I {heart} Give Aways!

I'm a big fan of Girl Get Strong. I even won my favorite tech hat "Run U Mother" from them a few months ago so I can look like a sporty mom even if I'm an injured runner for the time being. They have great articles about staying healthy and getting strong and they have wonderful give aways (like me hat!). Right now if you become a member (easy peasy lemon squeezy) and comment about your favorite workout gear you have a chance to win a totally cute outfit! Extra entrys for posting on your blog, FB page, and twitter!

For your information my MOST FAV (and I have a lot... the peeps down at Fleet Feet Chico can attest to that) is this Brooks set of shorts and tank with built in bra*. I love the color and the feel (the shirt doesn't ride up or get bunchy like some other tanks I've worn). Wearing this outfit is usually a gaurantee this run won't totally suck even if all the elements are against me.

*darn picture won't load!

Run into the New Year

So far I've tallied about 22 miles for the week. I didn't run last Saturday with group because I just wanted to sleep in and hang out with my kids after being gone to LV the week before. I knew vacation was coming to an end and I wanted to not have to worry about getting up and about for just one morning. I took up an offer to run with Susan (owner of FF and 5k, 10k and 1/2 mary coach), Ed and Katie (both helping to coach the 1/2 mary group). I love my running groups but not sure how "special" I looked running with 3 coaches, either I really needed it or I'm damn lucky. I'll take the latter "Thank-you-very-much". We took the trail to upper park and the levy around to the bridge, back through 5mile and down the trail to 1 mile again. I love our not so little park. I had missed my running buddies now that we were all running different speeds during training. It was so nice to chit chat with them again. 6.89 on the books and the first for the new year and new decade.

Tuesday: Speed work. I got there early and ran an easy lap around the 1/2 mile or so loop at WW park. The fog was setting in as we did our plyometrics and warm up. We got done as the pea soup feeling settled in around us. 6x800's . Wahoo! But I kinda suck at figuring out what my threshold pace is. My marathon pace is actually about the same as my half and my 10k pace... because well, I don't really know why its the same. I feel like I push the same effort at any distance some are just farther than others I guess. TTD and I settled into a 8 minute pace (for me in hopes of speeding up by teaching my body that faster is not a bad thing) and Liz and Ross were on our heels. Diane is new to the program and she stayed right with us too. The fog was so eerie. I really liked it up until someone mentioned that it seemed like a set for a horror story... eek! Then I ran faster thinking about things like men in hockey masks and chainsaws and before I knew it the speed work was over. Did a cool down and some stretching with David. 5.5 miles in the books for my second run this 2010 season.
I took Wednesday off and ran Thursday hills with Liz, Katie and Kim. We met at 5pm after work and it was already mostly dark. We had fun with the rolling hills in CalPark and Canyon Oaks. If you stick to the main road, and don't climb the biguns, then the gentle up and downs feel like work in a good way. The fog looked beautiful hanging into the nooks and crannies of the canyon and the light finding its way through the dark foggy night in beautiful and magical ways. I <3 my good friends and a good run. Another 4.04 miles in the books.
Thursday: Ed FBed this morning that he wanted to run in upper park this morning. I took him up on it and we had a blast. We trudged through dirt and mud and muck and talked and talked and talked. I haven't had a run alone with Ed since his "unemployment days" not so long ago. Today his job was on a furlough day like most of our friends in any govt. or upper division school position holds. So glad to take advantage of the BEAUTIFUL day with a wonderful friend. 5.5miles today.
Sheesh I feel so blessed to be a part of this amazing running community.

I See the Light

I know I had a few weeks there where I wondered what in the heck I was doing this for. I'm over it. I had a few wonderful runs and some confidence back in the bank. That helps, a lot. Yesterday we ran the same 20 mile route we did two weeks ago. This time TTD and I added 2 more miles after dropping Kosmo at the car. 22 miles is the farthest I've been since the CIM last year.
We were suppose to run easy until mile 7 then Mpace to 10, easy to mile 17 then Mpace to 20 then finish up 2 if we felt we needed to get over the mental hurdle. Alan would say its good for the head. And it was. The miles flew by. We took turns talking and time to tune out. We actually did 3.5 miles at race pace since we started after we dropped our stuff after the first loop then finished strong at mile 11. There were some rolling hills on this course and I'm glad we're practicing with them since CIM is full of them. On the way back from our last little jaunt up into upper park I felt a bit of back to the barn syndrome and the need to test my speed. I was 17 miles in and ready to push it a little to finish strong. The first mile or so Kosmo was on my heels and although I left my watch at home I knew we were in the mid 8 range which is 45 seconds or so faster than Rpace for me. I dropped back a little after having hitting my max and followed Kosmo and waited for TTD to come in. Kosmo high 5'ed me and said happily we had gotten into the low 8's for that last bit. OMG! Really... that's like me mile pace. No kidding. I have 1 speed for a mile or a marathon. well not that bad but there isn't much of a difference anyway. TTD caught up and we finished the last 2.56 miles at an EASY low 10's pace for us. We stretched real good and some of us (not me) got in the creek. Since I had the house to myself this find Saturday I chose to stop by the store, get a panini and a bag of ice and torture myself all by my lonesome. I said goodbye to my running peeps and headed that way. What a great run.
Insights on Saturday:

• I felt strong
• I didn't have to chase away the negative thoughts
• I recovered well because I ate right away, I did an ice bath and I rolled and stretched that night
• I enjoyed talking to my friends and the chance to pull inward to listen to my own thoughts
• I didn't miss my watch as much as I thought I would. If I run like I feel I think I do better than if I'm constantly worried if I'm going fast or slow enough
• I loved my music but need some variety. It did keep me pumped up.
• I think I may be faster than I thought. We'll see about 11:00 on December 6th.

Today I feel so good its kind of scary. I do think I'm still having a hard time hitting my calorie needs but I'm good on hydration and I've been holding this ear infection at bay. I'm ready for my last long 3 hour run next weekend and 20 days to the CIM! Its just two weeks away for my BIL Brian who is running the satalite marathon for the Seattle Marathon from Iraq. I'm so excited for him!

For the Love of New Shoes

OMG! I love me a pair of new sneakers. Speedy Kristina (her hubby is Coach Paul, winner of the Women's Nike Marathon 2008 because is wife thought it would be funny and signed him up) bought a pair of these super cute Saucony Kilkenny XC racing flats and I could not stand it so I went and bought some last night while I was at speed group. The main premise for this purchase is my Kettlebell instructor has an issue with the padding in my regular running shoes and enlightens me, with much urgency, to running flat and more gracefully during my sprints. Mostly though, they will look so stinkin' cute with Jeans! Goodness, its amazing how a pair of super cute shoes can make your week! Actually I am looking forward to a new pair of super cute running shoes too. Mine are worn to the max.

Bucket List: Caitlin over at Healthy Tipping Point posted her fitness Bucket list and I thought I would follow. I do not have a cute cork board in which to post mine (on my to-do list) but I will list them here for you all. Please post yours and link back so I can see them!!!

1: Break a 4 hour marathon

2: Strong core, actually see some muscle in my mid section then hold onto it!!!

3: Learn to swim properly (with my face in the water and everything).

4: Run Mad Patty's crazy Monkey Hill without stopping (if you're looking for hills in Chico I know where to find them)

5: Run a 5K with my son.

6: Learn to ride a bike without falling off and being able to shift properly (ugh... never mastered that).

7: Master Bikram Yoga after Kettlebell/X-fit class is over in November.

8: Do a sprint tri (meaning learning how to swim with my face in the water and ride a bike without crashing!)

9: Getting over my fear of water and mastering Kayaking.

10: Goofy Challenge 1/2 marathon one day, full marathon the next day in Disneyworld!.

11: Run a marathon for charity.

12: Backpack the entire John Muir Trail.

I Love you Tomorrow, you're only a day away!

So I guess I'm going to stop drinking alcohol today. I did only have 2 beverages yesterday when we had a little post 10K (that I didn't participate in) soiree at "chief Howler monkey's" residence to celebrate the end of the 10K training session and his lovely wife's bachelor's degree. What a great host, a bunch of food to enjoy and a bunch of running friends and family to celebrate with us. No pictures yet (as I cringe) but I'm sure there will be some to post soon.

No running today but I did stop by a friends house who will be running Nike Women's half with me in October. Our goals are very different right now, she wants to PR and I'm in it for fun. But so nice to have someone to chat up at school about running. Most of the gals get mad when I post all about how far and how fast I went. Apparently it's rude to remind people that exercise is good. Reminder to self, not so much runner updating on facebook.

I'm so excited about getting back into the groove of things. School starts in two days, Marathon training starts tomorrow! I'm going to train like I'm out there to run a 4 hour marathon and see what happens. That's my pipe dream goal, 4:10:00 is my realistic goal.

Lots and lots and lots of talk about Greece next year. But that's all I'm saying for now. I do have reservation all ready made for an adult vacation to Las Vegas. FFP and I haven't been away for more than 1 night together without the kids since they were born. He is usually gone hunting or at work or I'm off at a race or on a girls trip. This year is going to be different. I want to actually make memories TOGETHER. of course the camera broke so we either get a new one or do without. Memories in our minds might be more realistic this year.

So running tomorrow. Marathon race report in about 18 weeks. The countdown begins.

Reach for the Stars

I'm in motion... moving towards the new season, the new dreams, the new reality of running a marathon again. My goal last year... to finish. My goal this year, concentrate on enjoying the ride.

I have made such wonderful friends in our little running community. Those folks down at FF are like my other family. I swear there are some I love as much as my family (sorry family). They help keep me accountable, in control, looking for new dreams, stretching my sights, pushing my limits. This little family is making me stronger, in my muscles, in my heart, in my head.

I am going to log my miles as power miles, no matter how slow, fast, long or short. Time to make Tina Stronger... build her confidence, fuel her drive to make a difference, even if it's just a difference in her time. It's OK to have bad runs but not OK to dwell on them. This marathon program is about the journey to the end, not so much the end result... at least until I get to the end then that will be what matters LOL.

I am not drinking soda. I know it's bad for me. I know it makes my restless leg syndrome act up, which leads to insomia, which leads to tired and cranky Tina who does not want to run. I can practically hear the calcium being sucked from my bones. No more soda. Not too much Alcohol... you know maybe some on Vicki and Liz's birthday and maybe one after the half marathon in October. But this summer was all about me enjoying a few cocktails with friends and boy oh boy did I.

I don't think I'm going to run a half, at least not to the limit. I think I'm going to enjoy the Nike Women's and if another half comes along I really want to run... and there is still room, I might jump in. No pressure. I want this whole experience to be about loving to run, loving to live, loving to be strong and have power here (pointing to my arms, then my legs, then my core, then my head). Its about quality time with my friends and setting a positive example for my kids and husband. This journey will take me to new places with familiar sights along the way.

What does it matter, that finish time, if getting there was a labor of pain instead of a labor of dedication and love? What finish line is it that you passed, succeeded, earned if you did not enjoy that journey to its fullest?

Limits

I've thought a lot about what my limits and my boundaries have been since I started running. I have gone far beyond what I thought I could ever do and thus blowing those ideas of limits out of the water. In the life of a parent I am very good at shutting those down and forgetting what I am capable of. Mostly I want to protect them, even by being "too safe and cautious" which isn't really helping them at all is it? I became a paranoid mommy. Not where I wanted to be in my parent style at all.

I never thought I would run a 10K much less a half or full marathon, but I did. I had to push those "limits" in myself to train for longer distances, for faster times, for conserving energy now so I could push it later. I had to learn to eat differently so I had energy to do things I never thought myself capable of. I had to retrain my mind with positive thoughts, not my usual process at all.

As a parent I am constantly worried about the boys getting hurt, physically, emotionally, spiritually. I built walls around us to keep us safe, those walls are mostly figurative but sometimes very physical when you see what my kids are allowed (or not allowed) to do compared to some of the other kids in our neighborhood. I don't let them play in the street. I don't allow them to go to someones house where I don't know the parents. I hover when they are online so they don't accidentally log into the wrong site. They have timers set for how long they can watch TV, play video games or have computer time. I force them to play outside with Blondy under constant supervision, and at age almost 9 I let Hollywood play outside with less supervision than before with the understanding that he knows his boundaries, knows he must check in every half hour and does not enter any ones backyard, house or car without coming and talking to me first. If I say no there will be no temper tantrums or talking back. Of course these are only a few of the obvious ways I protect my children but the list could go on all day I don't think you want me to bore you anymore with that. All in all, I built my walls pretty high.

It was so hard to climb those walls, jump over them and run, but thats exactly what I did. I always came back though. I needed to get a little Tina time in, not as a parent or a spouse for a little while. I learned that not only did I build walls around family to protect them but I built walls around myself and became of the world going on around me. So when I started to run I had little confidence in myself, but slowly and steadily I learned that there is a difference in LIMITS and BOUNDARIES. Limits are meant to be challenged and boundaries are what we have to keep us safe. My kids are getting the benefits too. A happy mom who is tearing down walls, setting boundaries broader and limits more as goals to overcome. Those walls around our family are not so high but still working on coming down s-l-o-w-l-y as my kids grow. Those walls around myself will be torn down and rebuilt over and over I think but at least they grow with my goals and are torn down with great friends, great runs, great coaches, great workouts, PR's and everyday wonderful achievements. Becoming a runner as taught me more about being a person, a wife, a friend, but mostly a parent than I could have ever imagined.

Hot Stuff

My plan was to run 40 minutes today... so about 4 miles. I walked out the door at 11am, 83 degrees F, very little wind and humid, with a positive attitude and a new podcast in my ear (other one empty so I could listen to traffic or a dog who might want to chase me), and a smile on my face. I ran down a street I haven't ran down before that takes all the way across a cross street then up towards the foothills to the levy. I made a stop at a little park where I got a drink of water at about mile 1.3 miles then out to the levy and down to Wildwood park where there is another drinking fountain. I know that to the turn around at upper park road would put me at exactly 5 miles. I played a little trick on myself, saying I'd go 4o minutes but knowing I was 5 minutes more to a drinking fountain would give me another mile under my belt. Sneaky I know.

I was hot and sweaty and loving it at the turn around. Although my body was tired and I hadn't really eaten properly my mind was so joyful that it kept me energized. I stopped for a drink and to say hello to a fellow runner at the park then headed back home. By the time I got home I was DRENCHED in sweat, like pouring down me and leaving a puddle, but I felt so good! All over tingly, runners high that I had been missing since my little hiatus from a running program.

I wonder if Kettlebells has anything to do with it? I have been so stiff and sore since starting that a good run has been the only thing that has made me feel better, so good in fact that I really look forward to doing KOR again tomorrow, a hike or 3 mile run and then 10 mile long run on Saturday!

When was the last time you had that runners high? Do you get it often or is it rare but magical?

Fast(er)

I did speed work last night with the fleet feet crew and I felt like I did a year and 3 months ago (slow). I guess I couldn't have been going too slow because for the most part I was keeping up with Vicki, at least til the end and she had an excuse too. She gave blood before the workout. We did a warm up to the park, some stretching and the directions. The temps were warm in the 70's with high humidity for this time of year. Took some getting used to. Today we would be doing 2 minutes easy running, 4 minutes hard x3 out then do the same back. So that was 36 mintues total. We definately did negative splits even though Vicki's last 4fast was a lot faster than mine. I had to hold back for fear of making a fool out of myself by puking on the side of the road in front of the mens softball team.

Don't you hate it when you just "have" to go faster than the two snotty girls in front of you but they are such BITCHES that they intentionally stay right in front of you! UGH! Mine was pure compeditiveness and they were just being snotty, catty, bratty Bitches, looking over their shoulders making sure I wasn't on their tails. They stopped at the fence where we started our workout but we still had two minutes to go, and then saw me keep running so they had to "sprint" ahead of me to be in front. What the hell? I am so going to kick their asses next week when I'm back to being me. We jogged back to the store and stretched and drank some water. I saw them leave and had this urge to flip them the bird... but I'm nice (on the outside) and refreigned for the sake of Susan and Alan who's store we were occupying and probably didn't want a brawl in the middle of it. I'm such a big talker. That would have been the ULTIMATE April Fools Joke.

First Day of Spring

Ok, today is a new day. Isn't that what Scarlett said in Gone with the Wind? My birthday overall was a good one. Today the hubby is home and we're going to a Ducks Unlimited dinner tonight.

I might run today. My hair is really cute though and it won't be really cute if I take a run and a shower. You see where my priorities are today? LOL.

All the overwelming feelings I was having yesterday aren't gone, just a little more perspective from a late night of anxiety. Path labs come back positive I'll do what I have to do. I'm already a sun screen fiend so that won't change but I will have to be more diligent about wearing proper clothing. Actually it will make the marathons I have planned for next year more about overcoming these adversaties. It gives me a goal to look forward to.

I am going to do the Hash House run with the Flying Monkeys tomorrow. That will be be fun. Ed (Howler Monkey) will be running in the Paris Marathon in a couple weeks. We're so excited for him. Its amazing how much of a family this running group has become. I actually am having withdrawls. LOL.

Yesterday my sista, niece and nephews called and sang "Happy Birthday" to me first thing. I took the boys to school, came back and cleaned the house up a bit. My MIL dropped a card by for me and it had a $25 gift card to Fleet Feet for me. With the $25 store credit I have that will give me something to shop for this Spring. Right after she left the door bell rang again. It was the flower delivery guy bringing me a half a dozen pink roses from my hubby and the boys. Liz picked me up about noon and took me to this super yummy sushi place. I had never REALLY had sushi before but this was wonderful. I loved it all. I couldn't tell you what I ate though. LOL. We went and had yogurt and snuck it into "He's just not that into you". Cute movie but my dad kept calling! Men. LOL I came home, had the kids work on homework, made them dinner and put them to bed. Good Neighbor brought me by my present its a beautiful necklace from Lia Sophia that I had been eyeing for months. What a great friend! Then the rest of my night just kind of fell apart. But I managed to make it to nearly 10pm before having a birthday break down.


Plan: Hash house run Saturday morning 8:30am

Run when I can as much with the girls as posible.

Do 30 day shred 2 times a week at least.

ok so thats not a plan its more like an outline but I need to keep doing something.

Shamrock'n (aka Big Fat DNS)

This has been a crazy training season. I swear that anything and everything has told me not to run this race. My Garmin got eaten by my dog after I tried to fix it since I broke it. I lost my ipod that wasn't working anyway. I lost my $20 gloves that I loved, I got an abscess in my cheek that swelled my face to twice the size of normal and have a possible staff infection from it. OK I give up. I did not run today. It was not meant to be and I'm sad but I'm also willing to understand that missing one race is NOT the end of the world. These Crazy antibiotics I'm on are proof that I should wait a bit til I'm better before I do any hard core training.

That didn't stop me from getting up at 3:55am in order to be in Sac on time to support my friends. Vince and Ross ran their FIRST 1/2 marathon today and are feeling the repercussions now. LOL poor guys. Vicki, Liz, Ed and Tracy TD ran of course and all did very well. Some did exceptional! (Vicki's PR was an amazing improvement and Vince had never run a half came in at 1:47:07). Lisa Duke did amazing things today as well as the rest of the FF group! I'm so proud of them!


Today I was Fleet Feet Race Group Photographer. I got our Coach from the marathon program out of the gate and at the finish... the FIRST PLACE FINISH! I got a bunch of other people from the program's pictures too. I was so proud of everyone and it was kind of cool to be behind the camera again. I'm looking for my next race though and I'm thinking I may do a trail run or two before summer. I'm hoping for the Nike Half in October while training for CIM again. I'm planning to do Napa Valley Valley in March and I hope that the 4 months between is enough for me to recoup and keep going. I'd also like to do Chicago next year! Yea I'm a bit crazy. I need to work on core work and strength if I'm planning on undertaking these kind of miles again and again and again. In the next year and a half I have several short races, a couple half marathons and 3 more full marathons.

More Relay Report to Report

And the results are in! TTD and I took 2nd place in the women's Bidwell Classic Half Marathon relay team! Alan over at FF said we would place and I waved my hand to shoo him away and said I would just be happy to finish. This gave me the little nudge of confidence I need for next weekends Shamrock'n Half in Sacramento.

I haven't been doing so good on the eating front but this week I'm going to make more of an effort since Sunday really depends on it. I'm taking a little protein at every meal but being good about getting more carbs mostly from fruits and veggies until Thursday when I move into starchy glycemic rich foods to fuel my body for Sundays race. I should have NO problem carbing up on Saturday since it will be my nephew JJ's 1st Birthday party! Birthday cake here I come. I'll just need to remember to drink lots and lots and lots of water and not Over Stuff myself. It will be an early morning the next day and I'll need to have everything ready.

Tonight I had two taquitos (the ones that did not end up on the kids plates) and a baked potato with a half tablespoon of sour cream. I had broccoli salad, cut up half of an apple, dried cranberries, chopped cashews with a teaspoon of honey mustard dressing for lunch and ... no breakfast! I know I'm so bad but we had a yard sale today and it was go go go from the moment I woke up at the new 6am til I took it down at 1pm.

My dinner last night... WOW so super yummy. I had polenta in the fridge so I thought I'd make some polenta pizzas I through some rounds in the oven and started going through the fridge when I realized I really really really wanted huevos rancheros... sort of. I took out eggs and fried too to over hard, I had black beans and some southwest salsa to throw on there and ... what? Where did my cheese go? What the heck? (can you see my frantically searching through my tiny fridge that should take about 2 seconds to scan?) All I had was feta? So feta it was and it did make a pretty dish and it was OH SO YUMMY! I'm starting to feel a bit like Kai Kai and Caitlin getting foody on you and all. I love that they post food pix. I should do it more often but my food never looks as yummy as theirs does.

Relay

TodayI ran the Bidwell Classic Half marathon but I did the relay instead of the full since I'll be doing Shamrock'n next weekend! Remember last year when I ran the half marathon for the first time? This was that same race but I dreaded running around our beloved park TWICE again. So when I was asked to do the relay I jumped at it. TTD was my partner and she did the amazing first leg, so I went out for an easy 3 mile run before my leg of the race. I'm not sure what her time was but after the "exchange" point I turned the corner and headed through the finish line shoot and the time said 57min so I knew I needed to keep the 8:30 pace but I didn't have my Garmin and I didn't have my tunes so I was by myself out there.

Vince ran the first mile and a half with me and we were doing a little over 8 minute pace and I knew that was too fast so when he took the cut off I slowed down a bit and found the zone. Problem was the zone kept getting slower and slower until I realized people would start passing me! I sped up and found a faster happy place and by mile 4 I had caught up with a guy who was doing 7:40! I don't think he was going close to that fast when I was catching him but he didn't want me to beat him so he sped up. Men and their ego's hu? I stayed with him from mile 4-5 and decided I probably wouldn't finish if I kept that speed up. I slowed back down and took it easy mile 5-6. Probably too easy as I took the corner and could see the finish line I kicked it into high gear and sprinted! I practically ran over the gal in front of me to beat her to the mat on that last turn into the shoot.... sorry! Well kind of sorry, she knew I was behind her but stayed right in the middle of the narrow path anyway. I'm not exactly sure of our time but I looked at the clock and it said 01:51: ?? (I have no idea what the seconds were). TTD met me with water and a hug. What a great relay partner hu? I figure I ran about 8:30 pace and know that next weekend won't be that fast but I'm hoping for sub 9s anyhow. WAY TO GO EVERYONE! Both Ed and Susan took some pictures that I will post when I get them.

The Run Around

Today Good Neighbor and I went to KK's house to run with her on "her" route. Just beyond her house is the levy that goes all the way to 5 mile, the same levy I follow from the opposite side on our long runs into upper park. KK signed up for 5K program and she's going to do great! We took her dog Comet and Cindi and off we went. since I forgot to hit the start button on the Garmin (who needs a name) when we left I started it at the turn around and we got in about 3.3 miles with a couple of walk breaks today. The doggies were great. They stayed pretty close and when called they generally came running back. I hope that we ran off some steam since she hasn't been out for a run in over a week. OUCH. yea. But it was a nice recovery run for me and we had a nice girl time jog together. It was kinda cool to see the same old route from a new perspective, the clean air, the rushing water through the creek, the sunshine and beautiful park we live so close to. I can't wait to do it again.

PR: 10K

Today we had 10K time trail to see how we've improved over the last 5 weeks of training. Although I've been suffering from this chest cold that may or may not turn into a real full blown chaos before we go on vacation, I did remarkably better than I had hoped. My first time trail was around 57minutes and today I came in at 52:30! That's an 8:28 a minute pace, WAHOO! Believe me I had NOTHING left at the end. At mile 5 I had to slow down a bit due to some wheezing and every time I tried to speed up it would show up again. Liz came in a marvelous 14seconds in front of me. I tried so hard to keep up...ugh. Vince who didn't think he could keep up with us did awesome at today's 10K. He stayed with us until that last 1/2 mile where he kicked it in and caught up to Todd who we kept in our sights the whole run but he seemed just too far to make up. But since I've taken over 3 minutes off of my previous PR and more from the other time trial I'm stoked! Now I'm worried that David and Alan will place me in a faster bracket than I think I can handle.

Tomorrow Vicki and Ross will be running the Davis Stampeed 10K and I'm sure Vicki will have SMOKED my time and I'm excited and happy for her! Can't wait to see their times. What an improvement Ross has made in the few months since jumping head first into the wonderful world of running.

Tuesday we leave for Disneyland. Hopefully there is a treadmill at the hotel since Disneyland really isn't in the safest area for outdoor running alone. But we will have fun!

In your face!

I love a good meme so I posted the one from my Face Book on over at my regular (not so) everyday going on in my life blog. Check 'em out!

I ran 14 miles today. The first 7 were fine... maybe a little fast but they felt good. On the way back we were supposed to kick it up to race pace for a mile and a half then jog for half of a mile x3. That did not happen. Vic and Liz think I'm going to do 8:30's and I just played along because I thought it sounded good at the time. I have revised that. My Half Mary in October averaged out to be 9 minute miles so I figure if I go for 9 minute miles and if I feel good and want to kick it up a notch here or there and into high speed the last few I will do better than my previous time and that's really all I want. I want to be under 1h56m00s. That's the plan Stan.

Food... I was so bad yesterday... so stinkin' bad. I ate a banana and some coffee in the morning and I didn't eat again til dinner. I had Chinese food which was WONDERFUL but just not enough. Maybe that's why I sucked like a dust buster today. sheesh. I'm self sabotaging myself! I need to get the heck over it!

I really want to go see Liz's husband play in his band tonight but I'm just not sure how that's gonna pan out. hummm..... Have fun at all your SuperBowl parties tomorrow!

Week in review

I got absolutely no running in last weekend. I had a great long run (12 miles) with AnnMarie that Thursday before but the streets were not plowed in a way for me to go run in a strange area and feel like I could safely move out of the road if I needed to, that and lots of old people up there driving just don't watch out for little ole' runners like me. So we did a lot of walking and climbing and sledding. We had a nice weekend together and spent genuine quality time with the fam. Love that. we got back into town late on Sunday but Monday flew by before I got a run in. Tuesday night was speed work and I felt pretty good out there but I had a rumbly tummy and felt a bit tired. I pushed through and had a good night of hard running. One of my 1200m intervals was at 7:38m/m pace. That is GREAT for ME. I'm the resident slow poke. I just didn't feel right by the end. I thought I must have been hungry but by the time I got home the stomach flu/food poisoning had set in and I was miserable all night. I will spare you the details but it was not pretty. Exhausted and hurting I stayed in bed ALL DAY on Wednesday and Thursday I went out for a run but the lack of food in my system for 36 hours absolutely played a part in my heading back to the house after a quarter mile. Friday I took up with Laura at the 4 mile mark of her 10 mile run. We did a nice 6 mile run together and missed most of the rain. Saturday was our long run with the FF Training team and little group o' girlz; Liz, Vicki, AnnMarie, Patty and myself had a hard time getting warmed up but after dropping Patty at the 5 mark so she could complete her 10 miles we made it to the 6.5 mark, took some GU and headed back to finish 13 miles. I felt really good from mile 8 to mile 12 then the last mile I wasn't sure if I could finish. I just tried to keep up with the girls. we stretched really really well and headed home.

I had a revelation today though.

Cheeze ITs are so yummy! I love them! Oh yea, I'm not eating wheat products anymore (again). Damn those Cheeze Its! Now I wonder how they found their way into my house? someone is trying to sabotage me. Its my own conspiracy theory. Ohh... and then they went and bought PIZZA! Damn them and their Carbohydrate and Grease loving little bodies. I guess I'll have soup. =(

Who am I again

Ahhh.... I thought I would have more time now that the kiddos are back in school. I'm stopping by for a minute to take note of whats going on this week. I took Monday off just doing some ab work since I as sitting for some friends since their daddy was having surgery. Ouch... While he was there his wife saw some other friends who were there having a baby. So that was my day yesterday. The Wilhelm kiddos went home then we ate home made chili. Yum... of course the hubby was at work since OT comes by so rarely these days he went ahead and took it. That put him on three days straight. Nice for the paycheck not so good for Mommy's sanity. Wasn't I just complaining that he was home for 13 days straight and driving me crazy?

I really wanted to do kettle bells last night but that didn't happen so with some ab work at home I hope it will be enough. I wanted to go Wednesday but I babysit so I'm going to call and see if they are doing a noon class. I'm running with Jenni, Gehrig (in the jogger), Cindi on the leash and maybe our friend Kari too. Our own little Wednesday running club. Thursday is rest and abs and I'll have to do my LONG run of 11 miles on Friday since we'll be leaving for the lake that night for the weekend. I hope to get out and run for a little bit on Saturday and take Sunday as a rest day.

Food. I'm so bad. I need to be better. I'm not eating enough, I'm not taking in the calories. I thought that our $300 at Costco would hold out but it all lasted like a week. 24 yogurts devoured by two little boys. I think I've had three... I love the peach ones... so do my boys. They don't like the blueberry and that's all that's left. What the heck. I need to go back to oatmeal in the morning to get me on track and keep me from being STARVING at 10 or 11. I shouldn't be drinking soda at all, I didn't even LIKE the Coke I had last night... why did I drink it? I have no idea. I need to go back to no soda while I'm training (except for when I go to La Comida because the water AND the ice tea tastes like blech!). I need to be consuming more calories and eating more sweet potatoes and potatoes and brown rice and beans. I need to drink more tea and water.

I'm really enjoying this program so far. I like all the plyometric and core work we are doing to enhance our strength. I love doing to kettle bells and the running for time instead of speed or distance. knowing that I need to set aside 45 minutes instead of 4-5 miles just makes more sense.

I've had a few months of emotional turmoil, a lot has come out in whining here and I'm sorry about that. Part of that is that I REALLY need to get my thyroid checked. I guess I should stop typing and call my endocrinologist hu? I also have several moles I need to have removed especially since I had melanoma once and should be SUPER vigilant about that. I kind of bury my head in the sand but it seeps into my dreams and freaks me out so I haven't been sleeping much lately when I should just go take care of it hu? emotionally.... I don't know how I would deal with it so I procrastinate. Mostly I'm afraid the doc will tell me to stop running outside and I don't want to hear that. I already douse myself in sunscreen everyday. What else can I do? especially in the summer... These things have started to consume my thoughts and affect my mood. I'm working hard to remedy that.

Tonight is speed work. Dads coming down to watch the boys. I'm going to go a bit early and warm up. I'm planning a blog about ... my achievements (running and non-running) and my goals for this year. I know none of the other blogs are talking about "That" so by the time you get to mine you will be GOOD and SICK of hearing it. LOL

I really want to talk about Kristin Armstrongs blog but you are all bored so I'm going to sort through my thoughts and feeling and hopefully have a post before the weekend. Read it and let me know what you think.

such a slacker

I am I am I am. Yes I am a slacker. The hubby was home for 13 days straight from work. CRAZY! and I feel the need to entertain him and clean the whole stinkin' time. No bloggy time for me. BUT I have been out for a few runs and Cindi is much better on the leash, well after about a mile anyway. Our computer died so that's another reason why I haven't been here. We just said OH WELL and replaced the hard drive and it works, but without my itunes library what am I to do? I will be very unhappy to lose it all so I won't even PLUG in my nano for fear that it will all disappear. Not sure yet how to remedy this situation even though I should have backed it up, I'm just glad my pictures are on the external hard drive I got for my b-day.

Yesterday was our first long run of the half marathon program. We did 10 miles and it seems VERY weird that it didn't seem long at all. LOL. A year ago I would have CRIED when they said 10 miles. I did wake up with a headache before hand and forgot to take Advil. By the time I got home and we visited with some friends from out of town I was exhausted and my head was in full blown migraine mode. I could just lay in bed and hope I didn't throw up. Not a good evening at all.

The hubby went to work today and I'm ready for a break from the kiddos all ready. tomorrow I'll run and do kettle bells again. Missed Friday because I was in the bay area visiting with Grandma then checking out a really cute Coach Purse at the Outlet with the BFF and didn't make it back to Chico in time. OOPS.

Ready to run again

I did a whole half mile today. WAHOO! I was afraid to take Cindi out on the streets so I stuck close to home today to see how it felt and to see how out of control she was, and it was FREAKIN' COLD TODAY! Yea, she's pretty crazy but I've had her on a leash at home so she goes with me everywhere and she's getting used to being on it and sticking close. I think tomorrow I'll take her in the car to the kettle bell information thingy at Fleet Feet and then to the park for a two mile run. See how she really does. My legs are getting itchy for some miles let me tell you. I'm ready and willing. I'm not sure if this will be an especially fast or slow couple of miles but I'll tell you when we get back (and after the hubby heads out hunting without the fat dog). I would invite others to run with us but it may be TOO embarrassing to watch me and Cindi working together for awhile .