So

I signed up for the Summer Sizzler 10k here in town this weekend. I had signed up for the training so I get into the race for free but that day is my oldest sons 8th birthday and I'm photographing a wedding 40 minutes away that I have to be ready for at 10am. I couldn't decide but I think I'm ready, even if I just use it for my 8 mile run and do two miles before the race to warm up then do the 10 miles then head home to shower and go. I guess if I have everything together it won't be that big of a deal.

I am fighting off an injury though. I'm sore and tight from my neck down to my toes including my shoulder and my arm. There is obviously some nerve issues going on so I went to the chiropractor and he used Active Release Technique on me. I felt so much better... than I ran 4.5 miles that night and was sore again yesterday. But I do feel better overall. Not well enough to do weights but running actually felt REALLY GOOD as long as I didn't push it too hard.

I'm not after PR's Saturday morning. I mean, it would be a PR no matter what since I'll be running a 10K for the first time but I'm not going to worry about my timing. I'll be tired and I don't want to hurt myself more before going to Seattle next week.

Today Good Neighbor ran with me. She hasn't run since High School (a few decades ago) so I started her out slow. We walked 5 minutes then ran one minute walked one minute for a while. Then we jogged 2 minutes and walked one minute for about 35 minutes then walked 5 minutes back. Not too bad for a girl who said she'd never run. I've hooked another one. LOL.

My Bro-in-law Brian

He's a pretty amazing guy. I mean, he did marry my sista (kidding sandra) so he must have good taste in girls. I have known BIL for practically my whole life. I wish I had the picture of us at my 5th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. He's all smiles and happy and thinks its HIS birthday. Crazy little boy. In second grade he moved to the coast. But then his Uncle Kevin and his family moved in across the street. Every summer when he came to visit we would play cops and robbers in the Myers backyard, we would play hide and go seek in the street til midnight, we would go swimming at the community pool and essentially aggravate each other and try to avoid our little siblings (sista) and cousins (Meagan). LOL. Funny how life works out hu?

So this guy is pretty amazing. He's an army boy. He's been enlisted forever (when he stole my sista away and hijacked her to Savannah Georgia, Kansas and now Washington). He assisted, in the easiest funnest way, my sister in bringing 3 beautiful kids into this world. He fought in Iraq for our country for nearly a year and now he's back. He Renewed his vows with my sista in his commitment to her and his children when he got home from his tour. He's a pretty special, you know in the take the short bus special way (just kidding) kinda guy.

Here is my problem with my BIL. He's been running longer than me. He goes for a run and just runs and runs and runs. He doesn't warm up, he doesn't stretch, he doesn't cool down. He knows nothing about speed work or intervals or hydration methods I've learned in my running groups. He just GOES for a run. He trains for these crazy marathon length marches in all of his gear, he wins or gets close to placing in his age group (usually the old guy group since he's old like me) Jackass. I can't even talk to him about running. His knees hurt. I told him to get fitted for new shoes. He says he likes his Nike's and he'll go to the orthopedic "good feet" place. Those places cost AT LEAST $300 when you might only need $100 shoes. He won't sit and talk about injury prevention but he will take an ice bath and wear panty hose. WTF!?! I know, I can't talk to him because.... HE'S A MAN and apparently me, a girl who has only seriously been running for 8 months since my stint in high school, I know NOTHING!

OK one more thing about my incredibly crazy BIL. He cuts his steak on the BBQ and all the juice just runs out. I know, what a freak. I can't stand it. I actually made him mad two years ago when I was with them in Kansas. I should have just let the damn cook cook. LOL.

I LOVE YOU BRI <3>

ramdom thoughts

So I haven't really been feeling well lately then today a migraine hit. Not good for the running I know but I did officially sign up for the Marathon Training group at my local fleet feet. I ran 4 miles one day and 3 miles another at the gym on the "dreadmill". I would rather run outside but the smoke is bad again. I can't believe that its been nearly two months since the fires here first started. Our county has lost over 170 homes and its not like we live in a highly populated area. I hope they end soon, I would like to ride by bike to school when it starts.

Anyway. I'm going to try to run tomorrow. Does anyone else download books on cd to their ipods to listen to while they run? Do you have any good ideas? I do need to do at least one 8 mile run before training starts on the 19th of August and I would like to get in a few and maybe a 10 miler in too. I can't wait for school to start so I can be more consistent. We will see.

I will be in Seattle from the 4th to about the 10th. I'll try to update if I can but since I don't have a laptop (on my Christmas list) w/WiFi (also on my list) I don't know how that will work. You may just have to wait til I get back.

I do have a wedding to photograph next weekend. YEA! Renae and Brad are so cute. They will be getting married here in the north state but living in Savannah Georgia where he is stationed in the army. My BIL and sista lived there for a while when they first got married. I am so excited for them. It will be a good wedding and a few extra bucks to be toward my new camera.

For this week. I'll try to run tomorrow (5-6 miles hopefully). I need to do two days of weights and two days of core. Maybe try to swim again. LOL. that was a sad sight. made it a whole 4 laps. I just can't figure out how to blow bubbles under water. LOL

Sunday: The last 13.1 miles

I woke up feeling pretty good. Good Neighbor on the other hand was hurting... EVERYWHERE, especially the side of her foot. We had both escaped any blisters (thank you BodyGlide) but just the fact that we were on our feet, mostly on concrete, the day before had took its tole on our muscles. We got up, packed up our tent, ate breakfast, took down our tent and were waiting for them to open the gates at 7:10am. Our shoes were a bit more lose to accommodate our slightly swollen feet but moving actually felt better.

7:30 the gates opened and off we went. I can't give you too many specifics because I have no idea where we went this day. I just put my head down and walked. I know that at the first rest stop today the Lt. from the SJ bike crew thought it was funny (like he does EVERY year) to bang on all the port-o-potty doors and literally scare the crap out of the girls. I have to say it was funny from the outside but I would have not been happy had I been on the other side of that door. We didn't have as many big hills this year. Good Neighbor kept begging for them. It did feel better to go UP then it did to go DOWN or even flat.

I try every year to get a picture in the Fort archway. Last year we didn't pass by it, so this year I had to get a pic. Good Neighbor took it and we were off. We were downtown for much of the walk, through the financial district, then our by the AT&T Stadium. We had very few hills. They started pretty tame then got pretty steep near the top. Our favorite was up Connecticut then over to 20th St.. At the top was an amazing view and of course a quick stop to fill up your water. I don't possibly know how anyone could drink while concentrating on making it up that hill (and I had an easier time this year then I ever have). By now our feet are screaming and we still have 6 miles to go. Over the hill we take Vermont street (windy) down to SF General Hospital where the Avon Foundation as sponsored the Beast Care Center. It was amazing and emotional to see so many women out there to thank us for raising $$$ and awareness that is the reason they are still here today. That was a powerful mile let me tell you.

Again our heads were down and off to Lunch. Today, due to hills and sore feet was a much longer journey through those miles. We hit more hills and had lunch sitting on cardboard again and checking over our feet. Of course I lost my Body Glide down town while running across the street when the Moto crew dinosaur was giving us kisses. (shoulda got a pic of that). Next year I'll put that on my list. Two little blisters were trying to make their appearance. I re-socked and we headed out. Just 3 miles left. We took a detour and found a Starbucks

(against our moto crews orders) along the way. We were being "RULE BREAKERS". The kind we were commenting on about everyone else all weekend long. But when its 2 more miles to a rest stop and nature calls, Starbucks answers! Those last three miles we talked very little and even cried some. Of course when we realized this we broke into uncontainable laughter. I'm still not sure if it was just the pain of walking or the emotion of finishing such an emotional weekend. We had amazing people out waving to us. Little girls out shaking our hands and waving our windows with pink balloons. We had young families out cheering us on, thanking us for making a difference. We had families out cheering on everyone not just their mommies and daddies and Gma's for walking but yelling "Go Walkers" everywhere we went.



We had Boobie Super Hero's with signs that said "Holy Tits Walkers - Its a HILL" LOL. Flashback to those Batman and Robin Saturday morning cartoons with a twist. We had Phil the Pretty Woman Guy who is with team "DUDES 4 BOOBS" out cheering us on blaring music and giving out high 5's. I cannot tell you how loved we felt this weekend. It was all these guys and gals that got us through those last couple of miles. We followed some young gals who were dancing and laughing and bouncy... too damn bouncy. Good Neighbor is sure that they didn't do the entire 39.3 miles because they were just too damn perky. lol. That last mile... so sad it was over, so excited to just sit down. We cried when we entered the park... cried when we hit every one's hands as we walked through the tunnel of people to the finish line.

We found a spot to sit... and sat and stretched for an hour til closing ceremonies began. If I can get the video to load of the grants that were given out I will post it here too. So neat.

Signs we saw:

Blisters do not need Chemo
Gotta Go, Gotta go, Gotta go right now! (no where near the port o potties)
The cure is just around the corner (just before we turn a corner lol)
These streets were made for walkin' (lol, must have been from the Hookers for Hooters)
and many more I can't remember right now but they kept us moving let me tell you.

Again, this weekend SF Avon Walk for Beast Cancer broke records. We had over 3,000 walkers, made more than $7.5 million (2million more than last year) but we won't forget that every three minutes another person (man or women) is diagnosed with Breast Cancer in this country. Every 13 minutes someone loses their battle with BC. One in 8 women will be diagnosed with BC during their lifetimes. If caught in Stage I or II your chances of survival are more than 95%. Isn't that amazing! I'm so blessed to be apart of an organization that gives so much directly to those who need it.

BC Survivors:
Karen Mickelson
Margie Cash
WhyMommy (Susan at Toddler Planet)
Nan Kitchen

Cancer Survivors:
Uncle Larry (fighting)
Mom
Uncle Larry
me
Vicki (fighting)


BC Angels:
Monica Cooper
Pinhead


Cancer Angels:
Uncle James
Kelli's Gpa
Gpa Frank
Gpa Derril

I know there are tons of peole I haven't even listed here but I think this is a list I'm going to post on the side of my blog eventually so you can see the reasons why I walk... with the each new name on my list is new motivation to raise more awareness, more $$$ and more passion for this crusade.

AWBC SF Saturday

After hardly sleeping I finally rolled out of bed at 10 minutes to 4am. That is an insane hour that I rarely am happy to see. I put on my 5 layers of clothing 1)wicking sports bra. 2) wicking tank top. 3) AWBC cotton T-shirt. 4) Long Sleeve 1/2 marathon FleetFeet t-shirt and then my black Under Armour jacket. My shorts seemed a bit frivolous at this point. My hat and we were off. We loaded the bus at 4:47am and headed for Speedway Meadows for Opening Ceremonies.

The bus dropped us at Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate park, the stage was up but very little else. At 5am it was decently warm and no rain or need for gloves and log pants like the other years I've walked. There was lots of hustle and bustle as people were preparing for the event and walkers were filtering in. We dropped our luggage again at the truck that corresponded with our tag # and headed for the food tent for some poor mans mocha (black coffee + hot chocolate packet) a banana and cream cheese on a plain bagel. We filled our Camelpack up with water and waited for Opening Ceremonies to begin. Every year the place these things called stacks up for us to sign for whatever city we are walking in. It is very emotional and fun to see what cities hold the most signatures so far. Its one of my favorite parts of the weekend




Opening ceremonies is always a tough thing to get through. You stretch and bend and warm up then they give you inspirational speeches from those effected but BC, one of the gals not once but twice a survivor. Amazing. Then there is the amazing Barbara Jo who has thus far raised $1,006,000 and walked in 91 walks for AWBC and the Susan G. Komen foundations. She is not a spring chicken either but she can go and go and go. One of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. They also told us that we broke records this year. SF has never had so many walkers, over 3,000 this year or raised so much $$$, over $7.5 million for 2008. That in itself is so amazing. They let us go at about 7:10am and the flood gates opened.


It took us an hour and a half to reach the first quick stop (water and potties only). There were so many people and so little room along the route. We just had to take it slow and steady. We had our Moto Crew (those on Motorcycles to escort us across the streets) and our very own security from San Jose Police Department Bike crew to keep us moving in the right direction.
There were so many fun things to see. We walked through town a bit and headed for the Precidio for a Rest stop (food, medical tent, water and potties) hosted by Urban Dog Walkers. We were almost to the Golden Gate Bridge. Although we were excited we did stop long enough to have our pictures taken in the their little doggie get up.


The bridge is so beautiful. Although it was still foggy and hazy when we got there we did get some excellent views of the city and the path ahead of us. I love walking across it. It makes you feel like a Californian. Like this bridge belongs to us. It is so beautiful. I have walked across the bridge with my 4th walking partner and I see it with new eyes each time.


Not the most flattering picture but off we went across the bridge. Our friends, the Hookers for Hooters met up with us on the other side. I shouldn't say our friends I should say our regular cheer leaders. They have hung with us every year I have walked driving by in a mini van and hollering out the open side door with a amplifier singing and shouting and keeping us all moving. We love them. there will be a picture of them with Good Neighbor up shortly I'm sure. We headed down the hill under the bridge on the way to Sausilito with a memory that we have to go back up it on the way back. Luckily we are still moving through the pack and things are still a bit slow to keep our muscles moving but not too fast that we run out of steam. It is a gradual and slow decent and much of the time single file down into Saucilito, a quiet little bay side town with tons of charm. My mom, aunt, my sista, niece and nephews met us at Starbucks with a iced mocha to enjoy and we headed off on our journey.
We had lunch right out side of town and took our shoes off to breath a bit and check on our feet. We changed socks and felt like new girls, our feet weren't even hurting yet. Good thing too because we had 16 miles left to walk today. We were now at the 10 mile mark and my Fam met us again. My niece Princess Nani was capturing every one's hearts as she gave them high 5's and waving at everyone. So sweet.



I always forget about that long 3 miles to the half way mark. Its out along the bay and wetlands, along an open wide bike/walking path from Sausilito to Mill Valley. It gets hot and seems to go along forever. This year the fam met us again and that really broke things up, made it not seem like the longest 3 miles in the world. Princess Nani even got to take pictures with the nice Police Officers from SJ. Aren't they cute? No I mean it... Aren't they stinkin' cute. You should see them on Sunday when they wear their pink polo's. Never have you seen so many hot men in pink before.





We walked through Mill Vally which although it doesn't have the same charm as Saucalito it is very cute and its on the way back. By the time we hit the 16 mile mark we were on a mission. We needed to make up time from the VERY slow first half. We worked in spurts, we would hang behind for a while then surge forward and around a group... get in behind another group and do it again. All the way from Mill Valley to the cursed hill we had to get up to pass back over the GG Bridge.We stopped and took some wonderful pix of the bridge, Alcatraz and of course US.

By now we were tired but focused on our goal. Afraid to slow down for fear of stopping we just kept going full hilt. I even ran that last hill, I made the nearly 1/2 mile treck in 7 minutes and passed everyone along the way. I did leave Good Neighbor in a bit of a dust since I had the compulsion to run the second half of the hill, but I waited for her at the top. We passed over the GG Bridge under perfect weather and took some more awesome pictures since picture perfect weather NEVER happens or at least rarely and for our walk we got to actually see the top of the bridge was a miracle in itself. Our last mile and a half to the bottom of the hill where the Wellness Village at Chrissy Field was took FOREVER. We were finally feeling the pain of 13 hours on our feet and dreaming about Yoga, showers in Semi Trucks and real Food. What a welcome sight.

That's what we did, got our tent and our bags. Watched the nice Tent Angels put it up, took showers in Semi Trucks, Did yoga, Ate penne pasta with marinara sauce, Huge Meatballs, Salad, green beens, rolls, water and milk then headed to bed with a belly full of Ibuprofen. Rolled our sore muscles with tennis balls, climbed into our sleeping bags and tried to sleep. (those damn port-o-potties kept calling our names and we resisted... til almost 6am)

The most amazing FOOD (Friday recap)

This weekend I participated in my 4th Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I walked with Good Neighbor, side by side, to raise awareness and $$$. It was incredibly emotional and also painful but as we were reminded walking nearly 40 miles is no easy feat (for your feet). More on that later. This first post is about GRUB. We ate the most AMAZING meals this weekend.

We did eat amazingly well. We stopped in Davis on the way down and had Chevy's. We split two yummy salads that both sounded yummy. She got one, I got one, ohh and a yummy quasidilla with chicken and beans and some sort of chipolte sauce, split them down the middle and went to town. We stopped my Gma Ruby's where my mom, sista, niece and nephews where hanging out and visited for a few minutes before taking BART into the City.

Our wonderful hotel was just steps away from our Powell St. station so we checked into the Parc 55 hotel and settled into our 31st floor room with the most amazing view of the city. Then we headed over to our host hotel. This year, with all our $$ in early all we had to do was walk up to the table and they handed us our packet. Seriously, an hour process the last three years I walked was cut down to an amazing 5 minutes.




We headed out to find a yummy dinner. We had reservations at a place a couple blocks away but after reviewing their menu nothing really seemed appetizing. We did walk past a Jewish pastry/deli/restaurant that looked amazing but fear of eating anything out of the ordinary before the walk kept us looking. We did find this place called Max's. We had delicious food and a cocktail. Again sharing our appetizer of Thai veggie raps with hot dipping sauce. Then some Mauritanian chicken with veggies. Ohhh and a MUCH TOO STRONG cranberry Cosmo. It was pretty close to the most PERFECT meal I have ever had.




We left a wonderful meal and headed up the street to stop back by the Jewish place called DAVID'S to pick up dessert to go. After much ohh-ing and ahh-ing we broke down and chose the Almond bar ... it was almonds covered in a honey sauce with some sort of crumb crust on the bottom then dipped in dark chocolate. It looked and she said with a wicked grin on her face, that it was delicious. I on the other hand had a macaroon with the same kind of graham cracker crust on the bottom but in the middle ohhh the best mocha cream filling. Then of course it was dipped in the same dark chocolate. We took them back to the hotel, got ready for bed and for the next few crazy days to come, settled into bed and indulged. OH MY GOODNESS! It was the single most amazing food day I have ever had. I love my kids but you just can't eat like that with them around. I now look forward to more than just the amazing walk, to the amazing company of all my friends who walk beside me. I now look forward to FRIDAY for the FOOD!!

I am a total wimp

I am so proud (and jealous) of my kids. I signed them up for SummerJets a swimming team for summer to not only get them to have some cool exercise this summer but also to ensure they are better swimmers than me. I can't swim. I am SCARED TO DEATH of swimming. I don't think that even if I tried I could do it. I know you guys are all saying in your heads "sure you could" and "your under estimating yourself". I know its a cop out. I know, but inside this fear is still bigger than me. I kinda have to talk myself into it. When I'm ready to swim I want it to be a lifetime thing. Right now I am focused on running. Making that a habit and priority. Maybe next year my goal will be to swim. If I can work in cycling maybe by 35 I can do a tri. That would be cool. Here are my reasons why I DO NOT SWIM:

1) I don't like to be the center of attention. Me looking like a rotary fan in the water with my arms and legs going different directions and me forgetting to breath so my swim instructor having to pull me out of the water is not my ideal, or even close to my ideal situation. Still I see it looming in my future.

2) I'm scared I'll drown. I don't want to die like that. I know its a freakin' pool and I can doggie paddle to the side. but when I think about swimming my brain jumps directly to me being fished out of the pool a little too late.

3) Its not just the water, its boats too. I get panic attacks just sitting in them. I know I'm a freak. If my husband won't watch a chick flick with me then I won't get in a boat. I'm truly scared to death it will sink or myself, or worse my kids, will fall over board in the middle of the river or lake.

4) Today, at this second, I'm OK with my kids being better swimmers than me. I am so proud of them for doing so well this year. Hollywood is almost 8 but the Aquajets leader moved him up with the 9and10 year old group even though this is his first year swimming on a team. Blondy is doing great in his group too. They make me so proud!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

no workout for me today. I will be walking a ton tomorrow after I drive to the Bay Area then take Bart to SF. We have to check in at our Hotel, Walk to our host hotel to check in for the walk, walk again to where we are having a yummy vegetarian meal then walking back to our hotel to sleep. I'm so excited. Saturday morning we get up at 4:15am to get our day started. 26.2miles not including all the other walking we get to do. I shouldn't be excited about using port-a-potties, taking a shower in a semi truck or sleeping in a little bitty tent by the very cool and windy ocean but I totally am.

Packing

I should be packing. I should be packing, I should be packing. What am I doing? I'm here typing away at the computer with ice on my knee. Actually its on my shin just below my left knee. Tonight was our 10K run night but the heat index was 145. yea too hot. WAY TOO HOT. So we had a guest speaker during our meeting and our local Doc, John the chiropractor came on in to talk about Injury Prevention. It was a nice talk and I didn't even think to ask him about my sourness. You know denial is more than just a river in Egypt. I must be well before this weekend. I cannot be injured. I guess I should go to bed then.

I did run 6 miles today on the dreadmill... I mean treadmill at the gym. I did 13 minute warm up mile, half mile increments starting at 9 min pace with a minute rest between. I worked my way down to 8 min/mile pace. I then did a mile cool down at 11 min pace.

I felt good. now I hurt though. I think I'll de-ice, go to bed and see how I feel in the morning.

Hot with a Side of Snow

Today in Northern California we will be breaking records with heat. It is supposed to be 112*F with winds out of the North. Bad news... Bad, Bad, Bad news. I look outside and it appears to be overcast. Look closer and it looks like its snowing... sweet little snowflakes falling softly from the sky. But thats not snow being pushed in by the BLOWDRYER hitting our part of the country, its ASH. The air quality in nearby Paradise and Oroville is officially at DANGEROUS. We are so close to the Danergous level that we might as well be classifying it as that anyway.

These fires will have started in our neck of the woods for an increadable 4 weeks tomorrow. 4 weeks of people fearing that they will loose their homes (or actually losing them like our friends). We have been dealing with the smoke and bad air quality for 4 weeks. We have been living inside, not running, not swimming, playing outside for 4 weeks. That is half the summer. It does not look like its going to let up either. Not good, not good at all. I will be thankful for the reprieve this weekend while at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer but I wish the hubby would take the kids to the lake or something since the air might be better up there... oh yea, the roads are ALL CLOSED due to fires.

This is so depressing, so I'll go to the gym today and not do yoga, I'll do my speedwork for the day and hope I can make the meeting tonight on injury prevention. I'll take the kids to the gym so they will at least be doing something different than looking at our same walls all day. We'll make dinner for Chris's Gma and enjoy some time with her and maybe go to the library to get some new reading material.

Meme: 6 random facts about me!

I have never personally been tagged for a meme. Isn't that crazy? I was always jealous of those bloggers who tagged each other because they really wanted to know more about each other and they cared about them as friends. I lurked and rarely left messages but here, on these running blogs I've felt like I have a niche. I love my frequent visits to various blogs and I'm worried if they go too long and excited every time they leave a new post. Yea, I'm weird.

Kai tagged me for a meme to share with ya'll 6 things you probably don't know about me. Some of you who read this are my nearest and dearest friends and know these things but those running buds online will probably roll your eyes and wonder why I lead such a boring life.

1) I just read: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch about following your childhood dreams. It is amazing and although there are many of the same things as the book to watch Randy speak and give his last speech is even more magical and I hope that not only did I learn something but that there are a list of things I will never forget from this book. You can catch his speech (1hour 16 minutes long) on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo and its so worth the time.

2) I don't really like to eat. I know I'm weird. My best friend would say, "I have issues". LOL. There are very few foods that really make me want to eat but right now I'm on a Thai food kick and lovin the curry. Of course no one in my family likes it but me so I rarely get it. there are some people in my life who give me a bad time about my 105-112lb frame and 7lb fluctuation... I am actually one of those people who forgets to eat. CRAZY TINA I know. I heard that will change when I'm in full blown marathon training this fall and that I will gain some LBs from the non-stop eating and hunger.

3)I have a huge crush on ... Lance Armstrong. Yes I think he is incredibly hot. (hold on a sec... I'm fanning myself... OK I'm back) He may be an ego maniac but those elite athletes really need to always put themselves first to achieve those insane goals. I don't know what it does for his Karma or mine for having a crush on him, but I will dream from afar (hubby knows all about my slight obsession and I'm OK with his obsession with Angelina Jolie and I can't blame him) because that is definitely enough for me.... well maybe.

4) I moved from a small Bay Area town where I had spent my whole education career to a smaller foothills town my Sophomore year and hated it. The clicks were already formed, I didn't fit in. They ran on asphalt and cement. I thought they were living in the dark ages (and I was recovering emotionally from a diagnosis of Melanoma) so I hung up my running shoes and put on my writing shoes and was the sports editor for the school news paper my Sophomore year. I loved it and sometime I'll figure out if writing was something I want to pursue farther. It's on my childhood dreams list.

5) I want to be apart of building a Habitat for Humanity House. I hadn't ever even said it out loud but its been in my heart as long as I can remember, but my FIL just applied for a management job with them and I hope that it leads to a wonderful job for him and maybe an opportunity to fulfil another dream for me.

6) I wish my husband would run with me. I really do. I live having this time for me but it would be so nice to run together. He is not a patient person so I don't think it will be something I get but I'll keep asking and he'll probably smile and say no... and the cycle will continue.I tag Nancy, Carly, P.O.M. and Shirley and anyone else who might want to do it. Don't forget to link back so we can see what you wrote, especially if you did the meme and but I didn't get a chance to tag you personally.

Independece Day 5K

I had mixed feelings about running this. Am I doing too many, should I concentrate on my 10k work so I can comfortably move into my half marathon training? Should I just give my body a break? No can't do that. I want to run, I want to see if two speed workouts made a difference. I want to do it and not not worry about my time until its over.

I signed up. Cute shirts and all (of course I couldn't wear it... its not pink. another story for another time). It was not chip timed. I'm ok with that. I didn't start too far back so I'd give myself about 4 seconds since there were about 75 people in front of me when I started before I crossed the start line. I was dragging from the beginning. I was tired, i was sore but I wanted to run. I refused to watch my Garmin for Pace because I felt like a slug all ready. I had to stop and tie my shoe again, even though I double knotted it before the race, I was nauseous and just felt like crud. I felt hungry and thirsty and it was all I could think about... FREE PANCAKE BREAKFAST WITH TWO BIG SAUSAGE LINKS AND OJ! I mustard up strength and some positive chants in my head to get me through and I finished better than I had hoped. 27:06 which is 30 seconds better than my Nike's women's fitness 5K a month ago. I need to get out of this little rut of self doubt before it really drags me down.

Overall I am proud of my time. I'm glad that even on an off day when things don't go the way you want them to I still made a good time. I am glad that all the speed work is working and am sad I will be taking a slight break from my running to walk but so glad I'll be walking too. I'm looking forward to those long runs we'll be doing in August and September for the half marathon group. I love to run long as long as I'm in a group, even if I'm by myself in that group, even if I'm the slowest slug they have. I can't wait.

Lazy week

Well not really lazy but I'm trying desperately NOT to hurt myself before the Breast Cancer walk with weekend.We will be walking 26.2 miles (is it considered a marathon if you are walking and its not a race? I don't think think so but whatever) day one through a bit of town, the Precidio, across the Golden Gate Bridge, into Sausilito out to Mill Valley, where we will eat lunch, "Mill" about town and acrue some miles, head back through Sausilito cross the bridge again and down the hill to Chrissy Fielf where we will be spending the night.

Day two is through town up MONDO hills and back to speedway meadows for the closing ceremonies. sounds simple but those 13.1 miles are brutal. We have such a great time though and its for a great cause. So if I'm postless this next week you know why.

too hard on me....

I am my worst critic... I think something is so-so and other's gush. Whats that about. I just posted a rant about how crappy my run was but when I looked at my Runner world smart coach it says that tonight's run should be 5 miles total, Tempo run of 3miles at 9:29min per mile. I guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I obviously ran too fast mile one but it can't be undone and tomorrow is another day....

Bad, Terrible, no good day

I really thought that today would be a good run but I did so many things to sabatage it. I was exhausted because I didn't fall asleep until after 1am (and look its almost 11:30 tonight and I'm still up), I didn't eat well today and hadn't eated at all since 2pm, I'm sure I didn't hydrate well enough either.

We went out for our run and its better than it had been smoke wise. We are in the moderately unhealthy range instead of the "Everyone should remain inside with all windows closed" range we had last week that I ran one day outdoors. But my exhaustion caught up to me. I did my warm up mile but it always takes more than a mile for my body to get ready to run a hard training run. I did my 3 one mile intervals with one minute break and my times went from OK to pot in a matter of one mile. Mile one was 8:50 which isn't wonderful but not awful. Mile 2 is at something crazy like 9:24 then mile 3 was just a depressing 9:36. OMG what is happening to me!?!? I feel like a failure. How could I digress so stinkin fast? I did better after 4 of Deron's awesome 'ritas but I couldn't run a decent time with 1minute breaks between? WTF!!!!!!

Friday at the 4th of July 5k I had better whip some ass. At least my own. I feel like crap-o-la so I'm headed to bed... to think about how I should be feeding and hydrating myself and hopefully implementing these things back into my life. Why does 2300 calories seem so daunting? I'm just a stinkin' mess.....