Three Things Thursday

It has been a while since I have done a "Three Things Thursday" post so this will be my first one for 2013.

1) After my big win in Las Vegas we gave into the Mouse and decided to upgrade our Disneyland hopper tickets to annual passes. It was a difference of $54.00 per person so we decided to go for it. We absolutely love Cars Land and our favorite ride is the Radiator Springs Racers. It is so much fun! I also plan to get some use out of this pass the weekend of the Disneyland Half Marathon!

2)  I love this Year End Report that DailyMile sends out but it is kind of confusing if you are tracking how many miles you run in a year. This Year End Report includes all miles from cycling, elliptical etc. I think I only ran 883 mile and the rest was elliptical, walking and other activities. In any case, I am going to attempt 1200 miles this year and need to figure out a way to log my other activities so I can use DailyMile just for running miles only.

 3) I am determined to get my Beach Cities Challenge medal this year! I am signed up for two of the three races that are needed to complete the series. I am holding off on signing up for Long Beach in October since I am not sure if I want to run the half or the full. After the super hot summer we had in 2012, I am tempted to go for the half since training in the summer heat was brutal!

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!

Recap of my Incredible Week!

This was been my biggest week ever since December of 2011 and I am hoping that the dark days are now behind me and I can continue to move get my running back on track. I am really happy with the progress that I made this week!! I am pain free today and I can't wait to step it up a little bit more this week! I am playing it safe and continuing to ice after every workout and running every other day to take the rest day that I need.

Monday: 6 Mile Treadmill Run

Tuesday: REST DAY

Wednesday: REST DAY

Thursday: 3.75 Mile Treadmill Run at Physical Therapy

Friday: 7 Mile Treadmill Run

Saturday: 4 Mile Bike Trail Walk

Sunday: 7.25 Mile Treadmill Run

TOTAL MILES: 28 Miles (24 Miles Running and 4 Miles of Walking)

 

 I know that I have a lot of catching up to do. I know that my pace and endurance are not where they used to be but I am okay with that right now.  I will be patient and I will listen to my body because me and not running do not mix!

Good luck to everyone who is running Boston today!
 

Change of Plans....Again!

Why do the weekends go by so quickly but the weekdays just drag? I guess I will never stop asking myself that question! Happy Monday!! I am looking forward to this coming weekend because I will be on vacation starting Friday and I won’t be returning to work until Wednesday.  My son will be on spring break so we are planning on spending some much needed family time together.  The weather will be perfect so it’s great timing for us. The old saying “April showers brings May flowers” will not be a factor this weekend.  

The original plan was to hit up Universal Studios on Friday, pick up my bib for the Hollywood Half Marathon and then spend the night and run the half the next morning at 6:00am.  Change of plans….again....I have decided that I am not quite "half marathon ready" so DNS number four will be hitting the books this weekend! It is very hard to swallow but I know that jumping into a half marathon is not the smartest decision plus I have been sidelined this long so I will survive!! The goodie bag for the Hollywood Half is really nice so I just might go ahead and pick it up and take my son to Universal Studios anyway!  It’s going to be tough going to the expo and seeing everyone in race mode but I just keep telling myself that this will soon pass. My biggest goal is  come back stronger than ever when I am back to running to make up for lost time! 

I gotta have this!!

I am convinced that I will be running the OC Half Marathon on May 6^th.  This is my last chance to start this series and receive this my Beach Cities Challenge medal so even if I have to walk it I will be there. After the OC Marathon, I no more planned races so I won’t have put myself through all of this disappointment anymore.  I have gotten to the point where I am scared to even think about thinking about registering for another race.  I have sat so many races out since February that it’s depressing.

I logged 36 whole miles for the month of March which is pitiful but it's better than the whopping 3 miles I logged in February!!  I can't wait until I can get back into my 100 plus months. This week I will be increasing my sessions to 5-6 miles and increasing my pace from 5.2 to 5.5 on the treadmill.  I am also doing less walking and more jogging (I hate the word jogging! Am I a jogger now? NO, I AM NOT!!) so hopefully my leg agrees with the plan!!  I am keeping my fingers crossed and trying to remain positive!!

HAPPY MONDAY!

After a three day weekend it is so hard to get back into the work routine.  This weekend was a pretty lazy weekend since I pretty much stayed home and kept an eye on my pups. I did sneak off to get a much needed pedicure and I think having nine toe nails is actually a record for me.  I am usually missing at least two and in the process of losing a third.

Buster is back to normal and feeling much better. I even let him lay in my bed with me for a nap and now he doesn't like his dog bed anymore! I am going to be in trouble for allowing him on the bed!

On Sunday morning I hit the road before the rains came and did my little speed walk/jog routine outdoors. It felt good to not be on the treadmill and get some fresh air instead of that wonderful smell of the gym!  I had no hamstring pain but I did feel some pressure in my left shin.  It eased up after a few breaks and I took my chances and kept going. In the end, I put in 4.45 miles and broke a little sweat so I was happy.

I was thrilled to see my weekly report from dailymile since I finally got some miles on the books. Of the 20.42 miles, 16.42 of those miles are my speed walk/jog routine.  I know that I am way off from achieving my goal of 1200 miles for the year but glad to be doing more than I could last month. I am happy to see any kind of progress these days. I have a physical therapy session tomorrow and I am looking forward to getting my H-Wave therapy.  I swear I felt better after I had it for the first time. The things I look forward to these days...

Did you do anything exciting this weekend?  Have a great week!

Out with 2011 and in with 2012!

Happy New Year!! 2011 ended with a bang for me!  Instead of spending the ten days that I had off of work resting, I invested a lot of time in running.  The last week of 2011 was my biggest ever.  I banked 46.11 miles and my last run of the year was 20.8 miles.  The routes that I did this past week have been challenging for me with more more hills and longer distances. My legs felt great even after the 20.8 miler which is huge for me since I usually feel a little soreness somewhere the next day.

My goal was to run 1000 miles in 2011 and I exceeded my goal with 1254 Miles.  My goal for 2012 is 1200 miles or maybe even more!

Although I have not met my ultimate goal of qualifying and running the Boston Marathon, I know that 2011 was a great year for me.  I really stepped it up this year and signed up for more races than I thought I would be able to run in the last three months of the year. I managed three new PR's in 2011 and my biggest goal for 2012 will be tackling the marathon!! I would love to break four hours and move that much closer to a Boston qualifying time!!

09/4/11: Disneyland Half Marathon (PR) 1:47:43
10/9/11: Long Beach Marathon
10/15/11: Matt Myers Memorial Run 5K
11/12/11: Mission Inn Run 10K (PR) 49:39
11/24/11: Claremont Sunrise Turkey Trot 5K (PR) 23:17
11/26/11: San Dimas Turkey Trot 5K
12/11/11: Holiday Half Marathon

2012 has a full race schedule for me. The first five months of 2012 are pretty booked and I am really looking forward to it. My first race will be the inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland on January 29, 2012. The medal is so cute and I can barely wait to have it around my neck!

Life is slowly returning to normal now and it is time to go back to work too.  I still have to take the Christmas decorations down and I never look forward to the "clean it up and put it away" part. Almost all of the holiday goodies have been devoured eaten and I don't even want to know how many pounds I have put on in the past ten days!  Maybe I will get brave enough to step on the scale today...

Were you able to get some quality runs in over the holidays?  Did you accomplish your 2011 goals?  What are your running plans for 2012?

1000 and Counting!

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I was 2.24 miles away from reaching my goal of 1000 miles for the year.  It was supposed to be a cross training day for me since my legs were a little tired after running a 10K the day before.  Not that 6.2 miles is anything fantastic but it was a really hilly course and my legs are not big fans of hills!

I went to the gym to do my 45 minute ride on the Life Cycle as my cross training workout for the day and once I spotted the treadmills I could no longer resist the temptation to run. Having 997.76 miles under my belt for the year and being so close to reaching 1000 was just too much for me to handle.....so what did I do.................

 

Yup, I put my crazy mind to rest and jumped on the treadmill and knocked out 2.24 really slow miles.  I still did my 45 minute cross training session on the Life Cycle too!  Yippeee for me for another Running Goal achieved! 

I guess it is time to set a new goal for 2012?  Hmmm...how high should I set that goal?

Getting Closer to Accomplishing Another Goal!

I completed my second week of my new training plan which now includes speed work and a couple days of cross training per week. I was able to hit all of my target times and completed all of my workouts. I also managed to squeeze two days of cross training in which is incredible for me since my schedule is really hectic. 

Week #2 Recap:

Monday: XT#1: 45 minutes on stationary bike= 16.2 miles

Tuesday: Speed Work= 4 miles

Wednesday: XT#2: 45 minutes on stationary bike= 16.3 miles

Thursday: REST

Friday: Tempo Run=7.71 miles (was actually a long run gone bad)

Saturday: REST

Sunday: 15 miles

Total Mileage=59.21 (26.71 of those miles were running)

I have noticed some new aches and pains here and there and I think the speed work has something to do with it.  I am not used to it so I am hoping that my body adjusts quickly and that I don't end up with a new injury to hold me back!  I have been using Salonpas patches to deal with the minor aches and pains but I am beginning to look like a weirdo walking around with ten  of these pain patches all over my body! I have some areas that I need to work on, my long runs in particular. I have to work on running a slower pace on my long runs.  I am not used to running at such a slow pace but I know that time is not so important on the long runs and my focus should be on building my endurance. Sometimes I just want to get the long runs over with so I can start my day so I tend to go a little faster than I should.

One of my Running Goals is to run 1000 miles in 2011.  I just realized that I am really close to meeting/exceeding that goal. As of 10/31, I have banked 934.36 miles!  I think I can actually meet this goal in the month of November!  Oh how I love meeting my Running Goals!!  I get really excited to say the least!

I am looking forward to this week and the new challenges that my training is  bringing me!  I might have to attend jury duty later this week so I am hoping to get an early morning or late afternoon spin class in to change things around! I love feeling challenged and I am hoping to see some improvements in my next marathon. My first 10K is just a couple of weeks away and I will be running it with no real goal in mind but just wanting to see where I stand at this particular distance.

How did your week go?  Were you able to squeeze all of your planned workouts in?

Having a little fun at work for Halloween!

Have a Happy Halloween!!!

Long Training Run Number Seven: 16 Miles

Time flies when you're having fun!  I can't believe that I have two races coming up in the next couple of months!   The Disneyland Half Marathon is about a month away and the Long Beach Marathon is about five weeks away!  I am already getting nervous but that's the way that I am.  I am happy to say that my running buddy Shawna and I were finally able to get together for a long run.  We decided to run on Saturday instead of Sunday because she was  heading to Vegas.  I am so glad that I ran with her on Saturday because it mysteriously rained like crazy all Sunday morning. I would have been pretty irritated if I had to run 16 miles in the humid, wet weather!

Shawna and I were so nervous about our long run the night before.  Can you tell by the text messages??



Weather Report: 63 degrees and really nice!

I had the honors of mapping out our long run this week and with Shawna's stamp of approval we went for it.  I really love running in Bonelli Park because the change of scenery kinds of motivates me because it's something new. I get bored looking at the same old trees, buildings and streets every time I go for a run in the neighborhood! So here's what we did on Saturday:

The plan was to run 16 miles at marathon pace (9:05-9:09) and minimize stopping whenever possible.  We can't do much about the traffic signals and it's pretty hard to run 16 miles without hitting a few stops. Shawna has been working on minimizing the amount of stops she makes during her runs so I warned her that I was going to be on her! I make her nervous, I know I do.. but she is an awesome runner so I like to see her challenge herself every once in a while! She is one of those runners who doesn't really have to try too hard  to PR but swears she is slow. She recently did the Camp Pendleton Mud Run so I thought I would give her some kudos here and brag about her. Her team actually came in fourth place! She hates this picture for reasons that I won't mention, but I think it's pretty cool!

The Camp Pendleton Mud Run 2011

Okay, sorry for the interruption. Now back to our long run for the week.  We met at our usual spot at 6:00am!  We were determined to beat the heat and get an early start so that Shawna could head on out to Vegas. Mother Nature was very good to us and the weather was really nice until the last couple of miles when it started to warm up.

Mile 1: 9:01
Mile 2: 9:08
Mile 3: 9:08
Mile 4: 9:01
Mile 5: 9:03
Mile 6: 8:54

We really focused on pacing ourselves and getting a feel of what it will be like to keep our goal pace for the Long Beach Marathon.  There were times where we really felt like stepping it up but we held back and maintained  our goal pace.  We  GU'd at Mile 6 and kept our stops to a minimum.  I think Shawna could tell that I was keeping our GU and water stops really short but she did thank me for it later. 

Mile 7: 9:06
Mile 8: 9:03
Mile 9: 8:56
Mile 10: 9:06

When we reached Mile 8, we were pretty relieved because that was the highest elevation point of our run and we could feel that climb!  Shawna didn't tell me this, but her Dad was waiting for us at Mile 8 with some ice-cold bottles of water.  This was the first time that I met him and boy is he sweet. Shawna always tells me what a great person her Dad is and now I know why.  Not only does he have five marathons and six half marathons under his belt, but he is such a trooper! He once rode Shawna's pink bike beside her during a long run  (his bike had a flat), so that he could keep her company and carry her water. Dad on a pink bike...priceless!



Thanks for the water Dad..



and the photo too!

We snapped Dad's photo and he snapped ours and off we went.  We were feeling pretty good at the half-way mark and our pacing was right on target. We took a much needed GU break at Mile 12 and toughed out the last four miles.



GU saves us every time!

Mile 11: 8:48
Mile 12: 8:54
Mile 13: 9:06
Half Marathon Point: 1:57
Mile 14: 8:46

Bonelli Park was full of cyclists and lots of other runners on Saturday. I thought it was really cool how the passing runners were so encouraging!  We gave each other high-fives and words of encouragement and that really got us motivated and pumped up in the end when we were starting to feel the burn.  When we reached Mile 13, we were ready to be done, but the presence of the other runners really kept me going. It was kind of like that feeling you get when you are running a race. You know what I am talking about.

Mile 15: 8:41
Mile 16: 8:46

This looks like a mountain when you are tired!

Miles 15 and 16 were a little tough because it was all uphill and we were tired. This was our longest run to date but we hung in there because we know that these training runs are only going to get longer and longer!!

Check out Shawna finishing up Mile 16. She was watching that Garmin and just couldn't wait to hear the last lap alert.  I love it when we are running and she counts down the number of lap alerts until we are done! She did a great job and I know she was feeling good about it!  Unfortunately, 16-mile runs and Vegas vacations don't really mix but I love her commitment to the sport!

When Shawna got home from our run, she sent me a picture message telling me that her Dad was just about to leave the house to meet us at Mile 16 with cold fruit on ice. I guess we finished sooner than he thought we would so he was impressed with us! I had that image of cold fruit dancing around in my head all the way home! I guess I was getting hungry!

Here's a little note for Dad: Thank you for thinking of us!  We are planning to run 18 miles in a couple of weeks so we will give you a call when we are almost done so that we don't miss out on the snacks next time :)

I have to say that it was a great week for me!  I ran 32 miles for the week and had a great 16-mile run on Saturday! July was a 116 mile month for me too! Yippee!! I am really proud of myself!

I think I over celebrated my accomplishments this weekend too! Oh well, I deserve a reward once in a while for meeting my goals!

I love ice cream!

I spent some time with my family on Saturday and had a great time playing around with hot pink lipstick and celebrating my niece's "Unbirthday."  Taite is visiting from Florida and since we won't be able to celebrate her 7th birthday with her in September, we decided to give her a surprise "Unbirthday" Party before she leaves back to Florida on Tuesday.  I think we confused the heck out of the poor kid but she went along with it! She wasn't about to refuse birthday presents and chocolate cake! We are all going to miss her dearly until she comes back to California again for Christmas.l

Meet Taite, my beautiful niece!

My Crazy Family! 

My beautiful daughter, Dominique and I!

I ran all of my errands on Sunday and treated myself to some ice cream and a relaxing spa pedicure! Next week is not going to be so great for my marathon training because I have plans that are going to keep me from putting the miles in. It's going to be well worth it though!  I can't give you any details because I might ruin a big surprise for someone but I will tell you all about it next week.  Have a great week and I hope you are meeting your weekly fitness goals too!

Five Things "I am thankful for" Friday

As I was driving into work this morning I started thinking of a few things, in no particular order, that I am really excited about and thankful for so I am going to share them with you now.... so listen up!

1) I am thankful for and feel so very lucky to have a job!  So many people are out of work and losing their homes so whenever I feel ungrateful I have to remind myself of this! I love my job, my boss, my staff and all of the other people that I work with.  My boss is great because he gave me a chance to get into local government when nobody else would!  He doesn't micromanage, he allows me to  have a flexible work schedule and he leaves me alone and lets me get my job done.  I have great benefits and I love the city that I work for!  I could not ask for a better job, a better boss, or a better group of people to work with.  

2) I am also excited that my Dad is responding well to his chemotherapy.  He is getting better and his test results have been coming back really positive.  I have a new respect for my Dad because he fights so hard and wants no sympathy whatsoever!  He goes to work everyday and if you didn't know my Dad, you would never think that he is battling cancer.  I LOVE YOU DADDY!

3) I have working on my MPA (Master of Public Administration) for quite some time now.  I never really had a plan to earn a Master's degree but since my job offers tuition reimbursement I figured I should take full advantage of it. (One more reason why I love my job.)  A few things have occurred in my life that have stopped me from completing the program (running/training being one of them) and honestly, I just really didn't feel like doing a thesis, which is the last thing that I need to earn this darn degree! Let me just toot my own horn real quick here (toot toot) and tell everyone that my GPA is 3.85! I got a B in one really boring Administrative Law course that really screwed up my GPA. Oh well, life goes on and I guess I will never be a lawyer in my next life! Anyway, here is what I am excited about...I just found out that taking an exam will now be an option to earning my MPA!  So heck yeah I will be enrolling in that that class in the winter quarter and will have my degree in March 2012!  HOORAY!!...Finally!!

4) I am also happy to announce that I am back in the 100 Mile Club as of yesterday!  I have 100 miles on the books and I still have a 16-mile run scheduled for tomorrow so I will close out the month of July with 116 miles!  I haven't logged this many miles since January 2011, so I am pretty excited about it! While I am on the topic of running, I also want to toot my own horn one more time (toot toot) and tell everyone that I ran three consecutive days, which is really tough for me.  Here is what I did:

Tuesday: 6 Miles at 8:43

Wednesday: 6 Miles at 8:28

Thursday: 4 Miles at 8:32

Not only is it tough for me to do but my shins don't appreciate it!  My new compression sleeves have been helping me out so much and now I don't feel so bad about spending $80 on them!

5) This last thing I am thankful for sounds a little corny or kind of scripted but it's the truth, so I have to tell everyone about it anyway! I am thankful for being healthy and I am thankful for my family, which includes my two Pomeranians that I love to death! My family always has some kind of drama/chaos going on and somebody is always on the outs with someone, but at the end of the day I love them all and I am happy to be a part of this dysfunctional family.  Hey, no family is perfect and I wouldn't have it any other way.

So what are you thankful for today?  Think about it and share. I am sure you have lots of thankful for! 

Long Training Run Number Five: 10.07 Miles

Weather Report: Sunny and 60 degrees

Spirit of the Marathon

Before I even tell you how my run went today, I want to mention that I watched "Spirit of the Marathon" for the first time on Saturday night. I thought it was a pretty cool movie/documentary because you can really relate to it no matter how serious of a runner you are.  It's an interesting story of several runners at different levels of running and how they prepare for and run the Chicago Marathon.  I really liked it because I now realize that I am not the only crazy person in the running world!  These runners say and do the same kinds of things that I do!  If you haven't seen it yet, you should watch it on hulu.  I think you will enjoy it! Let me know what you think of it.

My Run

Today was a 10 mile day but I decided that I really needed to slow things down a bit because my left shin started acting up again!  My goal pace today was 9:00-9:05, which is my goal marathon pace. I really wanted to test myself to see how comfortable I felt with this pace since this is where I would like to be for the Long Beach Marathon in October.  I woke up at 5:30am and the weather was looking good.  The sun had not come out yet but I knew that it would be out soon enough.  I got myself together, fed my dogs, stretched a little bit and headed out the door at 6:15am.  The sun was already starting to rise but the 60 degree temperature balanced it out!

After losing another toenail last week, I decided that it was time to retire my Nike's since they had 386 miles on them.  This past Saturday, I went to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and purchased a pair of ASICS Gel Kayano 17's.  They were on sale for $103.00 and they normally go for $140.00. Great deal, right? Nordstrom has a great return policy so I figured that I could exchange them if they don't work out for me.  I bought them in a wide width to allow my toes that extra needed space!  I get so bummed out when I lose a toenail because it never seems to grow back right and it's just an ugly sight while it's growing back! I decided to try these out on my run today so I am hoping that I have found a new shoe that works for me.

Back to the run....I ran another one of my local routes today and I tried to change things around so that I don't get too bored.  I started out slow and my splits seemed to improve as I got further into my run.

Mile 1: 9:11

Mile 2: 8:50

Mile 3: 8:48

5K: 27:40

The roads were pretty empty again today and I didn't see a single runner or cyclist today.  I am not sure if I was out there too early or too late!  I usually see at least one, but not today!  I made a small detour today and took the freeway overpass to add some incline to my run.  I love looking down on the freeway when I run over it.  It's just kind of fun to me! I think I can technically consider this part of my route to be somewhat of a "hill" because I go up and then I come down.

Mile 4: 8:40

Mile 5: 8:40

Mile 6: 8:46

One Hour Mark: 6.80 Miles

On my way up.....

On my way back....

Mile 7: 8:45

Mile 8: 8:44

Mile 9: 8:32

Mile 10: 7:52 (My best mile.. I always try to finish it strong!)

My goal pace seemed pretty easy today but that's just ten miles and it's the other 16.2 miles that I have to keep working towards!  Next week is a 15 miler and I haven't ran that distance in quite some time, so I am a little nervous about it! 

Garmin Stats

Weekly Running Report

I was scheduled to get 24 miles in this week, but only managed to get 21 done.  My left shin was hurting a little on Friday and I made the decision to skip that run in fear of it getting worse.  I am getting closer to a 100 mile month with 65 miles done so far!  I can't wait for another 100 mile month ..it's  been a while!