GU ain't for fools!

Today we ran at the Alameda Harbor where we had our very first run with TNT. I feel a bit foolish now re-reading my first post about 2 miles... CAUSE I RAN 8 TODAY!!! And it wasn't even that hard. 6 felt worse, but I think the weather today was more conducive to optimal running. It was cloudy and cool out. None of that sun business. Also, today I had 2 GU's during my run. The first one I had was "Plain" flavored... there wasn't anything plain about. It tasted like sweet goo with no real specific flavoring. YUCK. At the 4 miles mark I sucked up a Chocolate Outrage GU.... MMMMMM it tasted like brownie mix. So while this GU business is weird and... gooey... it totally made a difference. Again there was a fabulous pile of PB&J's awaiting me at the end of the run. I think knowing they were there got my through my last mile.

Now for some pictures!!!!

Coach Al and his big smile!


Getting my run on.


Mama Lisa with the sexy man bag.

Charlotte, Me, Jessica, and Michelle


This is my post-run/post-pb&j smile.


... Maybe next year????

Maybe this is why I love running so much...

A New York Times article about getting a "runners high."

FUNdraising 411

Since my tea party was so successful, I put together a 5 step guide on how you too can throw a smashing fundraiser... ENJOY!

6 MILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it? Me neither. This past Saturday I ran six miles. No stopping, no walking, no potty breaks. Just running. Now, I am not going to pretend that it was any kind of easy. The last 2 miles were rough. Running in the sun without any shade is no friend of mine. This was the first time my back and upper body were sore going into the end of the run. That's when I realized I was slouching and pulled myself up and kept going. When I turned the corner onto my last quarter mile, I saw my teammates waving me in! And as I came to the end of my run Aderra, Michelle and Charlotte were there cheering me on! It was awesome and it gave me the last boost of energy I needed! GO TEAM!

On Sunday I was in Sacramento for Easter and convinced my mom to go on a short run with me. I am trying to train her to be a part of a marathon relay in October (6 miles per person). She had told me she had gone running before, but would run a couple minutes, walk a couple of minutes, never a continuous run. I told her she wasn't allowed to walk on Sunday and she looked at me like I was crazy. So... who ran 2.1 miles? MY MOM! We even kept up a pace a little faster than what I usually run. GO MAMA! It's more about the keeping a pace than it is the raising.... of your speed! ;)

I swear there is some multimedia coming soon. Keep checking in!

Long overdue update...

Sorry, I have been pretty busy the past week and haven't had a chance to update until now. Let me fill you in....

- After my rough post-cold run weekend, I looked forward to Tuesday's buddy run last week to really get back into the swing of things. And it was awesome! We up-ed our buddy run mileage to about 3 and a half miles. It was the first run in all my training that I hit a moment where I felt like I really relaxed into the run and let my legs do their thing and I just went along for the ride.

- At track on Thursday we played a game called "You don't know diddly about marathon pace." The way it worked is we had to guess how fast we could run a fast mile. We had been running about a 13:30 pace at the buddy runs, so I guessed 12 minutes for my fast mile. Apparently... I don't know diddly! I ran a 10:23 mile! That was def a confidence booster for me. We then "ran" a mile switching from lunges, skipping, grapevining, and jogging. Who know skipping could make me sweat so much?

- Saturday was my big Tea Party Day... With the help of my mom, I hosted a tea party fundraiser in Sacramento. It was a hit! We had tea, food, a silent auction, and lots of fun. And... after all the donations were counted... wait for it... I raised enough to hit my fundraising goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- On Sunday my sister and I participated in the Saramento Shamrock'n 5k. It was my first official race... in life? I have been in run/walks before, but always walked. This time I was in it to run and run I did. It was awesome. The race wasn't terribly scenic, but at least I had my sister to talk to, and the end of the race was pretty cool because they announced our names as we ran into the stadium down on the field...kinda like real athletes do :)

- Another great buddy run this morning, 3.63 miles at a 13 minute pace.

All in all it has been an awesome week. It is such a relief to have the fundraising pressure behind me and focus all my energy on the running!

Tough run this weekend.

Alas, the cold I felt coming on Tuesday, came in and took over. I was sick all last week which meant no training for me :( It's funny how missing runs actually makes me MISS running!?! Friday night I was feeling a wee better so I headed to the gym after work to test my endurance. It was pretty good... I biked for a while then ran on the treadmill for a mile. After that I was pretty exhausted and headed home.

I woke up Saturday morning excited and ready to tackle Lake Chabot with the rest of the team. Everyone had been hyping up the beauty of Lake Chabot before the run and while in fact they were correct that it is a beautiful location... the hills!!!

So many hills! I must have some deep seated hatred of hills from childhood or a past life because they are definitely not my cup of tea. So, the run started off OK, tackled a couple of hills, posed for some action shots...

then by the time I hit the 1.5 mile mark I started feeling really exhausted. Thankfully Rebecca started running with me and had me talking a while, but by the time we hit the 3 mile mark I was completely wasted. I had stopped for a peepee break and realized I felt like I was going to pass out. I had to make the executive decision that I should stop and not push it any further. I think my cold had taken a lot more out of me than I realized. I was bummed out for a bit, feeling like I let myself down by not running my planned 6 miles, but then I was like, hey I was sick this week, its OK not to be back at 100% yet, and its best not to push myself too hard since I don't want to get sick again. So, after my momentary pity party of one I headed off to Bodega Bay to meet my family for the weekend for my mom's birthday. We spent today hiking which was a lot of fun, and now I feel like I am ready to take on this weeks training! Go Team Because We Can!!!

San Diego Run...

Watch below and follow along with Sarah and I as we run in San Diego...