduled miles and it was hard. Why you ask?

a) My mom lives surrounded by dirt roads that are not packed down well. Most of the time it felt like running on top of 2 inches of sand. The soil there is like dust--and very hard to run in.

b) It was also very windy most of the time. At worst, we were running against a 30 mile per hour headwind. We felt as though we were running in place. We were laughing at the absurdity of running in this wind.

c) Humidity. It was humid. Not used to that at all.

d) Hot. It was in the 90's most days. Although we tried to avoid the heat peak, the lack of shade and the reflective surfaces made us hot!

e) Rattlesnakes. Never saw one, but Mom gave us a stern lecture to watch for them on the road--we were always on guard

f) Scenery, or lack of one. It just all looks the same. The only thing that changed was the sky (which was pretty dramatic)--so I just kept focusing on the horizon.

g) Elevation. From 50ft above sea level to 4500. Don't know if it made a difference in our runs, but it did psychologically.

I did a 6 miler this morning (back home) and it was nice to be among the mountains and the trees. Can't say I ran the whole thing...Let's just call it a scenic stroll.

We've got 12 on Saturday. I'm trying to re-hydrate, re-nutritionalize myself for it. The weather promises to be mild and hopefully it will go just fine.

Can't wait to catch up on all your blogs!!

My Vacation Paradise!!!!

2006-07-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, Campo, Colorado! Smack Dab in the middle of the dust bowl. Population 150 (not counting the rattlesnakes, horny toads, and prairie dogs). Median income $20,000. Median house value
$19,300--I kid you not ! And I'm not even visiting Campo proper, but about 5 miles outside of town.

This is not pretty hilly, foresty, South Parky, Colorado, but Southeast Colorado, just North of Oklahoma....Gosh...got that "Oklahoma" song stuck in my head from that darn musical now.

I'm going to visit my Mom and step-Dad, and No! I didn't grow up there. My Mom had an internet romance about 10 years ago and married a man who has a homestead there. From Northern California to Campo. And she loves it there and her hubby--we all think he's great too. I do love them both tremendously and I'm happy to see them. I just wish he was from Maui.

I'm not going alone. I'm dragging (almost literally) my 16 year old daughter along. My marathon partner sister and her kids are coming too. The main reason for this visit is to introduce my 3 month old nephew to his grandparents (my mom claims she's too old to travel, but she's in perfect health and not yet 70). Sis and I plan to continue our marathon training there--and we'll get a little high-altitude training to boot.

Traveling should be interesting. We drive the gang to SF airport (1 3/4 hours away), fly into Colorado Springs, and then rent a car and drive 4 hours to Campo. My sis swears her 2 year old is a GREAT traveler. I'll let you know...

Although my mom does have a computer and internet connection, her connection is normally only 14.4k per second. You know like 56k modems...she's got one, but she also has horrible phone lines. You'll be lucky if you hear from me at all.

So what to at Mom's:
1. Watch satelite TV (she's one up on me here...I don't have cable tv...by choice)
2. Eat mom's meat n' potatoes cooking
3. Play dominos
4. Eat Schwan's (they deliver to my Mom's)
5. Read
6. Eat more
7. ride horses (if not too hot)
8. Eat 2nd supper
9. Marathon train
10. Eat lots and lots of ice cream (I'm bringing her a few jars of Fenton's fudge sauce)--I'm going off the wagon sugar-wise.
12. Wait for internet pages to load
13. Visit with family

Well you get the point.

Hey, if you happen to be in that part of Colorado look us up! Just ask anyone around (they're bound to be a cousin of my step-dad). Just ask them where the folks from California are visiting--they'll point you in the right direction.

Until next time..............................

Heat is not one of the secret ingredients

2006-07-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

The short version of yesterday's 10 miler--We did it but it wasn't pretty.

I told my sister Friday night that it was forcasted that the temps would reach 105 on Saturday and that we should start out by 7:00AM. Sis veto'd that. She's not an early riser. She said as long as we're out of the door by 8, we should be okay.

I arrived at my sis' house at a few minutes before 8, and she hadn't finished feeding the baby. Long story short, we left the house around 8:30, and it was already feeling warm.

We did everything the same as last week. We brought our camelbaks, sports beans, we were doing the same route that has lots and lots of shade in the middle miles. I was feeling pretty good at the start, my sister was sluggish. About a mile into the run she told me she "forgot" to drink her standard 2 cups of water before we set out, but was drinking from her camelbak to make up for it. I suggested that she eat a package of sports beans and maybe that will give her a pep too.

She just kept saying "nope, this isn't gonna be my day".

Around the 4 mile mark she sheepishly asked to use my cell phone. She drank all of her water and wanted to call my brother to bring us more. The Camelbak carries 48 oz of water and somehow she guzzled all of it before our half-way point. My brother (always a good sport) arrived and filled up both of our waters.

She was still slow. Around 4.75, we reached a really hurrendous hill (I still have to sync up the garmin to find out how steep it was). The proudest moment of this run, maybe even ANY run. Is we both "ran" the whole ugly thing.

At 6 miles my sister announced she was out of water again. Holy cow! 48 oz lasted us almost the entire 9 miler we did last week! I still had plenty of water so we just shared it until we got to a hose 1.5 miles from home.

I'm pretty sure the heat was in the low 90's on our last stretch. To make matters worse, it was pretty humid, which is something we're not used to in California. We were both slow at that point, doing the marathon shuffle at 8 miles. Heat will kill you. Every time.

But...we did do the distance, we kept to our 3/2 routine, so that's something to be proud of. We celebrated when we got back home with a good lunch, a nap in her air conditioned house, a good dinner and blackberry cobbler a la mode for dessert--I'm not eating excess sugar right now, but 10 miles is a milestone, right?

We had a record high of 111 in her town yesterday. It's 8:30AM now and it's already81 degrees. Yuck.

Next week is a recovery week, thank God for that, because we'll be running it in one of the most godforsaken places in the United States......Stay tuned......

Warm ups

2006-07-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

How do you guys warm up during runs? What works best for you?

One of the strongest runs I had recently (ok yesterday) was when I met up with my sister for a 5 miler and we started off doing 3/2's and when that was not a challenge anymore we just decided to run until we felt like stopping. Needless to say, we ran the last 3 miles without a break. It's not really that distance that's special, but the fact that we were both felt relaxed and really, really strong...Like it was easy (JINX). I know it takes a couple of miles before your body stops rebelling and gives in, but what y'all do until you get to that point?

I've read lots about the subject, but really want to hear it from the "real experts" out there.

Careful Speed Racers....It's Freaking Hot Outside!!

2006-07-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

It's 6:30pm at it's 96 freaking degrees outside! I don't have air conditioning, so I'm doing a white-trash, poor man's version. What's that? I got sprinklers going on my front lawn and there's finally a gentle breeze that's creating a very weak swamp cooler effect through my front door. Pitiful, huh?

I just looked at the national map, and I see it's hot EVERYWHERE in the USA. Global Warming?? Maybe Daughter and I will go see "An Inconvenient Truth" tonight...At least the theatre will be air conditioned.

Today is my rest day, but I'm thinking about all my running friends out there running in this shit. Please, please, be careful! Stay hydrated, and don't push it.

Here's hoping for some relief soon!!!

How to Bottle a Run

2006-07-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

I don't rightly understand it. How can some runs be so bad, and then a few days later, you have one of the best runs of your life?

We had to do 9 miles yesterday. We decided on a new route, on a country road that went for many miles, with lots of beautiful scenery and rolling gentle hills. I actually purchased 2 Camelbak Flashflows and packed them with a couple packets of JellyBelly Sports Beans (I just can stomach the thought of taking in the Gu--I am not one that really digs that consistency).

We started out shortly after 8:00AM. I think one of our problems in the past was that we went out too late and got zapped by the heat (and we weren't carrying water with us--yeah..we were pretty stupid). On our longest run of 7 miles we were both pretty wiped out without bringing any sort of water with us. There is a park with water available, but we only hit it our 1st and 6th mile......

Anyways...armed with a good breakfast, hydration system and sports beans we set off. I can't say that anything really profound happened. We started out really slow, walking the first 5 minutes and then doing 3/2 intervals. I felt pretty good for the first few miles and sis was dragging a bit and falling a little behind. I had to slow my naturally slow pace so she could keep up. At about 3 miles she had a package of sports beans. We were still doing fine at this point, but I was worried that my sis was losing steam.

Around the 4.5 mile turning point, my sis got her 2nd wind and was starting to do the pacing for us. We both got pretty chatty at that point and the miles just melted away. I've got the garmin set for intervals and it beeps for our rest periods. On our long runs, I'm always waiting and waiting for that darn beep to go off. On this run, it would beep and we would look at each other and wonder where the 3 minutes went.

At 7 miles, my sister told me she wasn't feeling challenged enough and maybe we should do four-one intervals. So we started running 4 minutes and walking 1 minute. Even then, I had to watch the garmin and we kept running over 4 minutes (like 4:30) before I notice that we should've started walking 30 seconds before.

It was almost surreal how easy it was--I didn't even say a loud or think "fuck me" the entire time! We came back to the house in great shape and hungry for a good lunch.

Later that day I took my daughter and friend to Berkeley to go clothes shopping. We must've walked 4 miles there too. I did start feeling sore towards the end of the day.

Today I feel a little sore, but overall I feel great.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm looking forward to our 10 mile next week. I don't know if it was one of those things that made that run so good or the fact that we were well hydrated, or had energy beans, and it wasn't really hot, or what.....If I could bottle the secret recipe of that run I would.

We won't change a thing for next week's 10 miler. Will we have the same result? Time will tell.

Spilled my Chi, Lost My Mojo

2006-07-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

So, I've been reading ChiRunning and went on my run last night with the intention of trying out ALL of the techniques. Never mind about just trying one or 2 at a time to get used to the concepts. Never mind the warm up exercises--I don't have time to hassle with that...I wanted to run!

So Run I did. There's a lot to remember with ChiRunning, and I'll describe what I tried to do:

Good posture: Head up, body straight, chest back so I can see my shoe laces if I looked down....

Deep breathing: Out for 3 steps, in for 2 (This actually feels natural to me)

Arms at 90 degree angles: Pump those arms behind you...Keep em bent.

Feet: Pick up your feet, like you have to step over a pole.

Stance: With your posture straight...Lean forward...This WILL propel you forward.

Muscles: Relaxed. Keep you calves feeling loosely goosey (and everything else for that matter)

Mind: Non-judging

Any guesses on what happened????

I lasted almost a mile until I notice my heart rate up around 90%. There's a photo in the book where the runner had an incorrect lean (bending at the waist) and the caption noted that she was losing her CHI.

Losing her CHI.

Instead of positive visualization or no-mind. I visualized my warm energized chi spilling all over the road with my bad posture! My precious energy gone.

And my MOJO too.

It turned out to be a lovely evening for a walk.

Lessons learned:
1. Follow the guidelines in the freaking book

2. Don't do too much at once.

3. Patience! Doing correct posture for 100 feet doesn't mean mastery!

Sunday's Boring Bits and Pieces

2006-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm reading the book CHI Running. I like the concept that running doesn't have to be hard and that we spend a lot of energy running inefficiently. Sounds like a great thing to learn. I plan to start trying the techniques on my runs next week.

That "race" I did on the 4th really took a toll on my runs on Wednesday and Thursday. I ended up walking a good portion of both of them. It was hard not to beat myself up about it.
Sis and I did a great 5 miles yesterday however, considering the temperature was about 90 degrees. We saw a Coyote off the road too. First time I've ever seen a coyote in the wild... WILD

Today is my cross training day and it's looking like it is going to be another HOT one. I'm thinking about going on a quick 40 minute hike and then finishing my cross training by doing some sorely needed yardwork before it gets too hot. Is mowing good cross training?

We're doing 19 miles next week including 9 miles on Saturday. I'm a little nervous. I think I'm more nervous the week we do 40 miles (including the 20 miler) than doing the actual marathon itself.

Hope you all have fab runs and a great week.

4th of July "Race" report....Me against the World...Part II

2006-07-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

So the 1st mile of my run was pretty uneventful. The pace felt faster than normal, but I was careful not to go out too fast only to run out of steam for the last part. The footraces already started so I looked like a lost straggler out there on that course.

My Garmin beeps. 1 mile 12:23. Not the fastest mile I've ever done (I think I grazed 11:59 once ), but I'll take it.

I soon heard the familair sound of a runner behind me. I turn and see a runner catching up to me.

"Hiya." He says "Run this route often?" I try to keep focused on my running, but can't help to notice this guy is cute. Is this a runner pickup line?

"Yep--sure do" I replied.

He is faster than me, but we run side by side for a minute or so. I keep up with him.

"So, does the 10k turn up here" Pointing to an approaching road with a steep incline.

"Yep" I reply again. Gosh, I wish I was more of a converstationalist on my runs. "But, I normally continue along this road where the hills aren't so bad."

"Well," He says "I think I'm going to give this hill a shot. Have a good run"

"Bye" I reply feebly, and once again I'm on my own.

Everything feels pretty good at this point--I feel myself running a little faster. Unfortunately, my heart monitor is doing something really funny today--either saying I'm at 225 or not reading a hear rate at all. Just as well, because I'm racing dammit!

I reach the half way point at 1.5 and turn back for home. I'm still doing fine. My breathing is getting a bit heavier, but my legs feel strong and my strides feel steady.

Things start to get tough at the 2 mile mark. Both brain and body start to revolt. My brain starts complaining "well you've just done a 2 mile PR, isn't that enough? It's a holiday for gosh sake. Give yourself a break and take a walk break." My breathing is getting more labored, it's an effort to keep up my mile 2 pace.

But still I run on.

My brain tells me, "no one knows you're doing this, no one is waiting for the results!" But I am, I answered back. Plus, this would make a nice post if I actually do this. And I would be so proud.

"Fuck me..." my brain says...over and over and over again.

Still I run on.

I pass a group of girls that have finished the race and are walking home. One of the girls has a shirt that said, "Pain is Temporary, but _________ lasts forever." I didn't catch the whole phrase. But that's my new cadence...

Pain is temporary, pain is temporary, pain is temporary......

1/2 mile to go, I rejoin the running course. Some 10K'er (10 mile pacers at this point) are doing their last 1/2 mile. And I run with them for a hundred feet--I try to draw from their energy....I plug on.

I turn off the main road towards my house. I look at the Garmin 2.80. Only .20 left to do...
Pain is temporary...fuck me....pain is temporary....fuck me....pain is temporary...

Garmin beeps at 3:00. Total time 35:15!

I "run" into the house and check all my 3 milers. My previous PR was 39:50! I beat it by over 4 1/2 minutes!
Here are my splits (negative splits!)

Mile 1 - 12:23
Mile 2 - 11:28
Mile 3 - 11:19

I can't say I invented slow, Jeanne stakes claim on that, but I'm really happy with these times. So maybe in a year or so........

4th of July "Race" report....Me against the World...Part I

2006-07-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking..."Hey, she didn't say nothing about running any race"

Well...up to about an hour and a half ago, I didn't know I was running one either.

The noise started early this morning--5:45AM to be exact. The sound of cars going slowly down my street. I live in a very small town with a population of about 1000, and on a very quiet street where I'm lucky to hear 1 car go by every 1/2 hour. One day a year the entire town gets taken over completely. By completely, I mean between 5000 and 10,000 people (many on Harley's) appear out of the abyss and congregate at a little quiet park 1 block away from my house.

For what you ask??

Well.....

You ready for this??

The World Pillow Fighting Championships!

Yes, you got that right. Here's a pic for the disbelievers....

I actually competed for a couple of years (on dares from friends and family). I stopped after one year, my opponents actually growled and snarled at me on that pole (and yes that's gross muddy water that we get the pleasure of being knocked into).

Anyways....before the pillowfights, the town hosts a 3 and 10K run that starts at 7:30AM sharp. Eager runners start showing up early...Today it was 5:45 AM!

They broadcastin from the sound stage at exactly 6:45 AM (I can hear every word from my backyard). A very unique warbling (warbling is what it was) of the Star Spangled Banner was presented at 7:00AM. Nothing compares to waking up to that, I tell you...but then I was already up at 6:00

At 7:00, I'm on the computer (just like I am now), looking up past race results for the 10k. I'm told it's a very fast run and very challenging (crazy hills). Last year...the last runner come in with a 14:30 average pace (we run/walk our long runs at this point). So, not unless I want to come in dead last, take 1 1/2 hours from my 4th of July prep, I would have to pass. I considered doing the 3K, but I'm supposed to do 3 miles today, and I had a hard time justifying paying a $25 entry fee to run 1.86 miles on a route that I run all the time.

Without having breakfast, I lace up my running shoes and strap on the Garmin. I decided to do my normal 3 mile route, but pretend that I'm in a race. There will be plenty of runners out there this morning (part of my run will be on the actual course, I will just run on the opposite side of the street), maybe I'll feel the spirit of the race (whatever the hell that means).

I'm doing this, because I really don't know how to race, or how to pace. My objective these last 4 months was to do the distance. I never cared very much about pace before. I usually run the 3 miles in around the mid-13 to close-to-14 minute pace. But that pace, is getting rather comfortable.......

So...what happens if I really push myself? What happens if I just keep on running even though my heart and body is begging me to stop? What kind of time would I get. Could I even do it??

OMG...the time! I'm supposed to be at Morton's in 45 minutes to reserve a bbq spot and I still have to pack and blow-dry my hair...

I'll post part II (The Race) later....

HAPPY 4th!!!

GUMBY Legs

2006-07-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

Our 7 miler yesterday went pretty well for the most part. We both felt our breathing and our heart rates were under control. It was hotter than we anticipated (about 85), but we were both sufficiently hydrated--although we both agreed that we needed some kind of hydration thingie now that we're doing longer runs. I'm looking at the waist mounted Camelbak
rather than a fuel belt where I have to mess with little bottles. Anyone have any opinions on this? I would LOVE to hear them.

Anyways....we did do a pretty hilly course, which felt pretty good going out, but coming back our legs starged feeling like gumby legs--rubbery and without much strength. I'm sure you have all endured this in your runs. So is this something that can be prevented, or something that will go away as we get stronger, or something that just happens no matter what shape you're in? Even after the run, just walking around the house was tiring on our legs.

Today my legs feel pretty good, I went on a 2 mile hike without issue.

Any words o' running wisdom is always appreciated!!!

Hold the Sugar....

2006-06-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

Partly inspired by Running Rabbit, I've decided to cut out any unneccesary sugar from my diet--for awhile at least. I hate to admit it, but I was probably eating at LEAST 150 calories of the stuff a day.

You see, I'm just not losing any weight. On top of that, while my clothes are fitting a little better, it's not really dramatic, and I've been running now steadily since March! Yeah, yeah...I know the bit about muscle weighs more than fat, but just not losing any weight is just not as satisfying...ya know???

I just want to get rid of this mini intertube of fat that has landed like a shelf on my lower belly...I can grab hold of the damn thing for gosh sake and I want it gone! Sis suggested stomach exercises....but I just can't stomach them....HAHAHA...I crack myself up sometimes.

I read in a magazine that to lose abdominal fat without any caloric change, you must run at least 20 miles a week...I'm at 16 miles this week...It will be few weeks until I'm there...and I'm getting impatient.

The jury is still out on whether I'm eating enough, but I know that I can cut out all this sugar. Sugar is bad for me, just ask my dentist!

I decided to start on Monday......This is what I have had to deny myself this week:

Monday---Homemade Chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies brought into work

Tuesday.....More homemade chocolate chip cookies made by Sis

Wednesday...Cute little fruity cheese cakes thingies AND Spree candies

Thursday....A 1 pound Hershey Bar with Almonds up for grabs at work!

Friday.....Bags and Bags of mini candy bars brought in by boss

I would be all over this stuff if it wasn't for my new resolution.

Don't know how long I'm gonna go this...Don't know if I'm gonna have free sweet days...but right now, it feels kinda good to abstain!

I'll let ya all know how this goes....

WHOA!!! Anyone seen this??

2006-06-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's a fluke, maybe it's a new fad that I wasn't aware of, but I even googled and haven't seen a trace of it.

In the last 5 days, I have seen 2 runners, TWO female runners....Running wearing........

TUBE TOPS

I mean, how can that work, unless your really, really teeny??

The first time I saw it, I was driving along with my daughter....course, I shouted something like "OMG! Do you see what she's running in?"

My daughter without skipping beat replied "Well, you want to run in a girlie short skirt."

It's not the same I tell ya, IT IS NOT THE SAME....right?

Then I saw another one today...An older woman (in great shape, I tell ya), running across the Golden Gate bridge, sporting a little black tuber.

So is this just some weird Northern California anomoly? Is it the beginning of the Apocalypse?Is there a cup size limit? Wot's the Deal?

I wish I took a pic!

Please enlighten me!

Saturday's Results

2006-06-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

Distance: 6 miles
Time: Slow, but the pace was 45 seconds faster per mile than last weekend
Average Heart rate: 137 (average hr last week 155)
Overall: WOOHOO...felt great.

I have to say that this "run" felt easy. Yeah, we stuck to doing 3/2 intervals, but ended up running some during the walking periods, especially during the last mile. LOVE those negative splits!

We decided to run this country road that goes out for miles and has really no through traffic. The road has a lot gently rolling hills, so we can say we did some hills, but nothing too steep--not like where we ran last week.

The stangest thing happened during that run--that's never, ever happened before. We did an out and back loop, and I remember looking at my Garmin at the 3 mile and turning back towards home. Sis and I got caught up talking about the being moms, contrasting with the way we were raised etc--standard stuff. I guess we got totally caught up in the conversation, because the next time I looked at the watch, it was at 4.45 miles! I have the Garmin set up on an interval workaround so it beeps and rings when the interval is complete, so I don't ever have to look at my watch, but I frequently do--I'm crazy that way.

Could it be that I ran 1.45 miles without even really knowing it??? That's just freaking awesome to me.

So about the Ice cream.....In Oakland, CA there is a place that's been there forever (ok since 1894), that has the best ice cream in the world, or at least the Bay Area. The name of this place, if you ever find your way to Oakland, is Fenton's Ice Creamery.

When we were kids my mom would take us there a couple times a year. It was always an event. A few times we even went there for dinner...not like we ordered real food, but ICE CREAM SUNDAES for dinner. It was heaven! And still is....

Sis and I still try to travel up at least 2x a year for a SUNDAE. Sometimes we couple the trip with going to Fairyland, the zoo, dropping off someone at the airport; and sometimes we just go for the ice cream. It's a tradition, and a good one.

Here's a pic of my sis' favorite sundae that she gets everytime we go...the Black & Tan.

I miss it already.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Wish us Luck! 6 Miler Part II

2006-06-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this, dressed in my finest running gear, eating a whole grain bagel (yumm), about ready to leave to meet my sister to conquer those 6 miles that KILLED us so horribly last week. Sis tells me that even her arms were sore (explain to me how that could happen).

Anyways...It's not quite 7:30 AM, it's a cool 60 degrees out there, I'm hydrated (NO alcohol for me yesterday, even with a "beer tasting" at work yesterday--work is an odd place), and in a great mood. We're gonna start out slow today three/twos and avoid steep hills.

This afternoon, Sis and I, my daughter, and her "kids" (she still freaks out when I talk about "her kids"--Makes her feel old apparently) are driving 60 miles to Oakland for......an ICE CREAM SUNDAE! Yeah, you heard right! We're gonna Fairyland too while we are there, but it's just an excuse to stop at our FAVORITE place in the world. Look at it this way....my 16 year old daughter, changed her Saturday plans to come with us today...and she got up at 7:00 AM!

I'll tell you all about the ice cream......er..... I mean our run tomorrow!!

CRAZY WEEK

2006-06-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

I wish I had one of those pictures with a funny man with those rolly "googly" eyes for my "crazy" pic, but I'm just way to tired, hot, and bothered, to be bothered.

I am really busy with work, and life in general this week. I haven't even read many of my regular blogs, and for that I feel really sad and a bit guilty.

Somehow life got in the way...ya know??

I do have stuff to tell you, so please be patient with me. Tomorrow promises to be calmer and I hope to catch up with you all and fill you in on all of my crazy, sordid, or just plain boring happenings.

But now, I'm just plain tired and I'm gonna hit the hay.

PS...

I did do all of my planned training miles...YAY!

Our Marathon Schedule????

2006-06-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

So Sis calls me late last night--almost past my bedtime.

"I've been thinking," She starts off "about our marathon schedule."

I Immediately thought about what we talked about earlier that day. I finally convinced her that we absolutely MUST spend the night in SF before Nike Marathon in October. Up until this point she wanted to drive up that morning (a 1 1/2 drive).

"So... we do Nike in October. And then we can do Avenue of the Giants marathon in May or San Diego in June." She starts giggling... Then December '07 we can do the Honolulu Marathon!!" Her voice is almost shrilling now. And giggling....my sister is now giggling uncontrollably.

"Have you been drinking?" I ask her.

"Not a drop." Says she.

"Well, let's just see what happens in October, first and then go from there"

I've read that you shouldn't really think about a SECOND marathon until you complete the first one, so I haven't brought up the possibility of a 2nd marathon with her yet.

Secretly, I must confess, I've been looking at 2nd marathon possibilities for a couple of months now. I have my eye on the rock n' roll marathon in San Diego next June.

So...Is it silly to think this way? Should we just stop the freaking planning and focus on October?

Bad Run. Bad, Evil, Run.

2006-06-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

The plan today was to do 6 miles. We would run for 3 minutes, walk for 2 and so on. We would avoid hills and we would have fun. We would also do the run early before it got very hot.

We should've stuck with our plans.

The last run we did together, we run 4, walked for 1 minute (4/1), etc. It was a 3 miler and a recovery week. I've been running 3 and 4 miles without walking breaks on my own--my sister is almost up to that stage as well. So what did we decide?

We would start with 4/2, go to Foothill park (hills), and play it by ear. Oh, and we also didn't start the run until 11:30AM.

Bad Idea.

The run started out fine, but as soon as we got to the park's trails, the weather turned HOT. We knew it was going to be hot today (mid 90s)--but there is something about trail running and the reflective surface (or something) of the adobe clay trails that just RADIATES heat.
I was dying a mile into it.

To complicate matters, we decided to go on some newer trails to increase the distance we would run in the park. My sister (who claimed she knew the trails well), would say "let's take this one , it's flat over that ridge" only to be faced with another dreaded hill and steeps ones at that.

My heart rate monitor showed my heart rate at about 167 bmp (which is roughly around 95% of max), and I started to feel a bit dizzy and thirsty. My skin felt prickly too.

At 2.5 miles (I can't believe we only did 2.5 miles at this point) we decided to leave the park and just run on the flat road. We stopped at the park entrance which has the only water fountain in the park and drank up. I was feeling a bit sick to my stomach at this point too and NOW finally understand how people can't just eat anything during runs.

We did the rest of the run on by our original plan of 3/2. And we were slow. I haven't even synched up the Garmin yet, but let's just say we were very slow. I think someone using a walker might have beaten us.

But...we did do the distance--which is always the goal. And we learned our lesson...And what's the lesson?

1. Don't be overly ambitious with a new distance
2. Gauge the weather, and plan appropriately
3. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

PS...I did get the ipod and have done a couple of runs to the book on tape. I want to give it a few more runs before I post my "review".