My Graduation in Mostly Pictures

The commencement ceremony happened to fall on Father's Day which I thought was kind of odd but it turned out to be a great day. I spent the day with family which included my Dad and my Grandma. Even though it was warm out there, I am glad that I decided to participate in  the ceremony and I know that my Dad was proud of me. He always is.

If you are thinking about going back to school to get your degree, I strongly encourage you to do it.  At first I was intimidated to go back and get my Master's degree but if you have the drive and are willing to dedicate the time then it's a piece of cake. It is kind of like running when you think about it. We are capable of so much more than we ever thought!

Feeling Thankful and a Little Lucky Too!

I am feeling so thankful today for the many blessings in my life. So many good things have happened to me in the last few weeks and I am always reminding myself to count my blessings. I am feeling so grateful and I have even had a little bit of luck on my side too!

1) I am thankful to be spending Father's Day with my Dad this Sunday. I never imagined that he would be such a fighter and be able to tolerate his cancer treatment so bravely! 

2) I will be graduating this Sunday. Yes the commencement ceremony falls on Father's Day. I am so thankful that my Dad will be sitting out in the audience watching me participate in the ceremony. I want him to be proud of me and know that he raised me the right way and instilled so many values in me. Education is something that my Dad was not able to pursue and always encouraged me to do so I am sure he will be proud. 

3) I am not sure if my last marathon PR was a result of good luck or not but I am still feeling so grateful that I was able to improve my time more than I even expected to! More than anything I am grateful that I am able to run because so many cannot.

4) I am also feeling pretty lucky! I won an amazing giveaway from Run with Jess! Jess is a pretty inspiring runner who is always running some kind of race and striving to meet new goals. Thank you for all of the awesome goodies Jess! You made my day!

Remember to count your blessings every single day!
What are you grateful for today?

Three Things Thursday

1. Had a Great Workout! I had such an inspiring workout on Tuesday!  Although my usual workout is really boring and includes the whole speed walk and jog thing, I took it up to another level and it felt really good!  I actually jogged two whole miles (without the walk break) at 5.8 on the treadmill. I didn’t want to stop because I felt good and was actually breaking a good sweat! Nothing was hurting but I was already pushing it so I had to bring myself back to reality and turn it down to 4.0 and walk it out for a couple of minutes.  I am hoping to be able to maintain this same pace for the remainder of the week and get a little more mileage in this week. I needed this encouragement as I head to an Expo to pick up my goodie bag for a race I will not be able to participate in on Saturday.

2. Vacation Time Starts Tomorrow!! Today is my last workday for the week and I will be on vacation until Wednesday!  I am kind of excited because I feel like I need a little break.  I didn’t realize how the whole “not being able to run thing” has impacted my life.  The moment I feel like everything in my life is going okay, the whole running thing pops into my mind and just makes me sad.  I am looking forward to spending time with my family and maybe taking a little road trip.  Easter dinner is traditionally at my house but this year I am breaking that tradition because I need a break from all the cooking and cleaning.  I really want to try this amazing Easter Champagne Brunch at the Queen Mary in Long Beach but it’s incredibly pricey ($59.95 per person) but sound really good. Maybe once I get back to running I can give it a try because after putting on two pounds last week, it’s probably not a good idea!! For those of you who are from California, have you ever tried this brunch at the Queen Mary?

3. I Am Still Waiting on My Final Grade! I am still patiently waiting for my final grade to see if I will finally have that Master’s degree!! The professor told us that we would find out some time in mid April but I was sure hoping that I would find out sooner than that.  I look for my grade everyday but it still says “RP” which I think means "Report in Progress."  I guess the students are given this as a temporary grade until the final grades are posted.  HURRY UP ALREADY!! I sure hope I passed!

 Have a great weekend!!  Any special plans for Easter Sunday?

Tick Tock...

So last Saturday, I finished the last exam to complete my MPA but now I have to wait for about a month to find out if I passed all three exams. You have to pass all three exams or you fail the class! It's only offered once a year and you are only allowed to repeat the course one more time before they kick you out of the program. It was bad enough having to take one test after the other not knowing if you passed or not!  The tests are being graded by an outside board so I guess they need at least four weeks to grade them.  Boy are my patience being tested lately!

Tonight is my date with my friend the dreadmill treadmill. It will be my third attempt to do the jog/walk thing.  I just hope I don't pick the treadmill by the girl who is running at a great speed without stopping. I can just imagine what she is thinking about me! 

A Meltdown, H-Waves and an Extension!

I was feeling pretty bad this morning about going to PT.

I guess I am just sick of being injured and not being able to run!

The pain is still lingering and the fact that the

LA Marathon is this Sunday did not help.

Today was the day for my re-evaluation at physical therapy.

The results would determine if I would need to continue 

with the physical therapy or not.

My PT will be running the LA Marathon this weekend.

All of the patients know about it and she was telling them

how great her training is going and how excited she is.

Great...just what I needed to hear.

My PT was asking how I was feeling and I told her I was frustrated.

I told her that I know that I am better but not 100%.

I told her that as long as I can't run, I don't consider myself better.

She started talking to me about the healing process..blah blah blah

and I had a meltdown!

I explained to her that it has been five weeks and I am done!

I even told her that perhaps I was misdiagnosed and something

more serious must be wrong.

Legally she cannot discuss my MRI with me and I have to consult
my doctor but she disappeared for a moment and then returned.

I am pretty sure she took a sneak peak at my MRI because

she told me that my diagnosis was correct and that I would be 

running soon but just need to be patient.

Soon, what does that mean?  A year?

She did lots of PT things to me today that she doesn't 

normally do.  Today she gave me a massage, ultrasound therapy 

and this..

It's called H-Wave and it's a form of electrotherapy.  It's supposed to
help with pain and healing.  I thought it was weird how it made my
leg jump around! It made me feel like it was working!

I think my PT felt sorry for me so she extended my treatment
for another 8 weeks because she said that she wants to see me
running before she sets me free!
The plan is alternating jogging and walking 
on the treadmill.
The highest speed I am allowed to do is 5.0!
That's some serious speedwork so watch out!

I have my last big exam to complete my degree this Saturday!
I will be so glad when it's over.
On Sunday, the LA Marathon will be broadcasted live so
I will be in my bed crying on Sunday at 7:00am in case you need me!
( I know, I'm such a complainer...I promise I will stop soon!)

Do I need a Pain Pill or a Chill Pill?

I started to feel some pain last night so I was starting to regret that three mile run I went on yesterday. So what did I do? I did lots of stretching, icing, popped 800 mgs of ibuprofen and I prayed! Usually the pain does not appear until the next day so the fact that it appeared so soon was a huge disappointment.

So I woke up this morning and guess what?  NO PAIN when I stepped off of my bed!  As I started walking around my bedroom I did start to feel a little bit of pain but nothing like I have felt in the past so I was pretty happy about that! I also noticed some soreness in the back of my left hamstring, quad and calf too;nothing in my right leg though.  Good thing I took the day off of work to study for my big exam tomorrow because I have been icing and babying my leg all day!  I will be overly thrilled, joyed, and bouncing off of the walls if I wake up pain-free tomorrow!

Tomorrow is another day we will see what happens.  I am super duper nervous about this big exam tomorrow because we don't really know what to expect since it is a cumulative exam of the entire MPA program!  All I know is that I have to pass all three exams or no degree for me! I am not sure what I need more right now... a Pain Pill for my leg or a Chill Pill to calm myself down for this exam tomorrow!

Well, I better back to studying so wish me luck with my recovery and my BIG exam!

Progress

I feel like the pain in my leg is starting to feel better.  I haven't actually ran yet but I feel like I am making some progress since the pain associated with other forms of cardio is minimal.  On Friday, I did 30 minutes of the elliptical and did a speed walk/jog on the treadmill for a mile.  There was no pain but lots of fear in my mind so I didn't dare push it!  I had no pain the following day so I will attempt the same today at the gym and maybe try an extra half mile on the treadmill.

On another note, I am thrilled to tell you that I have two weeks until I complete the final course of the MPA program!  I will have a Master's degree!! Yippee!!  I wasn't going to participate in the commencement in June but everyone thinks that I should so maybe I will. The next two weeks will be very intense as I have lots of reading and studying to do!  I am nervous about the whole thing but I have to do it! It kind of keeps my mind off of running too which is a good thing right now.

Without running in my life, things are really different.  Everyone's schedule is usually based around my training and my race schedule but not anymore.  I am hoping that this will soon change.  I miss running so much and I can't wait to get back out there!!  I am probably going to be overly cautious at first but eventually those fears will go away and life will be back to "normal" again.

Have a great Sunday!  I will be spending most of my day reading! FUN! I have tons of it to catch up on!  I am off to Starbucks to grab a Caramel Brule Latte to keep me awake. Starbucks is an expensive habit but I have figured out a way to support it for the most part and it costs me almost nothing!

What are your Sunday plans?  What is your favorite drink from Starbucks? Are you a Starbucks addict like me?

Back to School...

2012 is going to be a very busy year for me and I feel it already!  Yesterday was my first day back at school.  I am finally finishing up my MPA (Master's in Public Adminisration) and I opted to take a series of tests instead of doing a thesis or a project. I am happy to say that this is the last course I need to complete the program and I will be done in mid March. Homework, projects and exams will be taking away from my running and energy levels so I know that I will have to stay even more focused and really push myself that much harder to stick to my training schedule. I never envisioned myself going back to school but when your job offers tuition reimbursement you really don't have an excuse not to take advantage of such a great opportunity. Earning my MPA will be well worth it for me so I am super excited to be on track to completing another goal this year.



Going to miss these people!!

My sister, my niece and my baby nephew hopped on a plane and headed back to Florida on January 4th so the house is empty and really quiet again. We only live in less than half of the house so when it is full of people it can be pretty crazy. I was starting to get used to a baby being around and all of the extra noise that comes along with house guests. I tried to spend as much time with my sister as I could, other than sneaking away on my runs, so I am way behind on cleaning up my Christmas decorations. I am enbarrassed to report that my Christmas tree is still standing with ornaments and all.  I promised myself that I would have it all taken down and put away by the end of this week. I am really behind on reading all of your blogs as well so I have to get back into my normal routine as soon as possible.  Your blogs keep me motivated so I need to keep current on those so that I don't get lazy.

Not that I need anymore sweets in my diet but how many of you have heard of Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour? These ice cream parlours were really popular when I was growing up and I had all of my birthday parties there.  Farrell’s is known for their yummy ice cream concotions which include the Pig’s Trough, the Zoo and the Gibson Girl. Farrell's seemed to disappear and now they are making a coming back. I was so excited when I saw the "Coming Soon" sign a few months ago. Unfortunately, I have to pass it on my way to the gym and believe me I want to go to Farrell's instead of spin class!!  Farrell's has been super crowded since their Grand Opening so we are being very patient and waiting for the newness to die down so that we can go and do some damage!

My very first race of the year is coming up in just a few weeks.  I am excited about my 2012 Race Schedule since I am running some inaugural races, as well as some that I have never ran before. I am also thinking about revisiting some of my favorite local races in hopes of improving my times.

What is on your Race Schedule for 2012?  Any new races for 2012 on the agenda?

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!