My Birthday and Why I Am Not Working

I think I forgot to mention that I have not been to work for approximately eleven days. Well, apparently I have too much vacation time at work so I keep getting these use it or lose it letters from Human Resources. I have the option of cashing the vacation out but I didn't really want to do that since I might end up signing up for a 1000 races instead of putting the money in my savings like I should. The haven't been to work since August 28th. My son started school on September 3rd so I spent the week getting him ready for junior high. I also had to attend some meetings so I figured I should just take the days off instead of trying to rush to and from work.

Initially I thought I would be spending the time off getting ready for my birthday race but that didn't happen and if you didn't see why you can read all about it HERE. I heard that the course was not the most scenic and the weather was a little warm so that makes me feel a little bit better about missing it. I will be running it a year from now so we will see how I feel about it.

I also went for a run with my friend to pay tribute to her husband who took his life a year ago. He was cremated but we went for a walk up to the spot where he took his life. The view was so beautiful and peaceful. It was a tough day for my friend and her son so I am glad that I was there with her to help her find some peace in this whole situation.

I have also been busy celebrating my birthday. I think I have been celebrating for the past two weeks. My dear friend took me out to dinner and bought me the cutest running outfit ever. She is just too good to me.

My friends also planned a little get together for me and we had a great time. These girls really know how to make me laugh. It is never a dull moment with them. I don't drink but they made sure to have a drink for me. 

My favorite part of the day was the cake. This cake from The Cheesecake Factory was big enough to feed an army. I got my workout in by just carrying it. It was rich but man was it delicious!

I also enjoyed a birthday celebration with my family. They also spoiled me with lots of gifts. They are the ones who keep me going through it all. We were so busy talking that we forgot to take a picture together..oops!

Other than that I have been taking it easy and I did run a little bit this week. I have kept my runs pretty short and the pace has been pretty darn easy too. My hip is a whole a lot better but I have been taking good care of it this week because I really need to get back into it soon. I stepped on the scale since I have not been running and I gained 1.5 pounds so I am glad that the birthday binge eating  is done and over!

I did go for a run on my birthday because I just had to and I didn't get too carried away. I ran the first 7 miles with my other half and then I did some miles alone. Please don't try to guess my age by the numbers on my Garmin.

Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes on Facebook and Instagram and for all of the love and support you provided when I had to add the Ventura Marathon to the DNS list! Love you all! 

How is your training going? 

What was the highlight of your week?

12 Weeks From Now and an 80 Minute Plank

Guess what happens 12 weeks from now? It will be my birthday. I am old so I don't really look forward to birthday's anymore but I am actually looking forward to my birthday this year. I started running in the end of 2010 and since then I have never found a local race that takes place on my birthday. I have always wanted to run a race on my birthday and this year it is actually going to happen. What a great way to torture myself on my birthday, right?

I signed up for the full marathon since it was only $70.00 but I am leaving the option of running the half open as well. I want to enjoy the race and not pressure myself too much on my birthday but the other voice in my head has other ideas that I am ignoring at the moment. The thought of a Birthday BQ would be awesome but I don't want to be sad on my birthday if it doesn't happen. Registration for Boston 2015 starts the day after my birthday  so it would make perfect sense to get with it but I am not committing to anything at this point. It makes me nervous to just think about it.

In any case, my training has been aimed at the marathon. September is known to be a hot month here in Southern California so if the forecast is pointing at a hot day I will most likely run the half and then start looking for a fall marathon to run in October or November. I don't do well in the heat. I am not sure how I survived the LA Marathon earlier this year. I just remember it was not pretty and not wanting to ever do it again.

I don't think I mentioned this but I have been kind of challenging myself with planks lately. I am not following any kind of plank challenge or anything like that. i am just doing my own thing. I just try to add 10 seconds every to my record each time. When I first started I think I could hold it for 1:20 and within a week I was up to 2:40. I am kind of proud of myself. I don't really have a goal but I hope I can hold one for 3-4 minutes within a couple of weeks. 

Did you hear about the 16-year old girl from Boulder,Colorado who held a plank for one hour, 20 minutes and five seconds and earned her way into the Guinness Book of World Records? I have some serious work to do if I want to catch up to her!

Source

 Have you ever ran a race on your birthday?

What is your record for a plank?

Miles for Meg and a Birthday Celebration

When bad news strikes the running world it hits home for all of us. It makes me feel so bad that these terrible things happen to people who are doing something that they love. It is just sad that there are so many irresponsible people in this world that make mistakes that change the lives of innocent people. Hopefully everyone was able to get some miles in for Meg this weekend. I was not able to get my miles in until Sunday and I had a great run.

This past week I attended a conference in San Diego so it was hard to get my runs in. I saw lots of runners out there but I did not have the chance to get out there and join them. I was pretty jealous but since I was pretty busy with work stuff I had to get my miles in at the end of the day. The view from my room was amazing. I think I could get used to it!

I ended up on the treadmill most of the week but did manage a couple of runs outdoors. I ended my week with 38 miles and I am pretty happy with that. So far I am at 100 miles for the month. It looks like it's going to be a good month for me.

My son also celebrated his 12th birthday on Saturday so most of my weekend was dedicated to him. He kind of made me promise not to run on Saturday so that I could spend some time with him. He has never asked me to do this before so I agreed to do it. We are going to have a birthday party for him in a couple of weeks since I found a great deal on Groupon for 50% off of a weekend party at his favorite trampoline place! SCORE! We took him out to dinner for his birthday and he invited a friend from school. We had a good time and ate way too much as usual. His sister gave him a bottle of money for his birthday and he was really excited about it! I thought it was such a great gift idea. I think she found it on Pinterest.

LA Marathon is just 7 weeks away and I am definitely not feeling ready. I think I need to get a couple of 20 milers under my belt before my confidence level starts to rise. Next weeks plans include a 20 mile long run. I wish I had somebody to run it with because 20 milers are tough and they kick my %&#@!!!

How was your week?

Anybody run Tinkerbell, Arizona R&R, or Carlsbad this weekend?

I was jealous of all of the runners on Instagram but after running two back to back half marathons I think I am good for now :)

Citrus Heritage Half Marathon: 1/11/14

This was an inaugural race and half marathon #17 for me! I am always a sucker for inaugural races but that is not the main reason why I chose to run this race. I chose it because I wanted to celebrate Caroline's 45th birthday by doing one of the things that we both love...RUNNING of course! 

Not only was it an inaugural race but it was pretty close to home. No hotel needed and same day bib pick up which is always a plus! My other friend Megan also registered for the race so I had to do it! My only hopes for this race was NO WIND! Last week's half marathon was pretty crazy with the strong headwinds!

We arrived for bib pick up around 7:00 am and there was no line at all. They gave out long sleeve tech shirts to the half marathoners which was pretty nice. Since the race started in a park, they actually had real bathrooms. There were no lines, they were clean and they even had toilet paper! 

I met up with Caroline, Megan and Suzanne shortly before the start and we made Caroline wear a "Another Year of Fabulous" sash since it was her 45th birthday and her 25th half marathon. Pretty impressive woman if you ask me!

The national anthem was sang and then we were off. I was thinking that I was running a fast and flat course but not so much.

After last week's windy race, I was hoping that I would be able to run a better race this week since the weather conditions were much better. This race I did something that I have never done before and it was pretty hard for me. I ran this race by feel. I did wear my Garmin but I set it to distance only and never checked my pace. 

I really liked the course. It started at Arlington Heights Sports Park and then took the runners through Citrus State Historic Park and through the orange grove areas of Riverside. It was not an easy course for me but it was very pretty and mixed things up. There were times when we were running on asphalt, then on dirt and mud through the orange groves, then on trail, then rolling hills, and then some flat surfaces. The uphill parts of the course were not brutal but the uphill finish was. That was a first for me!

I started out faster than I should have but since I was not looking at my watch I had no idea. I am really bad at knowing my pace without looking at my Garmin. I kind of felt that I was pushing it a little too much for the first mile so I slowed down a bit. I am glad I did.

Mile 1: 7:51
Mile 2: 8:15
Mile 3: 8:16
Mile 4: 8:14

I met another runner on the course around Mile 5 by the name of Norm and we started chatting about running. I stayed with him until Mile 8 and then he took off and left me on the downhill mile. He was a little bit older than me but swore we were in the same age group! Norm's best half marathon time is 1:39 so obviously I could not hang with him for very long! I don't think he was wearing a GPS watch because he kept asking me what pace we were running and I had to keep reminding him that I was not looking at my pace. Miles 5-8 were the hardest since they were not flat and they just kept gradually climbing so I am glad that I had some company.

Mile 5: 8:37
Mile 6: 8:23
Mile 7: 8:56 
Mile 8: 8:55 

GU was handed out at Mile 8 which was the end of the slow uphill climb. I think I backed off way too much on Miles 7 and 8 and had I looked at my Garmin this probably would not have happened. Mile 9 was all downhill and I took advantage of it and ended up passing quite a few runners who were ahead of me. 

Mile 9: 7:42
Mile 10: 8:18
Mile 11: 8:23

I had to refill my water bottle around Mile 11 so I lost a little bit of time there. The last two miles were one long stretch to the Finish Line. My legs were a little tired but I knew that the race was almost over and I had to keep my mind in it. As I was gathering my thoughts to finish the last mile, I was told by a race volunteer that I was the 7th place female overall. I wasn't sure if I heard her correctly or not but just the thought of it was enough to keep my legs going so I pushed myself to stay with it!

Mile 12: 8:09
Mile 13: 8:10
.10: 6:59

With one mile left in the race, I spotted the arch of balloons sitting at the top of a hill. Yes, the finish was uphill! There was a slight downhill and then a slight uphill to the finish. I told myself to pick it up a little on the downhill and try to maintain the same pace going back up. I was able to hold on and I gave it all that I had to the finish with the last .10 at a 6:59 pace!

My official time was 1:48:48 (8:18 pace) which is about 20 seconds faster than the half marathon that I ran last week. I was also the 7th overall female out of 241 and 36th overall out of 857 runners. Gotta love these small races!!

The weather was great for this race but the course was definitely more challenging! My calves were sore the next day which is always a sign that I ran a good race.

Isn't the medal super cute? My son was not impressed with the medal but was more impressed that the Bat Mobile made an appearance!

Have you ever ran a race by how you feel?

Anybody else race this weekend? 
I saw lots of posts on Instagram about the Dopey Challenge!
They made 48.6 miles look like a lot of fun!

Call Me Crazy!

I have always wanted to run some type of race on my birthday but it never seems to work out that way. My birthday is in September and I usually run the Disneyland Half Marathon every year. It has never fallen on my birthday and this year the race will be held on August 31st. The tradition of running the Disneyland Half Marathon since 2010 will most likely be broken this year because I found a local race that will be held on my birthday!

The Ventura Marathon will be held on September 7th, 2014. The race director thinks I am kind of crazy but so do a lot of other people! Registration opens on October 28th so I think I am going to ahead and sign up for the full marathon. The full is $70.00 and the half is $50.00. I might decide to drop down to the half marathon depending on how my year goes. I think it safer to sign up for the full since lots of runners registered for this race at the last minute this year as a final attempt at a BQ for Boston, 2014.

I am also thinking that this race might be my last and final attempt at a BQ for Boston, 2015. I am hoping that I meet my goal of running a BQ in May, 2014 but you never know how a race is going to pan out no matter how hard you train. Wouldn't it be the best birthday ever if I actually gave myself a BQ for my birthday?

Have you ever ran a race on your birthday?

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today my Dad turns 62. I am feeling so grateful today that he is still here with us. I am not sure how my Dad handles it all. He is still fighting his battle with cancer but refuses to let it win. This man never complains, he is still able to work and he tries to stay as active as he possibly can. He recently spotted a local weather anchor while he was working and she put him on the Sunday morning news because he was helping her out with her shopping. She told me that he was so nice. I was watching the news on Sunday morning and all of a sudden he was on the TV! He didn't even tell me about it!

My Dad truly inspires me. Whenever I feel like my life is tough, I always think of him and those thoughts quickly disappear from my mind. He motivates me to keep going and he is always in my thoughts when I  run. He is the reason why I never give up! He is the force that pushes me to that Finish Line!

Today I celebrate you Dad and everything that you stand for...everything that you have taught me. Thank you for always believing in me. Please continue to fight. Together we can win this battle. I love you Daddy!

Please wish my Dad a Happy Birthday! I am sure he will love it!

A Birthday Celebration and a Busy Weekend

My one and only son turned 11 years old on Friday. He didn't want to go to school on his birthday and strongly believes that all students should be allowed to take a day off of school on their birthday. 

We did not grant his wish but made it a little better for him by offering to send donuts to school to celebrate his birthday. He was pretty excited about that and took the bait!

We took him out to dinner for his birthday to eat one of his favorite foods, BBQ. It is one of my favorites too so I had no objections! His sister brought him a mini cake from Cold Stone that we all helped him eat. We were stuffed and the food was so good!

He was also happy about the presents that he scored. He really wanted a new Rip Stik and was really excited about getting it! His birthday is so close to Christmas that he did not really as for much which is good for me :)

Aside from the birthday celebration, it was a really busy weekend which did not include much running (3.25 very slow miles to be exact.) I tried out my new Garmin for the first time and spent most of the run playing around it which resulted in a slow run. I will get back on track this week with my running.

Saturday included a visit to my Grandpas' grave site. It was the first time we went to visit him since he past away. My grandma still needed some time so we waited until she was ready. We took some chairs and sat out by his grave site and it was an absolutely beautiful day for it. After visiting Grandpa we took Grandma to the movies to see Zero Dark Thirty. It was a good movie and Grandma really liked it too. The movie was two and a half hours long and I actually stayed awake the entire time which is a sign that the movie is good.

Sunday was a lazy day. I cleaned house, did laundry and took care of some other things that I have been putting off around the house (like putting all of the Christmas decorations back in the storage closet.) My other half made dinner which included carne asada and rice. It was pretty good.

I am back to work today but do have a short week. I am scheduled to report to Jury Duty on Thursday and then I am off on Friday. I hope they do not select me to be on a jury since I have not heard anything exciting about it. I do not get Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday which is tough when everyone else in the house got to sleep in this morning. The positive side of not getting today off is that traffic was super light this morning. I will take that any day!

Have you seen any good movies lately? 

I am not much of a movie person but Grandma has not been to the movies in quite a few years so we took her to keep her mind busy and spend some time with her.

Have you ever been selected to serve on a jury?
Was it interesting, boring, or better than going to work?
I have never been selected in my life and hope it stays that way. I don't want other people's future in my hands. 

I Had A Great Day!

My birthday celebration started at work on Thursday.  My staff bought me the most amazing fruit tart and gift cards to indulge at my favorite places!  They know me so well!

My birthday was all about eating. I went to lunch with my other half at my favorite Thai restaurant after going to the gym. I didn't run but spent an hour on the elliptical because my shin still isn't 100%.

And then there was dinner. We had some amazing BBQ at Lucille's. Gotta love those biscuits with apple butter and strawberry lemonade! My favorites..not to mention the cherry tootsie pops!!

After singing Happy Birthday (I hate that part because it's embarrassing) we opened presents. They gave me way too much stuff but I love it! 

My favorite gift of all was the birthday card that my son made for me.  He knows how much I want to run the Boston Marathon and he thinks that I run so fast! He is such a sweet little boy and is one of my biggest fans.

The remainder of the evening was spent walking off the dinner around the outdoor mall. My son had some fun of his own and ended up doing this kind of stuff!

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes.  I had a great day!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I stopped getting really super excited about birthdays once I turned 30. I think the whole getting old thing really started to sink in back then. The best part of my birthday is the time that I get to spend with my family.  We usually out to dinner, laugh a lot and eat cupcakes.  My birthday would not be complete without cupcakes and I already started last night! 

I always take the day off of work on my birthday. It's a ritual. I cannot remember the last time that I actually worked on my birthday. My staff always takes me out for my birthday ahead of time and we always have a good laugh and go back to work in a food coma. I work in the Finance Department but manage a smaller division of 6 people (4 full time and 2 part time). I am also good friends with another division manager who took me under his wing and helped me out a tremendously when I first started working in local government so we always invite Hershal to come along with us. Hershal is in his 60's and the man still runs! I hope I am still active like him when I am in my 60's.

Shawna and Hershal

We usually take a road trip to Vegas for my birthday but not this year because the puppies are still living with us and Sugar just had surgery so finding a pet sitter for 5 dogs is probably not going to happen. I am okay with it though because I love these dogs to pieces. 

I received a ton of free birthday offers so my weekend will include some of these things:

1) $10 gift card from Kohls

2) $10 gift card from Macy's

3) $10 gift card from Victoria's Secret

4) Free Birthday Burger from Red Robin

5) Buy One Get One Free meal from Soup Plantation

6) Buy One Get One Free meal from Mimi's Cafe

7) Free meal from Hooters

8) Free lunch buffet from Shakey's pizza

9) Free sandwich from Which Wich (I have never tried this place before and have been wanting to check it out.)

10) Free meal from El Torito

11) Free dessert or starter from Lazy Dog

12) $30 credit towards any meal from Benihana (THIS IS THE BEST OFFER!)

13) BJ's Brewhouse also gives you a free pizookie on your birthday and there is no coupon needed. You know I will be stopping by for my pizza cookie with ice cream on top!

14) Free birthday sundae from Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour

15) Free Drink from Starbucks

16) Free scoop of ice cream from Baskin Robbins

17) $10 Free game play from Dave and Busters

18) Free item from Sonic

So based on this crazy list, it is safe to assume that the month of September will include lots of eating, or should I say overeating! Having said that, I need to step it up and burn more calories this month! August was not such a great month for me in terms of mileage but I am ready to step it up and start working towards my new half marathon goal of 1:45!

Do you sign up for free birthday offers? What is the best offer you have ever received? 
The best deal I have received is the $30 dinner from Benihana!

Three Things Thursday

1. Sugar is not a happy camper! She had surgery on Tuesday which included a teeth cleaning, a hernia repair and a spay on top of that! She is wearing the cone of shame and will not eat or drink with it on so we have to remove it so she can eat and drink. She has to wear it for a week so hopefully the time goes by quickly because I feel really bad for her. I am considering buying her a Pro Collar like Kari used for Bungee.

2. I decided that I am going to run the Long Beach Half Marathon and not the full. I was able to go on-line and pay $5.00 to downgrade but I have not received a confirmation from Long Beach yet so it is not official.  This change was down after the 8/31 deadline so I am keeping my fingers crossed that they honor my request.

3. Tomorrow is my birthday!  I am taking the day off because I never work on my birthday.  I don't have any big plans but just don't want to spend the day working. I am hoping to get a short run in tomorrow morning since I have not ran all week due to my shin pain. The shins are starting to calm down so hopefully I can do a little something tomorrow to kick off my birthday weekend. I am sure the birthday celebration will include some of these things that I cannot resist! I know I am bad but YOLO (You Only Live Once)!

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!