High on the Miles



Liz at mile 17 (committed)



The method to my madness is easy. Its been stressful around here so I run... or I don't but there is no in between. I run hard or I run long. I did learn so much at my RRCA class and but the big make it work for me info is to slow down on my longer runs and I''ll feel better. Guess what? It worked! I started out working hard on that first Tuesday night speed workout but then kept it light for the rest of the week. I eased off even more on my pace and I did amazing on our 20 mile run this weekend, even with the crazy wind, rain and sleet (and hills) we ran through I felt great the entire way. I had nice easy quiet 6 and 7 mile runs all week. That 20 miler on Saturday finished off a 47 mile week.



Bday shot of tequila



We celebrated my birthday by going with friends to dinner at Tres Hombres, hit Panama's for a drink (but no potty breaks!) then for some "Drunk Bowling". I was pretty blitzed by then and made everyone shake their butts if they were up at the same time as me. I yelled WAHOO a lot and drank a bunch of NorCal Margaritas which made me VERY HAPPY! We didn't get in until 1am or so and I slept like a ROCK! I didn't go for a run Sunday but I didn't have a hangover either! Wahoo for me.



at mile (crazy) 17 of 20



Monday I did knock out a good 7 miles up to the airport but it was warm. Weird what 2 days can make, from snowing to the 60's and sunshine. Tuesday night was my "webinar" with the rest of the RRCA group and so I ran with Robin, Traci, Marta and Anna at the CSUC track that morning. We ran bleachers and sprints. Not my usual kinda run and it showed. I was at least one set back from them by the end and my strides (sprints) were poor but I tried! I was super sore and tired and still had to run to mom's office to call AAA since I locked my keys in my car and then run back. It was only 4.87 miles in the bank but 3 of those were pretty hard work! I was super sore the next day but went for a nice long hilly hike with friends to Table Mt. and even more sore today (Thursday) but ran a good 7miles including the mother hill with Tracy, Cheri and Liz today. Hopefully I'll run 5 tomorrow and figure out how to get my 18 in on Saturday.  

RRCA Coaching Certification



The cute hat I bought myself for my Bday



Something I've been pondering and throwing around in my head for a while is to take a coaching certification class. I have a lot of friends who are very interested in running and ask me advise. I give them little ideas on how to get started and what worked for me but I struggled with the fact that I'm a runner not a coach and truthfully as much as I love running... I love teaching more. I miss teaching CPR, I miss being the one who can lead others into a healthy lifestyle. I wanted to be a part of the larger picture.

I approached Susan at our local Fleet Feet and told her I was interested in helping out in the longer distance programs and did she think she could use someone in the Fall. She said yes! Their programs are growing by leaps and bounds for all the programs and its hard to keep enough coaches who can follow their philosophy rotating through the programs with some time off too. It would be nice to give those who are in there a break and its always good to have more "feet" out there to monitor the runners.

I've only been running for the last 3+ years and would they accept me as their coach? Would I do well enough in this class to not just pass but to get the info I need to teach them? Would this give me the confidence I'm looking for?

I headed for LV from Disneyland on my sisters 29th Birthday. While they were driving back to NorCal I was on planes and in Taxi cabs. I took cheater books with me to study before I got to class. I got to the hotel and walked over to REI so I'd know where I was going to be taking the class the next day. I also bought myself a pair of cute capris and a hat. I'd been looking for one in DL and never found one that I really loved.



Where our class was held in NWLV



I ate dinner at a pub across from the hotel/casino and met a sweet young couple out on a date sitting at the bar that chatted me up. They said it was nice to have a conversation with another adult at dinner. I was glad they got a chance to get out. I remember what that was like!

Class on Saturday was my birthday. Lots of sciencey stuff. Learned A LOT. I learned why slow running is good, why building your endurance helps in any longer race, why we build the programs the way we do.

We all met back at the same pub I ate at the night before and had a yummy dinner of stir fry and they bought me a "birthday shot" that I had to take without my hands. Didn't work out to well. Total party foul but it was fun.



wicked blurry shot of my birthday "shot"



Sunday I met up with some of my RRCA peeps and we went for a run. Of course I got lost with my running buddy so we just headed up to Starbucks instead. :) Got in a good 3 miles though! Went back to the hotel and took showers and headed back to REI community room. Warren jumped in and gave us a lot more info to digest and we had to put a lot of that information into action. Building a running plan and program around a really "pushy" pretend runner looking for a half marathon time a bit beyond her abilities at that time. Most of us judged a little too conservative. It was hard to think outside the box but we got the picture pretty quick! I left with a good view of how things work and lots of notes! Thank you Susan for the heads up and the good advise.

I took the test today and got a 92%. less than what I expected but that's OK. I need to be better about following my gut!

Disneyland trip

WOW! Its been too long! I'm going to do a few recap posts here and catch you all up on the fun times I've had since I've last posted.


Nani w/ her pop princess do and Belle



The week before we went to Disneyland I was so good about my miles! I hit them all knowing the next week would be hard with my sister and her kids in town before we left for SoCal. I did have a crazy headache that Saturday and bailed 2 miles in but I felt confidant that it wouldn't interfere too much with my training. Up to that point I had been really good this training period with hitting close to what is written for me. I also ate well. I've been more aware of my gluten splurges and that they really don't make me feel well so it isn't worth it to jump ship. I did a time or two but for the most part I was diligent. I missed posting here because we didn't have Internet. That just about drove me bonkers.

We drove to Disneyland caravan style with my sis, her kids and my parents in the other car on that Monday. It was my nephew Jeremy's 3rd birthday. He's so stinkin' cute! It was also my 18th anniversary of my Melanoma diagnosis. Let me tell you that it may have been wet and cold in NorCal but SoCal was beautiful and sunscreen was a must. We had dinner at Rainforest Cafe and headed to our hotel for a good night sleep.



5 kids and my sista on Casey Jr. train



me and my boys



Tuesday-Thursday was a whirl wind of Disneyland madness including my hubby taking my niece (6) on her first roller coaster ride on the Matterhorn, my nephews (JJ age 3) and (TyTy age 4) each on their first roller coaster rides on the Gadgets GoCoaster in ToonTown. Not sure the little guys recovered but Nani sure loved it! I took her and her mom over to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for a princess makeover and she chose the "POP PRINCESS" hair do for her princess day. She looked wild! Kinda reminded me of the 80's music I listened to growing up. She only needed a microphone to sing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" into and it would have been perfect! We did so much walking and carried Tyler (4) a lot. I estimated that we probably walked close to 10 miles a day. Between carrying my nephews and hustling from 7am til 11pm every day I don't think I lost any fitness while I was there! Probably one of the best parts was that my sista, my nephew and I wore our "It's My Birthday" badges with our names on them and EVERYONE said happy birthday to us for the last two days (that's when we found out we could wear them even if it was our bday WEEK) of our park visit. It was pretty amazing!





St. Patty's day in the park with the whole Family



Holding Tink w/ Nani and my Sista




My little family in CalAdv.



All the kids at the CARS





Got to see Pooh Bear! I love taking little guys to DL!

 I hopped on a plane to Vegas Friday while they drove home to cold wet Chico. I cried in the car on the way to the airport. I missed my sista and the kids already and I had just walked out the door.