Baked Apples and a Foot on Ice

Sat on my ass all day with my foot up and an ice pack rotated with an ace bandage for compression. It hurts like the dickens on the top of my foot just below the ankle. The feeling has point tenderness then spreads down my foot. Since we just spend a butt load of money on the same foot for the whole pelvic tilt/hip/leg/foot issue the whole first part of the year I'm a little perturbed that a whole new thing just popped up. :( So if I don't feel better tomorrow another appointment with the podiatrist is in order. Grrrr.... Saturday is supposed to be our first 20 miler.

BUT I made the most yummy baked apples and that makes up for it a little, well at least for today.

• 2 Granny Smith Apples cored about 3/4 of the way
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup TJ pecan cluster cereal
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces
• a small pad of butter on top of each
• cinnamon to taste

I put both apples in a glass loaf pan with 1/8 cup water. mixed up the brown sugar, cereal and walnut pieces and fill the apples to the top. place a little tab of butter and put into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes covered with foil.Take the foil off and cook 5 more minutes until the apples are soft. When you take your apple out sprinkle with cinnamon if you want. I did have a little stuffing left so I added that on top after I put it in my bowl. Yumm-o. I added a side of TJ's pumpkin ice cream and have to say it was the best pumpkin ice cream I've had so far.  I do love me some pumpkin ice cream so I'm sort of an unofficial expert if I do say so myself.



baked stuffed apples w/ TJ's pumpkin ice cream!



This was the perfect  easy fall dessert! I just tossed it into the oven when I was finished baking the chicken for dinner and set the timer. By the time it came out of the oven and cooled it was perfect timing for a warm treat!

Just Put it Out There

Maybe if I put it out there I'll be more likely to make it happen. After my long run on Saturday I'm a little worried about getting back out there tomorrow. I need to go to KOR and also run 4 miles tomorrow. My foot hasn't bothered me much today and I'm going to ice it again tonight and give it a real try tomorrow. Maybe adjusting the laces some.

I had a great weekend with my sister and the kids. I can't believe its been 8 months since I've seen them. I got so much love from my niece and nephews. Especially the nephews. Princess Nani plays well with my boys but the two little ones really clung to me this weekend and I loved every moment of it. I loved listening to JJ laugh that deep belly laugh of his. I love that TyTy loves for me to blow on his belly and tickle him. He just asked me over and over. I got such an abundance of hugs and kisses and love from my nephews. It made me miss my boys being so little when I was their whole world. I have to hold onto my boys and that feeling just a little longer when they give out the extra love that came so easy when they were little when I didn't have to beg for a kiss or cuddle time.

 Nani is getting so big. I'm always amazed by her sensitivity and creativity. She hasn't been jaded or built walls around herself in spite of the challenges of changing schools, moving from friends, having her parents split up and all the other changes this year has brought. I know she's scared but when I took her out of the room and talked to her she told me out right that she was scared, that she missed her home and she really missed her daddy. The way she clung to me and cried made me remember the way it used to be when I was little before I was too scared to hold back. She reminds me so much of me and I miss her so much.

I'm going to hold onto those hugs and those kisses and the tears I wiped away this weekend in my heart and the forefront of my thoughts this week when I feel like I can't make it to KOR, when those miles seem like too many or the weather isn't perfect for a good run. I'll hold onto the sound of their laughter when I run in the rain next Saturday for my 20 mile run. Because I got a little time with my favorite people this weekend I'm going to put that out there, into everything I do, into my effort on the pavement, on the trail, working in the classroom. Their weekend with us brought me a little extra umph to get me through my single mama time this week and all of next week when my firefighter provider (FFP) is out of town on hunting and fire business.

I'm thinking that maybe if I clean out the freezer the FFP might actually see and kill some elk this week. Day 2 has come and gone and no animals yet.

Do you "meat eaters" eat game or do you buy from local grocers or farms?

18 Wheeler... keep on Driving

right over me. At least that is how I feel after my long run this morning. My whole body rebelled and decided that today was not a good day to run that far. BUT I got my butt out into the rain and hung on for dear life and ran. Hip and calves hurt at first but by mile 4 they were pretty much warmed up. The rain finally stopped around mile 8 and stayed away until the last mile or so.

I'm worried though... the top of my right foot hurts.. a lot. I don't want it to be anything big and I'm thinking that I'll wake up tomorrow and it will be a bad dream. 6 weeks to CIM and its not a good time for an injury. I'll ice again tonight, I'll ice tomorrow and back to running and KOR on Monday.

So I'm giving that 18 miler (and wheeler) that kicked my ass today, permission to keep on driving because I have too many important things riding on this program and a lot of prep/run time invested. Lets keep our fingers crossed for good news!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for the fall weather. The cooler weather has finally found us after an extended Indian Summer her in Northern California. Tomorrow's high is 60 and its gonna be wet this weekend!

I'm thankful for my boys even though they were total boogers today (actually still are being boogers since they refuse to go to bed). I'm thankful they are happy and healthy boogers.

I'm thankful that my hubby is getting away with his dad, brother and  buddies. He needed it, he works so hard for us and he comes back refreshed and happy (and hopefully brings a whole truckload of Elk meat too).

I'm thankful for my family. My sister, niece and nephews are in town and I'm so glad I'll get to spend some quality time with them this weekend. I missed them so much!!!

I'm thankful for my friends. Some of them are going through some really hard life changing things and some of them are all consumed with new and wonderful adventures but they still check in and support me as I try and support them. I'm so blessed to have them in my life.

I'm thankful that I have a strong body even if I keep getting sick. In general I can still do all the things I need to do but I know that there are moms out there fighting debilitating diseases like breast cancer and depression but still get up and do what they need to get done to be a mom and a wife every day.

No more "Next time" for me.

Monday night at softball I hit the ball... twice.

I've started playing last Spring on the co-ed team for NSEngineering and every time I was at bat I struck out. Not for the lack of trying... I just couldn't seem to connect. There were many games that I just felt like I shouldn't be there and I was just dragging them down. I got through every game last season and half the games this season without the ball making contact. Every time I walked off the field Todd (manager) would say, "next time".

Monday night he was in Hawaii with his GF celebrating his birthday. (Tuesday night he proposed and she said YES!) so he wasn't there to see me hit the ball. BUT that's OK because now I have a little sense of "I can do it" because I already did it... twice!

Its kind of like running in the way that you think it looks so easy. Just get out there and run right? But running takes practice, to build miles, to build speed, to hydrate and fuel properly. Sometimes you just have to keep doing something until it clicks. You may go awhile before you have a good run again, or hit the ball again and I'm good with that. I do think that the rest of the team got much more of a kick out of it than me. One of the guys said to FFP that "even if nothing else goes right this game, Tina hitting the ball made it all worth it." :)

Then someone stole me phone. :(

Three Things Thursday

1. My hubby left today with his brother, dad and buddies for a 10 day camping/hunting trip out of state for Elk. I hope he brings something back because my freezer is empty and I haven't bought meat in so long I wouldn't even know where to start! We generally eat elk and venison for red meat and wild pig for our pork. I have been buying chicken from the local farm but its coming into duck season (and turkey season I think) so we'll have some foul in our futures soon.

2. I was dreading 10 days alone with the boys until my sister called and said that she was going to drive down from Washington this weekend with my niece and nephews! That totally made up for it! I miss them all so much (and I have very cool gifts for the kids that I collect but always forget to mail).

3. That race on Sunday was harder on my body than I thought. I ended up with a cold on top of it. I had a really easy run yesterday and have missed KOR all week. I'm feeling like such a flake.

NWM 2010 Half marathon report




Dimity (tallest) and Sarah (next tallest) in back and me in the middle of it all

 

I went into the training program with little expectations. I just wanted to cross the finish line in December, actually I just wanted to do an entire leg of the CIM relay in December and do it with a smile on my face.

The highlight of my weekend was actually to meet Dimity and Sarah who wrote RUN LIKE A MOTHER: and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity  for their presentation on Saturday morning then again in the afternoon for a little pre-race RLAM chit chat. Their voices resonate so loudly through the pages in the book and are just as witty and down to Earth as the essays in their book.

Race morning: Got up with Tracy and Teri and headed to the start line about 5 blocks away. It was warmer than I thought and by the time we got to Union Square the buzz and the energy was through the roof! We used the little-blue-rooms then headed to the line up. It went all the way around the block and we didn't even get close to where we were last year. We started so far back that it took 7 minutes before we could even move forward at a slow walk, almost 15 to reach the start line a few more before our feet moved in a motion that almost resembled a shuffle more than a walk. That was a really slow start but my whole view this year was to have fun.



me running w/ GG Bridge in the back ground



We kept an easy pace those first few miles to warm up then just took the hills easy and the downhill and flats at a harder pace. We sang and took some pictures along the route, we have high 5's and checked out everyone else's running gear. I took some GU chomps at mile 4 and mile 8. Mile 6 was the start of the first long hill and I just put my head down and put one foot in front of the other and cruised up the endless hill. I smiled to myself and repeated the mantra of the race: I run to be... and I filled in the blanks. I don't think i had one negative self talk moment for the whole race. After each hill was a huge smile and a little "wahoo!"  I started picking up the pace after the last long hill at about mile 8 and slowly push the pace. I did wonder where the heck the turn was into the park for the last two miles but all along I kept wondering what was so awful last year? The smile stayed plastered on my face even when the sprinkles came at mile 9 and continued to get a little more wet as we went along. It was still "sprinkles" until the end and it started to rain for real!



Me and Tracy at the end before it rained too hard!

Tracy and I played leapfrog along the whole race and we talked little but cheered each other and pushed each other along as we went. I pulled ahead that last half mile and pushed the envelope even farther... I crossed the line with a huge smile on my face and my arms in the air!!! Tracy was just behind me and so was Bernie. We got pictures with the firefighters decked out in Tuxedos handing out Tiffany & Co. necklaces instead of finishers medals. We stayed to the left so Teri could find us and walked through the finisher chutes and were corralled to the end. I felt like my throat and tummy were full of ice cubes and the rain got more and more heavy. I went off one direction to find Dimity and Sarah but found hot chocolate and hot soup instead, found the girls and headed for the long hike back to the car.  Even if it wasn't my fastest it was the most fun I've had running since the CIM last year. I'm looking for a fun race in December too!

I Run to Be:

I run to be:

• a mom who sets a good example for her boys and their friends by living a healthy lifestyle and getting them out and encouraging them to find exercise they love.
• a wife and partner who is healthy and fit enough to still go do fun things with her hubby and get the things that need to be done as a stay at home mom done while he's gone.
• the kind of friend who has learned to listen with intention whether on a long run or a phone conversation and be a true supporter in the things they love
• a mentor to new runners who are looking for direction and support




2010 NWM half finishers necklace


• most of all to be the best possible me I am am capable and intended to be.

I totally Rocked this Weekend

I suffered from a terrible ear infection all week (and refused to see the dr.). I lived on ibuprofen for a few days I think. But I felt better on Saturday and met the marathon training group at 1mile for our 16 mile run. The great thing about meeting here is that the city turned the creek into a pool perfect for post run "ice baths".

Since the 10mile and Half Marry programs are over we got Ramon back to help coach! We took off and I got to chit chat with the girls at the back of the group since I'm to slow to keep up with the faster runners.  We headed up the park, took the levy around, then headed up Upper Park road all the way to B trail. 8 miles! It was pretty slow going since it was a decent climb all the way to our turn around on a rocky unsurfaced fire road. We did take an extra long rest at the top, ate some GU chomps and i really needed to stretch my hip flexors (ouchy!!!) and headed back down the trail. We chatted away and the miles seemed fly by. When we got to the aid station with 5 to go with picked up the effort to marathon pace then the last mile was supposed to be 10k effort to simulate the "race to the finish kick" we should all have at the end of the Marathon in 8 weeks. We finished strong. I still felt good enough to bring home a 9:08 the last mile! I'm starting to feel my legs, brain and lungs falling back into sync. Not as fast as I have gone in the past but definitely seeing improvements. You can see my Garmin Connect info
Got back to 1mile and stretched good before literally jumping into the creek for the "ice bath". This is so much easier than going home, filling up the bath tub with cold water, getting in then adding ice. 15 minute soak then got out and dried off as Ramon was talking to Tara about ultra running. Now this has been sitting in the back of my mind for a long time. I even gave a little hint a few months ago on FB about wanting to try my hand at an Ultra some day. We talked ourselves into doing the Sunsweet 50k next Spring. HOLY CRAPPOLA I'm even more crazy than I thought.!

bib for 1/4 marry and cute long sleeve tech shirt!

Good Neighbor and I had our Bunco for Boobies night last night so I was on my feet getting stuff done all day then headed to packet pick up to sign up last minute for the HOT Half in the quarter marathon. Got my bib, my shirt and I was off to convince a bunch of ladies to spend a bunch of $ for a good cause... and it worked! We raised $915 last night!!!

I got up this morning and handed the kids to the sitter and headed to Hooker Oak park for the Hot Half and quarter marathon. I met up with a friend TD and we headed out on a warm up run. She was treating this run like her last long run before Nike Womens next week and needed to get 9 in total. Since we were both doing the 1/4 we headed out a mile and a quarter and back to get the difference and did some planning for next weekends race in the city. We shared some GU chomps drank some water and lined up.


 I'm not much of a trail runner but I was excited to try something new and work into more trail runs since I got my cool nifty trail shoes too! I also wore the cutest outfit possible to distract other runners and hopefully disorient them long enough to let me pass and then they can't catch up. That was the plan anyway.

TD and I post race

Me and Shannon post race

The race started and immediately hit some tough terrain. It was fun though. I can't believe I actually enjoyed crashing through brush, up embankments, around boulders, through creek beds, along rocky or very narrow paths and sometimes down steep lose graveled trails. Many of these trails are ones we run on every week... and some were definitely harder and less run paths. But it was fun and I didn't fall and hurt myself or anyone else even once. We had water/electrolyte stations at mile 2 and 4.5. I walked through those but none of the hills or especially technical areas. I'm pretty darn happy with myself. I ran most of the first 5 miles with Shannon who was in our training group last year and we did some catching up when the path was a little wider and we didn't have to concentrate too much. When we hit the fire road I took off and caught up to TD who had been ahead of us all along and we just tried to keep her in our sights. We worked hard to keep the pace up that last mile and a half (.83 is more like it). I crossed the line in about 1h10min. That brought my grand total today to 9.23 miles with our warm up. Here's my GC for the race sans warm-up.

I met up with Shannon, TD and Jed from our training group was there too. It was a pretty awesome day. Chico Running Club did a pretty good job of organizing and getting us out there today. Instead of a medal we got pint glasses! Aren't these cute!


I did need a nap today but over all I felt great for the whole race. Came home and did some laundry (fun fun fun I know!) and re-organized bunco stuff for future games. I finally settled down tonight and tried out the new glass... with my favorite beer of course!

I do need to give a special shout out to SBS who ran Portland Marathon today and brought home a BQ coming in at under the 4 hour mark. I hear it was a soggy race!! And also to Anthony Villasana and Holly Nevarez who both ran a very hot Chicago Marathon today. You guys rocked it in spite of the weather. I'm not sure I could have said the same. All of our local runners doing the Healdsburg Half (my hats off to you!) but especially to Ed Hudson who ran an amazing 50mile race yesterday. You are truly an inspiration.You are all my heroes!!!  I think 10-10-10 will go down in history as a day of extremes.

I'll raise my pint glass to those extreme runners!!! Cheers!

New local Long Run and Livestrong Yellow Day 5K 2010

Saturday our coach took us to Riverbend Park in Oroville to start our run there. We had an amazing run along the Feather River to the damn, past the fish hatchery and through lots of trails. From the park to the aid station just below the damn was 7 miles of paved trail, dirt trail and rocky trail, so it was 14 mile round trip technical, hilly but fun course. I had the FFP come along as an aid station since our coach Paul was going to have to carry all the water for us via bike. We did a little 10 minute warm up, some active stretching and headed out.

I was running with 3 other girls on the way out there. Karen, Ellen and Kim. We had to run through a creepy tunnel and got turned around twice but made it there safe and sound. Got some electrolyte replacement drink from the hubby and headed back. It was so beautiful! I'm glad we didn't see the snakes that the fast runners saw. Sometimes its a blessing to be in the back. Karen and I stuck together and sped up a little in front of the big group of gals. We haven't really ran together alone before so it was nice to talk to someone new.  We did end up being stopped by a train. It turned out to be a good place to stretch. Although we both felt tight running back, we stretched again well and headed back to Chico in one piece. Thank you Hubby for manning the station. I guess he saw 5 jake turkeys, 150 or so Canadian Honkers and some deer out there. Its a great place to run and I hope he lets us do it again. I love Chico but it was nice to run something new for a change.

We headed to Paradise to pick up the kiddos then home to veg. Well I vegged and ate and did dishes and laundry and ran to Fleet Feet to get the hubby some socks and us all Livestrong yellow bracelets for the race we were volunteering for later. Not a lot of rest and probably not enough to eat.

turn at the 1 mile race in Bidwell Park

I've been dreaming about helping out since last year when Sean Murphy started a local Livestrong group in our community. Being a survivor of 17 years isn't something that I need everyone to know. I don't keep it a secret but participating in this is all about me, for me in my heart and in my head. I made the boys and the hubby (FFP) help because all of us have been touched by cancer. FFP lost his Grandfather and Great Grandfather these last few years to cancer. His mother is a Breast Cancer survivor. I have lost my Grandfather, my uncle James, my uncle Larry and there are many other friends and family including my mom and my uncle Jerry who are survivors or angels on our list of those cancer has reached. The boys learned very young what cancer was and that it doesn't discriminate. It could hit anyone at anytime.That fear lives in my heart always. I hope I didn't pass that to them.

my boys at the 5k turn around point near the Manzanita Bridge

The boys and I drew signs in yellow chalk on the ground along the course at the 1 mile and the 5k turns on the footbridges. We cheered people on at the first bridge then headed to the other end of the park for the second round of cheering. Although it was almost a mile and a half those kids were troopers. We drew more signs with the limited amount of chalk left and yelled and cheered and sent them over the bridge and back down the park telling them how thankful we were they were there to run/walk for such a wonderful cause, how this survivor thanks them, how they are making a difference literally one step at a time.

We cleaned up and headed back. I was looking forward to finishing up with the last people and celebrating with the group. Unfortunately one runner at the finish line reported to one of our volunteers that a little boy said he had lost his mom at the last foot bridge where I was and they asked me to go back and check. I was already almost 3/4 of a mile back and in frustration I sent the kids together back to the start/finish line I headed back the way I came from. I would not be able to live with myself if I hadn't checked but I was tired and cranky and pretty sure that I did a good check of the area on both sides of the creek before I left.

Although I had no reason to be upset with that volunteer I was a little. She didn't ask or have the hubby (who has little knowledge of the layout of the park)  ask how far away I was, she just assumed I was "closer than she was". I had already run 15 miles that morning and being a part of the finish and the festivities meant a lot to me. I didn't need anyone else to know that before we set out on our assignments but in my heart that was what I was looking forward to most. I cried for the 2 miles back to the bridge then back to the finish line where I got a hug and a cookie for being the nice one who did what needed to be done. I was mad at myself for feeling so selfish and sad for me for having missed out.

The "lost" boy had obviously been running with his mom but had probably run up ahead and turned around and not seen her. She probably made it around the corner and caught up with him and they had likely finished the race together since no one reported a missing child. There was no lost little boy when two of the runners re-ran and checked the course. No one called me to tell me that the course had been cleared. It would have taken a volunteer from the finish line 5 minutes to drive to the bridge that it took me 15 minutes to walk back to bridge and looking everywhere in case I missed something before turning around and walking all the way back 30 minutes to Sycamore Glenn.  I was really mad at the lady who ran another 20 minutes to the finish line before reporting a boy who was "lost" to a volunteer when I was standing 20 yards away from where she had seen him with a telephone in my hand when she crossed the bridge. She didn't send the boy to me or even try to help him. She left him to finish this "important" race in spite of someone being in trouble. That really hurt my heart. We headed home. Off and on for the rest of the night was a battle against crying and feeling angry.

I know that the people who were in charge of the race did a great job and I'm looking forward to working with them again. I actually can't wait. This was an event I was excited about working on all year. I'm sad it didn't turn out for me the way I had hoped but I also understand that things happen... I just wish it didn't feel like they always have to happen to me. That was more than just a celebration of my survivorship and a way to raise awareness  for a wonderful charity that brings funds to the research for a cure. For me it was more than the anniversary of the day Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer that lead us to this point with an amazing charity and local chapter. That day was the also the celebration of life of Vicki Gelletti, one of my Aunt Sandy's best friends. She was an amazing women and she fought so hard against cancer for so long. I'm thankful she's at peace and free from pain but this world will miss the angel that walked among us.

I love and miss you Grandpa Derril, Grandpa Dave, Uncle James and Uncle Larry and Vicki too. There are so many more angels up there who have been taken by cancer and so many survivors who endured and overcame cancer still with us on Earth but  no matter where you are, you are all in my heart.