December: The Ups and Downs

December had it's ups and downs but I have to say that most of it was positive. Sometimes I tend to judge my life basEd on how running treating me because it is such a big part of my life and something I love to do. I have so many things to be thankful for and I want to share some of those things instead of focusing on the knee pain that I have been dealing with since late October.

I did not run a lot of miles in December but I am just thankful to be running again. I haven't talked much about this knee problem because I still don't know what the heck the problem is. I can say that it is getting better and I can run without much pain afterward. It used to be much worse so it is getting better. I am not 100% pain-free but I feel like I am 75% there. Progress is all that I can ask for right now. I have been taking it easy on my runs and not focusing on pace. I just have to put that aside for now and focus on getting my knee back to 100%.

Mileage for December was low since I have been keeping my runs in the single digits. That is just how is it is right now. I am looking forward to getting back on track and running with my running club again because I miss them. 

Christmas Eve was really sad because Roxy took a turn for the worse and we ended up at the emergency with her. Unfortunately we had to put her down because she stopped eating and was wasn't even able to keep water in her tummy. She became really weak and there was nothing more that we could do for her. It was tough putting her down at 11:41 pm Christmas Eve since we were then sitting in a room holding her and saying goodbye at the stroke of midnight when Christmas began. We miss her a lot but find comfort knowing that we did all we could do for her and she had a great life with us. 

There were also a lot of positive things that happened this month. My sister arrived on Christmas Day from South Carolina to visit for the holidays and we had a great time. I only see her once a year since her husband is in the Navy and they don't get to travel often. The timing was good because we were distracted and didn't think about Roxy 100% of the time. My three year old nephew is so cute and just makes us laugh non-stop. I especially love how he tells on himself when he does something wrong. 

I hosted my annual Christmas party with my family and we all had a lot of fun visiting and catching up. I am especially thankful that my dad is still here with us and is doing better than we could have ever hoped for. He recently had a PET scan and his cancer is stable. It has not improved but has not spread or gotten any worse. His blood work also shows improvement since his cancer number has gone from a 79 down to a 4! He is not cancer-free but we are very grateful for this Christmas gift that we have been given.

I also thankful that my grandma was able to spend Christmas with us. She will be 88 years old this year and is pretty healthy. The holidays are especially hard for her because she misses my grandpa even more during these times.

We stayed at home to ring in the New Year. I think I fell asleep on the couch with all of my dogs and my son and my niece woke me up right before midnight so I could celebrate with them. This is probably the only photo you will ever see of me in my glasses because I look pretty horrible in them. I am thinking of having Lasik eye surgery this year but I am super nervous about it!

I am excited about 2015 and all that it has in store for me! I am still working on my goals and race calendar for 2015. I am trying not to get too hard ahead of myself until I get this knee problem under control. I don't want to sign up for a bunch of races and not be able to run them. 

How was your Christmas and New Year celebration?

Have you set new goals and signed up for some races?

An Update on My Dad

A few weeks ago I mentioned that it was time for my Dad to have his scan to see how things are going with his cancer treatment. Recently it seems like my Dad had become really burned out with the chemotherapy. The side effects are pretty bad and he deals with things like sores in his mouth, constipation, nausea, constant urination, fatigue and the inability to taste food as it should really taste. He always tells me that his food tastes like metal and only certain things taste good to him but he forces himself to eat so that he stays healthy.

He talked to his doctor and asked if he could skip his chemotherapy the week of Christmas because he just wanted one week of the year to just feel normal and be able to eat and taste his food. His doctor said that he could not make that determination without seeing how things were going with the cancer. The results of the scan were in a few days before my Dad found out the results. His doctor never talks to him over the phone and prefers that they talk in person. I kept calling him because I was anxious to know the results but he said he would call me a soon as he knew something.

My Dad finally called me with the results a couple of days ago and when I saw his call coming in I got really nervous. I am never prepared to hear bad news. Well, I have to tell you that God is good. My Dad's scan came back as stable once again. The cancer has not spread but unfortunately it is still in his body. He also had a CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) test which measures the amount of protein in the blood for those who have certain kinds of cancers. The production of CEA stops before birth, and it usually is not present in the blood of healthy adults. When we first found out that he had cancer, his CEA reading was 47 and this time his reading came back at a 3-4! This is exciting news for us because it looks like the treatment is working and his doctor is going to allow him to skip chemotherapy the week of Christmas! He will be coming to visit me that week and we are already planning to make some of his favorite foods so that he will actually be able to taste him in a normal way.

We are so thankful and blessed to be spending another Christmas with my Dad. His attitude is just so positive and he has a great willingness to live. I know that is a big part of it but the blessings from the Man above really make it all possible. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and support. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!

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!

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?

Two Tough Days!

The last two days have been emotionally challenging for me. Yesterday marked one year that I had to say goodbye to Baby, my little Pomeranian.  I knew it was going to be a tough day because all of the thoughts of that horrible day would become fresh in my mind. The only negative thing about having pets is having to say goodbye.

Today was also a sad day for me because it was my Dad's birthday and he spent the majority of his day getting his chemo treatment. This is probably not the ideal way to spend a birthday but he had no choice and it just sucks that he has to go through this. I feel so bad for him and wish there was something that I could do to take it all away.

It was also a very sad, yet happy, night because two of our puppies found a home..a good home. One of the technicians at our vet's office called and said that she was interested in adopting Brownie and came to see him after I got home from work. She brought her brother along and they fell in love with the two males and decided to take both Brownie and Spot. I was not prepared to let two of them go but I know that they are going to a good home so I was comfortable with these people. Sugar was not excited either and tried to bite the man when he attempted to pet her.  They were considering taking one of the pups and Sugar but I think she blew her chances when she decided that she needed to bite him for taking her babies away.

As much as I know that I cannot keep the puppies, I was heartbroken. My whole routine has been centered around these puppies for the last three months and I am going to miss Brownie and Spot.  The males were the wild ones of the litter but oh so lovable and sweet. I hope their new owners love them and care for them like we did. We reminded the new owners that Brownie and Spot can be returned at any time because we would never want to see these little guys at the shelter if things did not work out.

My son was devastated and it was a rough night for him to say the very least. He ran upstairs and cried for 30 minutes straight and it was not pretty. Sugar also cried and waited by the front door shaking and continuing to cry for a long time. The two female puppies were also very sad and they just went to their bed and looked at us as if to say "Are you getting rid of us next?"

We are going to miss Brownie and Spot dearly. I don't think we will be able do this again. It is so hard to let them go and my son is a mess! A huge, horrible mess! The puppies left four hours ago and he has been crying off and on asking me why I got rid of them. He is not happy with me at all! I guess he does not fully understand why we cannot keep 7 dogs... 

Do you ever have days like this when everything seems to be happening at once and you feel kind of overwhelmed?  

Peak 10 and a Visit with My Dad

This morning I tried out a new class called Peak 10 at my friends private fitness club. The class involved circuit training which really challenges your cardio and core strength. I hesitated but figured it was worth a try since the class normally costs $45 for members and I am not even a member.  I would really love to join her gym but the monthly fee is $110, plus there is a one time  initiation fee of $410.00, which is not in my budget at the moment. I pay $9.00 a month for my gym membership and it serves my purpose.

Peak 10 was fun since you were able to do it with a partner. The class included sit ups push ups, planks, exercises with sandbags, squats and resistance training. We rotated to the different stations around the room based on time. I was beat by the time the class was over but really enjoyed it. We also ran 2 miles before the class and two miles after so I was pretty tired when I got home.  

The real highlight of my day was seeing my Dad. He called me up mid-week and told me that he wanted to come and see me. He knows how much I love the little hole in the wall Thai restaurant near my house so he wanted to meet up and have dinner there.

My step-mom's cousin was visiting them from North Carolina so they brought him along.  I actually visited North Carolina when I was probably 7 or 8 years old and I think I actually met him back then but didn't really remember him. My youngest sister and her family also came to visit.

We had a great dinner and I ate more than I should have but I can never resist this place.  It is one of those places that you don't go for the service but for the great tasting food at a reasonable price. I am sure that my Dad's sense of taste is horrible from the chemo but he still ate pretty good. It is important for him to keep his weight up because the chemo really takes a toll on his body and he can lose weight very quickly.

We had a great visit and they met all of my puppies for the first time.  I wish my step mom could have taken one of the puppies because she spoils her dogs rotten. Her dogs do not eat regular dog food from the pet store because she makes their dog food for them and they love it. She really wanted to take "Chiquita", the smallest white pup, but my Dad said no. I think I will send her this picture to pull at her heartstrings!

My Dad will be celebrating his 61st birthday on Monday so it was great to see him since his birthday is so close.  I am glad that he made it another year and that he has not let cancer win this battle. He was not very healthy on his 60th last year so this year was a better one for all of us.  

Happy Birthday Daddy. I love you!

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!

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!

Three Things Thursday

1. This has been a hectic/stressful week at work. We had inventory this week and everything that could have gone wrong did.  Not to mention, that the warehouse manager is retiring this week so that made things even more chaotic.  I had to learn how to do the inventory in a day which is something that he has been doing for the last 25 plus years.  I am looking forward to the weekend because I need a break. If I am going to be tired, I prefer to be exhausted from running not from working! I'm not planning on going postal or anything like that but I am just more tired than usual this week.

2. I spoke to my Dad on Tuesday and he is due for his scan next Thursday. I always get really nervous when he goes for his scans because I want to hear that the cancer is gone!  The last scan he had six months ago showed that the cancer didn't get better or worse.  This is not bad news but not the news that I wanted to hear. Please keep my Dad in your prayers and pray for a positive outcome.

3.  The Brooks Pureflows did not do it for me!  My calves were really sore after I ran in them and they made for a very uncomfortable run.  They also run small and I had to go a size up and they felt huge on my feet. I am back in my Nike's but my next attempt at new shoes is probably going to be the Mizuno Wave Rider 15's

or the Brooks Glycerin 10. 

 

Do you have a stressful job? 

My job is pretty decent for the most part. I am definitely grateful to have a job but this week was just crazier than usual!

Happy Father's Day to My Three Main Men!

I want to wish three of the most important men in my life a Happy Father's Day!

My Dad, who is one of the most bravest and positive people that I know. I won't be spending the day with him today because he is out fishing with my uncle. Fishing is one of his most favorite things to do and I want him to be happy and enjoy his life while he can.  He is pretty exhausted when he gets home from his fishing trips and needs his rest so I will let him enjoy his day. It was chemo week for him but he still gets up and lives his life to the fullest. I am not sure how he does it but I am glad that he does. I really respect and honor him for his braveness and his will to fight. Happy Father's Day Daddy! I love you and thank you for everything you have done for me.

My Husband, who is one of the most patient and kindest people on the earth.  He is a great father and is so patient with our son and treats my daughter as if she were his own. He never gets upset and takes life as it comes. I worry about everything and he always tells me to just relax and take it easy. He tolerates my endless hours of running, spending all of our money on races and running stuff, and encourages me to do my best. He always wants to make me happy and makes sure that my parents and my grandparents are taken care of. He honors our marriage to the fullest and I am lucky to have found such a wonderful man who loves me and our family so much. He is a quiet person and doesn't talk much in crowds but his actions speak wonders. Thank you Honey for being such a wonderful husband and father. I love you and thank you for tolerating me and my running.

My Grandpa, who suffers from Parkinson's, is one of the greatest grandpa's in the world. He would lay his life down for me. He does not like to take pictures because of his illness so I don't have any recent pictures of us together. He has always been there for me and has helped me out so much my entire life. He loves his grandchildren to death and sometimes he gets into trouble for spoiling them too much! I love you Grandpa and thank you for your unconditional love and support that you have shown me and my family.

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Dad's out there! How are you spending Father's Day?

We are celebrating Father's Day tonight by taking my husband out to eat at one of his favorite restaurants. We also bought him a really nice Father's Day gift that he has been wanting for a long time, which I will share with you later.

My Memorial Weekend Recap

I made my usual weekly call to me Dad on Thursday to see how he has been doing.  Of course it is always hard to figure out how he is doing because he never complains about anything and acts like going through chemo is really no big deal.  Whatever Dad! My dad is always working on some new project around his house. His newest project is building a storage shed. I think it is his way of making sure that he stays active and proving to himself that he can still do things he used to do. He refuses to let cancer win this battle and I can't tell you how much I will always admire him for that! During our phone call, he mentioned that his company was hosting a family picnic and that he wanted us to go. He is on the employee committee and helps plan all of the events so I guess he wanted to attend in spite of having gone fishing the entire day. The picnic started at 5:00pm on Sunday and I never pass up an opportunity to see him because in my back of my mind I always wonder how much longer he will be here with me. It was good quality time and my son had a great time. He won the sack race and received a $10 Cold Stone Ice Cream gift card.

On Monday I ran a 10K and saw this interesting masked man!  It was warm out there...can you tell by my red face? After the race I went home, cooked and then spent time with my family.  My grandparents came over and so did my mom. We feasted on carne asada, ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, and pasta salad!

Today was an added vacation day because I knew that I would need some time to recover from the weekend.  I went to the gym since I hate to pass up an opportunity to workout especially when I have a day off and have the time.  I also missed an opportunity to meet this sweet lady who happened to be at the gym at the same time as I was.  We somehow passed right by each other and neither one of us actually realized who the other was.
Weekly Recap
As far as last weeks running, I didn't have a great week in terms of miles. I only ran 16.65 miles but I am determined to do much better this week!  I am already ahead of the game since I have been off for the last two days and took advantage of both of them.

It's back to work for me tomorrow.  It's going to be tough going back to work after having five days off!  Have a great week!! 

Anybody joining the Runner's World Summer Running Streak? I would love to do it but sometimes things get hectic with my busy schedule and I don't want to feel bad for breaking the streak!

So What's Next and a Weekly Recap.....

Today has been a crazy day!  Mondays are always hectic days for me anyway because it is hard to come back after being off for three days. My biggest problem today is that I stayed up way too late watching the two hour season finale of Desperate Housewives. It was my favorite TV show and I am really bummed that it is all over. I wasn't in work mode today even though I had a ton of things to do. I did get all of my work done but my mind appears to be somewhere else these days.  Here is where my mind was really at....

I keep asking myself what's next and to be honest, I am not sure.  The OC Half Marathon was a a great race to get back into things and I was really excited and nervous about it all at the same time. I really need to focus on my running confidence because the whole idea of re-injuring myself is always in the back of my mind. I am really trying to be more positive about running but sometimes the memories of an injury can hold you back.

So what are those thoughts that have been dancing around in my head?

1)   Run CIM in December. I have been eyeing this marathon since the beginning of the year.  I just keep visiting their website hoping that it doesn’t say “SOLD OUT.” I am just not sure if I will be ready to do what I want to go there for…a new PR. 

2)  Run another Half Marathon. I am registered for the Disneyland Half Marathon in September. Again, I would love to PR and break 1:47. Is that possible? I am currently comfortable running a 9:00 pace and need to get closer to an 8:00 pace to accomplish this goal. I was there before so I know that it is achievable but I just need to convince myself that I can do it.

3)   In 2013, run all of the races that I missed while injured in 2012.

a.      Surf City Marathon

b.     Pasadena Half Marathon

c.      Los Angeles Marathon

d.     Hollywood Half Marathon

4)  Run a race in honor of my Dad. My Dad is currently in his third round of chemo and I really want to run a race for him.  I am not sure what the future holds for my Dad and as difficult as a marathon is for me, I am sure that it is nothing compared to the life of a cancer patient. I have been considering the Long Beach Marathon in October since I almost broke four hours last year and swore I would be back to reclaim what was mine.  The only question that lingers in my mind is whether or not I will be ready for it and if my body will be back to normal and be able to handle a marathon.

Weekly Recap

I didn't have the best week since I spent most of my time allowing my body to recover 100% from the half marathon.  My calves were really sore and I didn't want to run again until all of the soreness was gone.  It was a pretty boring week and I am hoping that this week will be much better.

Monday: REST

Tuesday: REST

Wednesday: REST

Thursday: AND MORE REST

Friday: Ran one mile on the treadmill and 6.1 miles/55 minutes on the Elliptical

Saturday: REST

Sunday: Ran 5 Miles in the neighborhood  

How was your weekend?  If you are a Mom, how was your Mother's Day?
Are you a fan of Desperate Housewives?

OC Half Marathon (My First Race Back Post Injury): 5/6/12

 This is first race back since my hamstring injury and it felt pretty good to be out there running like I did in the"old days!" My last half marathon was on January 29, 2012 and I have missed running so much. I have sat out four races this year because of my injury and I want to put those depressing days behind me. This race was really different from the others because it was not a race that I planned to PR at nor did I have any goals for this race with the exception of finishing and getting that first medal towards the Beach Cities Challenge.  This mind set was a little different for me this time around but I think the time off from running has given me a new perspective about running and the patience that I needed to execute a safe and smart race.

I was undecided as to whether or not I was going to run this race.  I wanted to be able to run 10 Miles without any pain and I was able to do that on the treadmill the Thursday before the race. I waited a couple of days to see if I developed any pain, discomfort or anything out of the norm.  I felt great but mentally I was still struggling with the idea. I prepared all of my gear for the race anyway and just waited it out.

 The Expo was at the OC Fair and Event Center, which also happens to be where the race ends. There was lots of parking but you had to pay parking for both the day of the Expo and race day. In spite of being undecided about running the race I went to the Expo since I needed the bib to run the race plus I decided that I would pick up my goodie bag since I paid for the race anyway. The Expo was a pretty decent size and was pretty crowded.  The Bib and Shirt pick up area was organized and moved fairly quickly which is a good thing.  We did a quick walk through the Expo and got suckered to buy a few things. My son loves going to the Expos because he loves to try all of the samples and spin all of the wheels in hopes of winning something.

I had actually signed up for the full marathon a while back knowing that I wanted to pursue the Beach Cities Challenge but after my injury I had to downgrade to the half marathon with hopes of being able to complete half of what I had planned on. It was a heart breaking decision but a very smart one. The decision to run the race was made when this happened on Sunday morning at 4:00am....

The OC Half Marathon was my first point to point race and the whole bus shuttle scenario was kind of stressful to me.  The race started at 6:15am and I was not on a bus heading to the start at 6:15am! I waited 45 minutes to get on a bus so I think it is best to have someone drop you off at the start to avoid having to be shuttled or be there an hour before your scheduled shuttle time. You live and learn, right?

My son really wanted to ride on the bus. Can you tell?

My bus arrived at the start around 6:35am and was one of the last buses to arrive. The start was about a three minute walk from the bus drop off location. I made a final stop at the porta potty and then lined up at the start and was off within a couple of minutes. I spent the first mile weaving in and out of traffic trying to find an open spot to settle into but that didn't really happen.  
Mile 1: 9:09

 I was well behaved and took some breaks, walked when I thought I needed to and based my race on how my body felt and not my pace. All of my training for this half was done on the treadmill so this was my first time stepping off the of mill.  It was a tough run and the treadmill training did me no justice because I have been running on the mill with minimal elevation.

 The course was not a difficult one but it did have a few hilly moments that were a little risky for me at this point. The course starts on a slight climb for the first mile, downhill on Miles 2 and 3 and then it's kind of up and down for the remainder of the course.  I had to slow myself down after the downhill miles.
 Mile 2:8:19
Mile 3: 8:24
Right before Mile 3 the course takes you by the water and it is pretty scenic and the breeze is refreshing. The weather was great as well.  It was 59 degrees at the start and about 63 degrees at the finish with overcast skies and no sun.

There were also a couple of times around Miles 6-8 where the course got really narrow and took the runners on a bike trail. This gets ugly when you have a bunch of people walking and you cannot get through or let alone move.  I don't have a problem with people walking but I guess it was just bad timing with the course becoming so narrow. 
Mile 6: 9:08
Mile 7: 8:53
Mile 8: 9:14

There was an ugly climb right at the end of Mile 1o! It didn't last long but I wasn't ready for it! Mile 10 ended up being my slowest mile,
 Mile 10: 9:22.

Based on these  signs you knew that the climb wasn't going to be fun!

I didn't look at my Garmin much at all which is pretty much unheard of me for me!  The only time I looked is when it beeped to tell me that I had completed another mile.  Based on what I saw, I adjusted my pace to keep myself from going too fast. For the most part, my miles were pretty close to 9:00 and that was comfortable so I tried to maintain that pace. Miles 12-13 were tough and I was getting tired.

Mile 12:8:56

Mile 13: 8:42

I did give myself a slight push the last quarter mile because I wanted to be done!  I was getting tired and I knew that the slower I ran the longer I was going to be out there.

 My official time was 1:57:57.  Nothing impressive for all of you speed demons out there but crossing that finish line was an incredible feeling for me! It was a feeling that I have never felt before! I am so thankful to be running again and even more grateful that I finished the race!

Can you tell that I was pretty tired?  I haven't seen 13.1 miles in a few months so I guess it shows! I wasn't in any pain at all during or after the race but my PT tells me to ice after a run so I was just being a good patient.

I know that I have lots of work to do! My next race, The Disneyland Half Marathon, isn't until September so I have plenty of time to train properly and get myself back into shape. I am also entertaining the idea of running the Long Beach Marathon at the end of this year.  If I am able, I will be running in honor of my Dad who is battling cancer. 

 I think it might be a little too soon to officially say that "I AM BACK" but things seem to be moving in the right direction!