On the Sidewalk Again

Not much to report except that I did run 3 miles on Monday on the treadmill (to make up for last Saturday's missed run) and Abdul and I ran 4 miles outside last night. I felt pretty good running last night and was glad that four miles isn't painful anymore. Tonight, I move up to 5 miles. I can't wait until it starts getting lighter earlier because running in the dark at night kind of freaks me out.

Mashed Potatoes, Hiking Evangelism, & Assritis

My last post forewarned that my running might slack off over the Thanksgiving holiday and it was right on the money. I didn't run last Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday! Today is supposed to be a "rest" day, but I'm going to at least make up one of those runs tonight (probably just a 3 or 4 mile run).

Anyway, I have an excuse for each day of running I missed, of course. Wednesday was spent on the road to Mammoth (EIGHT hours). Thursday was Thanksgiving and I'm pretty sure it's a sin to do anything besides eat lots of food on that day. Friday I hiked instead of ran. Not only did I go on ONE hike, though, I went on TWO hikes. I love to hike and think everyone should love to hike and so I drug my sister on two hikes in Mammoth--one to Crystal Lake (3 miles) and one to Panorama Dome (1 mile). I know the distance isn't very much, but most parts of the hikes were uphill (except for the parts that were downhill). Anna dealt with my hiking zeal much better than most (you can read about Sabina's hiking misadventure with me on her blog here).

Here's Anna and me at Crystal Lake:















And here we are at the top of Panorama Dome:

On Saturday Anna and I went snowboarding and let me tell you, that was more of a workout for my muscles than running 100 miles! I've been skiing for 16 years and I've only gone snowboarding a few times, so I fell down one or two (or fifty) times. Last year I broke my tailbone snowboarding so I was VERY scared about falling again and reinjuring myself. After the first run down the hill I wanted to call it quits, cry, and throw my snowboard at the five year-old whizzing by me. Luckily my confidence increased as the day went on and I improved. However, at the end of the day I did fall on my hip and some of the pain from last year came rushing back. Thus, I've concluded that I have a fairly severe case of assritis and should probably steer clear of things that could injury my tailbone such as snowboarding and childbirth (many women break their tailbone during childbirth). I did get a fairly decent workout on Saturday, though, and can in fact still feel the pain from pushing myself off the ground over and over and over again.

Sunday I didn't run because I took a nap. So, tonight, the training resumes.

Runnin' with My Sis

The title of my post is a little wrong, since Anna didn't actually run with me yesterday, but she did bike beside me while I ran. I ran 7, yes, 7 miles yesterday, without stopping to take a nap under the trees in the park or anything! I ran from my house down Alicia to Niguel and back--whew! That's the longest distance I've run since I started training.

I'm supposed to run 5 miles today, but that's not going to happen and I probably won't get a chance to make it up, so we're all just going to have to forget about it. I have to work today and then right after work Anna is picking me up and we're driving up to Mammoth. I might miss a few of my runs over the next few days, but I'll try to run at least once in Mammoth and Anna and I plan to do some hiking and snowboarding (let's hope there's no broken tailbones this year!). So, I'll still be working out in some fashion.

Happy Thanksgiving All!!

Catching Up

Oh geez...such busy days. Anyway, a brief update:

Last Wednesday I ran 4 miles on the treadmill to make up for the 4 miles I skipped out on the week before.

Last Thursday I ran 3 miles on the treadmill.

Friday was an off day.

On Saturday I ran 3 miles at Aliso Woods with my sister, Anna, who is visiting from Colorado.

On Sunday, I was supposed to run 7 miles but Anna and I got busy doing other things, like napping, so I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and will run the 7 miles on Tuesday (I just switched my Sun. and Tues. runs up).

All Thai-ed Up

After chowing down on Thai food at Thai Bite with my friend Shannon, I went to the gym and ran four miles. And, I didn't puke. Not bad. Running four miles on the treadmill was super boring and I'm hoping I can run outside tonight. Also after 30 minutes or so, the treadmill slows down for a "cool down" and so I have to keep increasing the speed. I ran the first 2.5 miles at a 9 minute/mile pace and the next 1.5 miles as a 9.5 minute/mile pace.

Not much else to report except that there were THREE guys in sweatshirts on treadmills next to my at the gym last night. Someone, please, explain this to me!

Sweat Box

Question: What is nasty, gross, smelly, damp, hot, germy, and disgusting?

Answer: Working out in the gym right after work with 50-75 other sweating people.

Abdul warned me that the gym would be packed if I went right after work, but I knew I had to go then because if I waited until later in the evening, I knew I wouldn't (I stayed holed up in my house painting till midnight). Not only was the gym packed with people, it was packed with sweaty, smelly, nasty people. And, sadly, as soon as I walked in, I became one of them.

I hopped on the last treadmill available and started running my three miles at a 9.5 minute/mile pace. Most of the people on the treadmills were walking, but one woman was running next to me. I thought she was running pretty fast, but it was just an illusion because she was running like 12 minute/miles or something. I think it seemed like she was running faster because she was working pretty hard at it, but I think that's because she wasn't moving her arms. Anyway, I digress... That gym was so full of sweat just hanging in the air that I knew I had to get out of there ASAP. So after one mile I picked up my pace and ran my 2nd and 3rd miles at a 9 minute/mile pace. And, what do you know?, I survived and actually felt pretty good. This means that my body is capable of working harder and running faster; I'm just too lazy to make it do that most of the time.

In the midst of my disgusting treadmill run (where once, I swear, I felt someone else's sweat fly across the room and land on my leg), I noticed one strange gym phenomenon: Large women in tiny little sports bras and fit men in sweatshirts. First, the women: I don't understand why, if you were even slightly overweight, or even at the correct weight, you'd wear a sports bra--and only a sports bra--to the gym. An older, overweight woman was wearing a kind of skimpy white sports bra two treadmills over from mine. It was not attractive at all. Maybe she wore it as motivation to loose weight; I don't know. I didn't think it should be allowed though. It seemed like all the women who were more correctly proportioned had the good sense to remember to put on a shirt before they left their houses. Second, the men: I saw this the other day and then again yesterday too: Men working out (hard) wearing sweatshirts in a gym that was 100 degrees. Do they wear these in he hopes of sweating even more and loosing more weight? But these men weren't fat...I don't get it. It was like working out in the shower there because it was so hot and sweaty...I don't know why you'd wear a sweatshirt. So, why are women showing off their fat and men covering up their muscles? Personally, I think the man last night wearing the sweatshirt should have taken it off and given it to the white sports bra women and she could have lent him her little bra.

Okay...on to tonight...four miles...probably at the gym again too. I'm going later tonight, though, since I'm meeting my friend, Shannon, for dinner.

Weekend Update

I'm getting to be a bit of a disappointment. Reason #1: I'm being a running slacker. Reason #2: These blog entries are becoming more and more boring. Running, as it turns out, is not a very exciting sport to participate in, let alone write about. I guess I could pick up a running magazine and see what their writers write about, but it's probably all about Balance bars, quad stretches, and eating the right carbs. B-O-R-I-N-G. Anyway, I fear that you all are going to stop reading soon if something exciting doesn't happen during one of my runs soon. I hope you're not rooting for a mountain lion attack or treadmill accident, but if something more exciting than me putting one foot in front of the other for 30-60 minutes occurs while I'm out running, you'll be the first to know.

So...on to the running update. I said I'd run last Friday to make up for not running last Wednesday. I lied. Sue me.

On Saturday I woke up and ran 4 miles and felt pretty darn good about it, if I do say so myself. I ran from Abdul's house down to Aliso Creek and back and I maintained a 9-10 minute/mile pace.

Ohhh....on Saturday night Abdul and I went to Sports Chalet and in support of my efforts to run a marathon, he bought me new running shoes! This means I can retire the ones with holes in. My new shoes are actually trail running shoes, but they're lightweight enough for non-trail running. And, most importantly, they look cute. They're New Balance, which I've never worn before, but am excited to try out. Thanks Babe for the cool shoes!!

On Sunday, in my excitement to try out my new running shoes, I got up and...did not go running. Sorry folks, I missed my run on Sunday also. I have an excuse though: We worked on my house ALL day long. Abdul finished installing the rest of the wood floors (he just needed to do a few final touches) and then he installed all of the new baseboards and door casings in my kitchen, laundry room, living room, and dining area and I caulked everything and cleaned up. Even though I have to paint everything tonight, I'm going to make up yesterday's three miles at the gym right after work tonight.

And don't think I have completely forgotten about the four miles I missed last Wednesday...I'm planning to make them up this Wednesday on my "rest" day. And if not this Wednesday, then Friday, or next week, or next month...

Back On Track

Despite my long day yesterday, I did run three miles last night. Abdul got sick and was asleep before I even got home from teaching, so I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. I felt pretty good, too. Too bad I wasn't training for a 5k...

Today is supposed to be a rest day, but since I skipped out on Wednesday's run, I'm going to make it up tonight...four miles. I'm hoping Abdul feels better and can run with me outside because running for 40 minutes on a treadmill at the gym might just make me want to quit running all together.

Slacker!

Well, we all knew it was going to happen soon. Last night, I fell off the running wagon straight into my bed at 10pm. I had every intention of running, but in the end I wimped out. Abdul and I went to dinner at our friends' house and ate the most amazing homemade (on the grill!) pizza and afterwards crawling into a warm bed sounded a lot better than running in the night cold. I'll make it up to you, though, I promise! I'll run on Friday...really, I will. I'm down 4 miles now...

Tonight I'm supposed to run three miles and even though Thursdays are my long days since I have to teach, Abdul and I already have plans to run after I get home, so it's gonna happen tonight!!

Finally, a running partner!

Last night I finally got to run with someone, instead of alone:-) Abdul's thinking about running the marathon with me and so he ran with me last night (after he had already played basketball at the gym in the morning and gone for a long bike ride in the late afternoon--he's ambitious!). It was great to have him to run with because he helped me keep a decent pace and keep me from psyching myself out. We ran three miles outside after dark from his house to the second light pole after Kite Hill North (and back). It was probably my best run so far!

Afterwards we made a huge, healthy salad and our friends, Megan and Neil, came over and visited with us.

Tonight I'm supposed to run four miles...last night I felt energized enough to run four miles, I'm worried tonight I'll feel differently!

I Break for Lighthouses

After a restful Friday that included no running (yeah!), I was back in my running shoes on Saturday to run three miles. I had to run at around noon because in the morning I volunteered at the OC Alzheimer's Association's annual Memory Walk with Sabina. The run was hot, but pretty uneventful. I ran down Alicia again to Laguna Hills.

Because I was out in West Hollywood on Saturday night until very late celebrating my friend Angela's engagement to Marcelo at La Boheme, my six mile run on Sunday didn't start until about 12:45pm. It was soooo hot out! I'm ready for cool, Fall-like weather. Anyway, I ran and ran and ran and it took me like two days to run six miles. In fact, I'm still running right now. I stopped for a bit and took a detour through Laguna Niguel Regional Park because I needed a drink of water and it was shady and pretty in the park. So, although I did run six miles, I took a little break, and it took me forever. I'm starting to really wonder if I'm going to be able to run 26.2 miles. I have a loooong way to go.

Today's an off day, which is nice, because Abdul is finally home from his mancation in Peru and I'll be able to catch up with him instead of running. Tomorrow I'll be back at it though...

I be up in the gym just working on my fitness...

Despite my LONG day yesterday, I did go to the gym and I did run three miles with a pace of 10 min./mile the entire time. Yeh for me. Now I gotta work on a 9 min./mile and so on. One step at a time though...

I was checking out the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon Web site and I'm pretty excited about the course. It's going to be fun to run...I'll get the grand tour of San Diego on foot. I think one of the hardest parts of running it is going to be getting up way before the crack of dawn to be at the race on time, which starts at 6:30am! Did you guys see that Seinfeld episode where some super fast marathon runner from Kenya or somewhere is in the city for the NYC marathon and Elaine has to remember to wake him up in time for the marathon? Jerry thinks she's taking the task too lightly and so he goes to great lengths to make sure the runner wakes up in time. Of course Kramer is the cause of some issue that in the end, makes the runner wake up late and he has to push through the spectator crowd and start running in the race late (is that even allowed?). I think almost anything in life can be tied back to a Seinfeld episode:-P

Anyway, that's now another one of my fears—I'll be late for my marathon. Today's an off day and then tomorrow I run three miles and Sunday six.

I've let my blog down...

I ran last night, I did. Three miles. But, I have to confess, I ran slower than the day before. And not because I couldn't physically run faster, but because I let myself get mentally psyched out. I ran for 24 minutes at my 10-minute/mile pace, and then I slowed down. I'm sorry. I didn't want to let you down, but I did. I actually thought, while running, "Don't slow down. You can't disappoint your blog. Stop being a wuss." But in the end I pretty much convinced myself that I'd die some tragic treadmill death if I ran at the pace I was going at for six more minutes.

I'll try and do better tonight. Another three-miler. I gotta forewarn you, though, that tonight might not go so hot either. I was up early this morning and off to my dog walking job, then my "real" job, then I have to teach after work until 9:30 in Long Beach, and then I have to go back to my dog walking job, and then to the gym. It's gonna be a long day...

Death by Chocolate

Despite eating multiple helpings of a Death by Chocolate dessert I made for a work potluck, I am very happy to post that last night's three mile stint on the treadmill went over remarkably well with my body. Now that I've figured out how to use the treadmill, I was able to correctly adjust the speed and I ran the three miles MUCH faster than last week. I kept a constant 10-minute mile pace throughout the run (I know that's slow, but it felt fast to me!). When I was finished running I really was so proud of myself for not slowing down at all during the workout and I was expecting other people to be proud of me too...maybe the five other people in the gym could have clapped for me and said "good job" to me. That would have been nice. It didn't happen though. Maybe I should start a trend at the gym...if I start telling random strangers good job after their workouts, maybe it will come full circle back to me. It can be a little depressing to accomplish what you were working hard at (in this case, a pace and time) and then not have anyone around to give you a high five. I think I need that encouragement. When I'm at the gym next, I'll try and remember to tell someone else "good job." Maybe karma will work her magic at the AV 24 Hour Fitness then for me.