My Olympic Addiction and Need for a Half Marathon Goal

With the exception of the 17 miler I ran on Friday, my weekend was busy...busy watching the Olympics.  I think I have slept with the TV on since the opening ceremonies and I have been up late every night watching various sports. I said that I was only going to watch gymnastics and women/men marathon but I have been watching cycling, swimming, volleyball, etc. 

My heart aches for gymnast Jordyn Wieber! The poor girl missed the chance to compete in the all-around finals while 21 other girls who scored lower than her will compete!  That sucks especially when the girl is an all-around world champion! I am also wishing the best for Desiree Davila who is still undecided on whether or not she will compete in the Women's marathon. I hope she makes it to the start because she is my favorite!

So how is my running going? My left calf was sore again after my 17 mile run on Friday so I decided that it was time to take it easy and back off a little bit so I took the rest of the weekend off.  It felt better on Sunday morning but I got kind of nervous and decided that it just wasn't worth another run so I only managed to get 29.50 miles in last week. I was a little bummed that I had to pass on my Sunday run but couldn't even imagine another injury. Instead, I slept in and spent some time with my family. I am glad I played it smart.

The guilt from missing my Sunday run really got to me so I made up for it this morning. My legs were feeling good so I played it by how I felt and ended up doing 9 miles at an easy pace. I am starting to get nervous. The Disneyland Half Marathon is about a month away and I really want to run it feeling strong and pain-free. I still have not set a goal for this race. I have not been very good at setting race goals lately. I feel like it makes me put too much pressure on myself and I don't want to do that right now. My current Running Goal for a half marathon is to break 1:47 but I can't say that I am ready for that yet. My runs for the past two months have not shown me that I am capable of this goal so I cannot confidently say that I can pull it off. I will continue to work towards this goal.

So have you been watching the Olympics? What are your favorite sports to watch? Who is your pick for the Gold in the Women's Marathon?

Three Things Thursday

1. I just found out that the Color Me Rad 5K has a race location close to me!  I have reading all of the blog posts about how much fun this race is and I have been wanting to get in on the fun.  It will be at the Fontana Speedway on September 15th so I am thinking about signing up.  I think it will be a lot of fun and it's $38.00 until August 3rd. I see all of these fun races and I just want to sign up for all of them! I am thinking that we could make this a family run since I have also been trying to convince my daughter to run a 5K with me.

2. Good News!  My calves are pretty much pain free today!  I did not run the 7 miles that I had planned but instead cut it to 6.3 miles.  I was on the fence about whether or not I should run but my calves were so much better last night that I just went for it. The last 3.3 miles were the best part of my run 8:00, 7:30, and 7.30!

3. This weekend I will attempt a 17 mile run. I asked my other half to ride his bike and accompany me and carry my water. This will save me the hassle of having to hide water along my route. The first 6 miles of my route are all up hill so I am not really looking forward to this part of the run but I think I need to start incorporating a little bit more elevation into my runs. It is not really that bad at all but it will be challenging for me since I have been pretty much sticking to somewhat flatter roads. I do not have a planned pace in mind but just a goal of being able to complete the distance without pain. 

 

What are your plans for the weekend?  Got a long run on the "To Do List?"

My weekend starts today and dinner at Benihana is happening tonight since someone got their free birthday dinner certificate that need to be used by the end of the month!

A Good Kind of Pain

My calves have been really upset with me! I think I may have pushed them more than I should have but it sure felt good doing it. Let's see how this might have happened...15 miles on Sunday and then a nice 6 miler on Monday. I rested yesterday and spent the day in my CEP's even though they did not quite coordinate with my business attire dress code at work. I don't think anybody really noticed my socks since I spent lots of time in my office hiding out working for the most part.

I have been icing my calves, using my Stick and also using my TENS/EMS unit so I think I might be on my way to recovery. They are feeling better today and tonight I have 7 miles on deck.  My last two runs went better than expected so it's kind of hard to pass up a planned run when everything feels so right. I guess I will see how I feel tonight and make an executive decision. I know that I have to be careful...

This is kind of unrelated but I am loving this bag from Lululemon right now. My friend Shawna brought it to work and gave it to me because she had an extra one. It was kind of exciting to get my hands on this bag without having to drop my life savings on a cute running outfit! 

Are you a Lululemon fan?

 If you have never shopped there it is best that you don't even start because it can be pretty addicting.  I made the mistake of signing up to receive their Tuesday morning lulu-grams that tempt you with all of the new stuff for the week!

Weekend Update, Puppies and a Spider!

I had a three day weekend and it was pretty nice. I was really lacking on sleep last week and I was feeling pretty beat by the end of the week. I slept until 7am on Saturday which is something that I rarely do.  My internal alarm clock, as well as my dogs, never fails to go off on the weekends!  The dogs never fail to start barking at 4am to eat breakfast! They love to eat!

My son really wanted to see Batman this weekend but after the horrible events that took place in Aurora, Colorado I didn't really feel like going anymore. I feel really bad for all of those people and their families. I just could not make any sense of it over the weekend.  It was just so bad watching all of those people hurting over what had taken place. Why do things like that have to happen??

I put my long run off until Sunday because I just did not have the energy to do it on Friday or Saturday. I went out for a run on Friday morning and I did not feel 100% and turned around and went back home.  I was only able to get 7.3 miles in before I had to call it a day. It was warm out at 6am and it was not just not my day!  I mapped out a new route to try on Saturday and I almost ran through this!  

I guess this is not a very popular route if this guy was able to build this masterpiece! I was kind of done at this point because I don't like spiders! I kept thinking that something was crawling on me after seeing this guy.

My puppies turned 7 weeks old on Saturday and are getting cuter, smarter and all of those good things. They are doing everything on their own but they just can't seem to get enough of their mama. They still cry to nurse with her and chase her down until she gives in so we are still letting them nurse once or twice a day.  Other than that, they eat and drink water on their own.  

The pups are pretty good about understanding the whole "go potty on the puppy pad" thing but once in a while they push their luck and poop somewhere that they shouldn't like in their own water bowl!  

My 15 mile run did happen on Sunday! I headed out at 5:45am and just went for it nice and easy with a goal pace of around 8:50-9:00. The weather is just too warm for me to push for anything more than that so my focus was more on building my endurance and not so much on my pace.

After my run, we headed over to my sisters apartment and had a BBQ and relaxed by the pool. I closed out my week with 36.34 miles and will be shooting for a 17 mile run next week. I am excited and nervous all at the same time! I am making progress and that always brings a smile to my face :) I still haven't bought that helmet to start riding my bike but it is going to happen soon. I need to start incorporating some cross training into my running schedule to get me ready for Surf City in February!

How was your weekend?  Did you go for a long run? Did you race?

Three Things Thursday

1. I am still on the hunt for the perfect running shoe.  I recently tried the Mizuno Wave Rider 15's and I love them.  Most of the girls on my Ragnar Team wear Nike Lunar Eclipse and have ranting and raving about them so I decided to give them a try.  They retail for about $130.00 but were on sale for $89.90 at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.  If you have a Nordstrom credit card, you get early access to the sale items before the sale opens to the public on July 20th.  I didn't have a Nordstrom Visa but I applied for one so now I do! I didn't really want to do that but I wanted to get the shoes now versus later. They are really comfortable and I took them for a trial run on Monday and really liked the way they fit and they are super cushiony.

2. I have been considering a race that my friend Caroline who blogs over at Canadian Runner in Exile told me about.  Caroline has ran all of the local races and she gives me the best advise on which ones are good and the ones that are not so good. I am considering signing up for the Girls on the Go 10K since it is a local race and the course is in a familiar place where I love to do lots of my long runs when I am training for a marathon. I like that the race is "planned with the woman in mind" and everything about it is just really girly.

 

 3. Can you believe that I bought a road bike about a month ago and I still haven't taken it out for a ride? My biggest problem is that I need a helmet so I think I will buy one this weekend and actually ride the darn bike! I think I am kind of nervous about riding it too. I live in a gated community so it might not be a bad idea for me to familiarize myself with the bike before I take it out on the road!

  

So are you thinking about signing up for any races? I heard that the Big Sur Marathon sold out in 26.2 hours!  How cool is that?

FORUDAD

This past February I was really looking forward to running the Surf City Marathon. I felt that I had trained properly and that there was a good chance that I could pull off a sub four finish (3:59:59 was all I was hoping for.) Then the whole injury thing happened and all bets were off! The Surf City marathon folks were nice enough to allow me to defer my registration to 2013 and I finally registered today.

I guess I will be running a marathon in February, 2013 if everything falls into place. This marathon will be a little different because I will be running it in honor of my Dad who is battling cancer. Although he is still here with me, I want to dedicate this race to him and allow his courage and strength to carry me through those last 6 miles where I always seem to fall apart. I hate those last six miles and wish a marathon was only 20 miles! Don't you?

I usually put my first name on my race bib when personalization is an option but this race bib will be different. My bib will read "FORUDAD." My goal will once again be to break four hours, even if it's 3:59:59. If I succeed I will have accomplished something more meaningful than any other race I have ever ran before. This race is perfect for me since I have plenty of time to train and slowly build myself up to the proper mileage.

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU DAD! HANG IN THERE AND I WILL BE RUNNING MY HEART OUT FOR YOU! I KNOW THE PAIN OF A MARATHON IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT YOU FIGHT EVERY SINGLE DAY OF YOUR LIFE!

Weekly Recap, Fro-Yo and Ice Cream!

Happy Monday Everybody!!  
This weekend seemed to fly by so quickly and now it's back to work for me!

I had another decent week and things are continuing to improve. It was another 31 mile week, (31.62) to be exact, and each run was decent. Not fast, not slow, but just right where I need to be. I went for a 13.12 mile run on Saturday morning. I had planned on 13 miles but you know how us runners just have to push for that extra .10 for some reason or another. The sun was out and it was already 70 degrees when I left my house at 6am. I was sweating the entire time but it was a great workout and the longest distance I have ran just for the heck of it.

I am going to shoot for a 15 miles long run this week if I am able.  I am anxious to see if I can do it. The current plan is to increase my mileage as much as I can and see how my body tolerates it. Getting back into running since my injury has been somewhat of a challenge since I don't want to re-injure myself so "easy does it."

After my long run on Saturday, I treated myself to Yogurtland because I felt that I deserved it or maybe that was just an excuse to go. They had so many new and yummy flavors and I sampled each and every one of them.  They were all so good and I topped mine off with a ton of almonds just the way I like it!  I didn't take a picture of my bowl because I was so anxious to eat it that I forgot!

I heard that it was National Ice Cream Day yesterday?  Did you celebrate and get your ice cream? I planned on it but ate too much lunch and couldn't make room for it.

What is your longest scheduled run for this week?

Something New to Try

If you have been following my blog since my injury (yes, those dark and lonely days) then you may remember how I swore by the electrotherapy treatment that I was receiving in the end of my PT. The first five weeks of my physical therapy involved ultrasound therapy and it did absolutely nothing for me! It was frustrating! I wish I had started with the electrotherapy so that my healing process would have been a lot shorter. The good news is that I am now able to run pain free or else I would not be running. I know better now. Believe me! I do have some discomfort after my long runs but I think it may just be the normal soreness that is experienced after a long run. I say this because the pain goes away versus pain that lingers and gets worse like when I was injured. Big difference!! I decided to purchase a unit to try at home to help me with recovery and also for pain if I need it.  

It is a combo unit and can be used as an EMS (electrical muscle stimulator) or a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator).  The TENS unit is more for controlling pain while the muscle stimulator helps with muscle strength and recovery. I looked at some units that ranged from $400-$1000 and just could not afford something that expensive. I ended up purchasing a less expensive model that had really good reviews on the website. 

I have been busy reading up on it and figuring out how to use it and will definitely be trying it out after my long run this weekend. Hopefully it is beneficial for me and the results are positive.

Have you ever tried a TENS/EMS unit? Did you have positive results?

Happy Friday!

Or should I be saying Happy Friday the 13th?  For some reason Friday the 13th makes me feel like I should be very cautious! When I drove out of my garage at 4:30am to head to work, there was a black cat sitting on my front lawn. Great! I guess I am feeling a little superstitious today.  

I don't have any big plans for the weekend, but I am excited about my long 13 mile run that I have planned! This will be the longest distance that I will attempt since my half marathon on May 6th so I am kind of excited about it.  Other than my long run, I have lots of small things that I need to get done like haircuts for the boys, Costco shopping and dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant tonight. I can hardly wait!

If you haven't heard, Starbucks is giving away Free Refreshers today from Noon-3pm.  I tried a sample of the Very Berry Hibiscus and it was pretty good. I really enjoyed the blackberries they put into it!  Stop by and pick one up today to beat the heat. I know I will be getting one!

Have a Great Weekend!

Any long runs on the agenda this weekend?  

The weather has been pretty crazy this week in Southern California so I am looking forward to an early morning long run that does not include the treadmill!

Wordless Wednesday

Puppy Update: Five Weeks Old and a Weekly Recap

The puppies are doing great and are now five weeks old! They are so cute and they are now responding to our voices.  When I stand at the opening of their little home and they all come running to me. They love to lick me and they all want to be held and loved. They cry until it is their turn to be picked up and hugged and loved. They love to play with one another and sometimes things get a little out of control in there. Brownie even figured out how to get out of the caged area yesterday!

They love to play with one another and sometimes things get a little out of control in there. Brownie even figured out how to get out of the caged area yesterday!These pups are pretty smart too. They actually step out of their bed and use the bathroom on the puppy pads. I am not sure how they learned this but all four of them know how to do it! We bought them some toys to see if they would play and they love their toys.

They are still learning how to eat and prefer to drink from mama but they are getting too big for her to feed 100% of the time since they are all almost 3 pounds.  They are getting the hang of it and should be weaned from their mama really soon. They get their nails trimmed every week and they don't really like it but I have to do it so that they do not scratch Sugar when they are nursing.

I don't have homes for any of them yet but we are still working on it. I really want to make sure that they go to good homes that will keep them as inside pets. These little pups are used to a warm, clean bed and lots of love and attention so if they can't continue to get that in a new home then they can't leave mine! My family thinks that I am going to try to keep them all but I am not. I can't! I just want to place them in good homes with responsible owners who can give them the proper care and love. I am happy to say that most of the bloggers who are pet owners show an amazing amount of love for their pets and I really admire them for it! 

                                                                 Weekly Recap

My running is continuing to get better and better. Slowly but surely I will be where I want to be. I am in no big rush but am just happy to be back in the 8:XX pace range again and running pain free. I made some progress this week and logged 31 miles and I am happy with that. My challenge for the week will be planning my runs around this heat! I guess it's a week for the dreadmill!

Less than two months until the Disneyland Half Marathon! 

My Dad's Results and Some Motivation

I mentioned last week that my Dad was due to have a scan to check the status of his cancer.  I knew that he would get the results today so I called him on my way home from work to find out if he had heard anything.  It is a chemo week for him so he is usually really nauseous and not feeling so well so I planned to keep it short.

I could tell by the sound of his voice that the results were favorable but sometimes my Dad is hard to read because he tries to stay as positive as possible. He told me that his doctor said that things looked really good and to live his life and do whatever he wants to do. Unfortunately the cancer is still there but has not spread, his organs are healthy, yet the cancer has not gotten any better. That is good news but not necessarily the news that I was hoping to hear. My Dad said that he is grateful and was happy with the news. 

The news brightened my evening and I headed to the gym to get an easy 4 four mile run in on the treadmill since it was still 100 degrees at 5pm!  I thought of my Dad the whole time and 4 miles became 7! 

Average pace of 8:15-I will take that for a Monday!

A huge thank you to everyone who sent my Dad well wishes and kept us in your prayers.  The power of prayer is amazing!

Ragnar So.Cal 2013!!

After following all of the Ragnar Relay teams this past April and reading all of the blog posts, I decided that I really wanted to do this because it looked like a lot of fun! I recently added Ragnar So. Cal to my Running Bucket List and then I got an invitation to be part of a team a couple of weeks ago. I immediately accepted and I am really excited about it. I really want to be part of this team to have fun and for the experience and I don't really care if we win or what place the team comes in. 

The 12 member team met for the first time on Saturday. Most of us do not know each other so it gave us the opportunity to meet and get to know a little bit about each other. Everyone seems really excited and enthusiastic about it.  If everyone stays committed, we have a team of 9 women and 3 men and want to register by the end of the month. I think I am the oldest woman on the team by a few years but I think I can hang with the younger ones! The youngest member of our team is 16 years old and runs 5:30-6:00 minute miles!  He is pretty speedy!! Right before our meeting he ran 10 miles at 6:30!

Everyone came to the meeting with an idea of what Runner they wanted to be and I am going to be Runner 3.  I will run Legs 3, 15 and 27 for a total of 19 miles.  Two of the legs are in the class of  "Moderate" and one is classified as "Very Hard." I think I can handle it :)

Most of the girls on the team are running the Long Beach Half Marathon as preparation for Ragnar. I have this race on my radar as well but I am not decided on whether I will run the half or the full. I really want to run the full but I am not sure if I will be ready for it this October! I am still working on getting my mileage back up and will not be able to train like I really need to.

I am excited but nervous all at the same time. I am looking for any good information to help my team be "RAGNAR READY!"  Only one member of the team has ran the Ragnar Relay in the past and the rest of us are first timers!!

Any Ragnar Relay veterans out there? Any advise or tips you would like to share with a team of virgin Ragnar Runners?

A Beach Trip for a Birthday!

Yesterday was my other half's birthday so we decided to load up the car and spend the day at the beach! I made sure that we had everything packed and didn't forget the important stuff like the kids and my running shoes! We usually take a small trip away to celebrate our birthdays but since we have the puppies we could not this year.

I went on an easy 5 mile run before I enjoyed some family time. The weather was overcast and about 60 degrees.  It was cool but I still worked up a good sweat.  It was nice to have a change in scenery and I really enjoyed myself! Huntington Beach has a really nice bike path and it was pretty busy with runners, walkers, people riding their bikes and lots of people just walking their dogs. Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City, is home to the Surf City Marathon/Half Marathon which takes place every year on Super Bowl Sunday.  

The beach toys somehow got left behind so the kids played in the water, walked on the pier and they even had the chance the sit in a police car.  Overall they really had a good time and worked up quite an appetite!

My daughter and I spend most of the day laying on the sand and reading magazines.  At some point we fell asleep and I think I forgot to put sunscreen on my tummy and I am now paying for it. I have a big red stripe across my stomach!

Today is also an exciting day as I may have a chance to participate in an event that is on my Running Bucket List. 

 Have a great weekend!

Three Things Thursday

1. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.  My family and I had a great time.  We ate a lot of junk good food, set off lots of fireworks and the kids did lots of swimming and had a great time forming a conga line in the jacuzzi!

2.  I went for a 12 mile run to kick off my 4th of July and I think I am loving my new Mizuno Wave Rider 15's! I finally caught a break from the hot weather and I really enjoyed my run. My Wave Rider's are so light, very comfortable and they provide just the right amount of support for my feet. I have only ran in them twice but my past experience with trying new shoes shows that the next day is a good indicator of whether or not they will work for me. I am not in love with the color I bought but I have been looking at the different colors Mizuno offers and now I want another pair!

3. I drive a Prius so unless you drive a clean air vehicle you might not understand why I am loving these parking spaces that are located in a busy shopping center near my house. I just pull right in and don't have to waste any time looking for a parking spot!

These parking spaces are actually closer than the handicapped parking and I do get annoyed when non-clean air vehicles park in "my" spaces! I have also seen special parking spaces designated for expectant moms, which I think is pretty cool too!  Is it weird that I am a runner yet I am excited about getting a parking space that cuts down on my walking??  I feel kind of lazy parking in these spaces but I do it anyway!

How was your 4th of July? Do you drive a clean air vehicle? Do you have any specially designated parking areas like the "Clean Air Vehicle" or "Expectant Mom" spaces where you live?

South Carolina Bound and a Weekly Recap

I will be packing up my bags and heading out to South Carolina for a few days in mid August. It will be just me and my niece since we have a house full of puppies and cannot leave them alone. I asked my son if he wanted to come along but he did not want to leave his Daddy behind. My sister and her family are now residing in Charleston and I have not seen them since January. My brother-in-law is in the Navy so this is where they are calling home for the next couple of years. We are hopeful that once he finishes school they will be able to move closer to California so that we can see them more often. 

My niece is here visiting and we will be flying to South Carolina together so that she does not have to fly back home alone. I am also excited to see my nephew who just celebrated his first birthday. Jazzy, the family Pitbull Yorkie may or may not be excited about my presence so hopefully I come back home in one piece! She is only four pounds but swears that she is ten times her size!

Last night I was busy searching  for a race to squeeze in while I am in South Carolina but no such luck. I was only able to find triathlons and I am not ready for that yet. I am still very excited to go for a couple of runs while I am there since I enjoy the change of scenery and running in new places. I have heard that South Carolina is a beautiful place so I am looking forward to visiting a state that I have never experienced.  I am a California girl at heart but I do enjoy visiting new places.

Weekly Recap: I had a good week.  I finally ran 100 miles in the month of June!  I have not seen a decent month since December due to my injury.  I am slowly increasing my mileage and hoping to return to better days again.  

I ran 25.55 miles last week and I had a great long run on Saturday with an average pace of 8:19.  The warm weather does not make it all that enjoyable but I guess I will get used to it . When the sun is out, 61 degrees feels like 80 degrees to me! I have been avoiding the treadmill this week for some reason that I can't seem to explain. 

Any ideas of fun things to do, or places to visit while in South Carolina?