OhWellWhatever

Workout: Possibly 4 miles after work with baby girl but just not sure…. Well big surprise I did nothing…

So I am not sure what the deal is but I am in a major workout funk. I have only worked out once since my race last Saturday. Oh well, whatever – next week can be better.

Today is my birthday, entering the last year of my 30s… Honestly I am not freaking out about the age part there have only been a few birthdays in my life that the number has affected me, this is not one of them, just another day. The day has been great, just a normal Thursday but with lots of extra love and attention, I am a lucky girl. Woke up this morning to gifts from my husband and he is always so sweet to give me a card/gift from Ryleigh too.

When I got to work there was another gift there from my boss. Lots of emails/texts/phone calls/facebook messages that made me feel special. Then a special delivery from my most favorite bakery ever, I could hardly compose myself to sign the delivery sheet for the lady and just wanted to scream, “hand it over”. Thankfully, I composed myself and waited for her to leave before I ripped it open and shoved the cupcake in my face. Not gonna lie, ate it right away. Than after lunch my lovely sister visited with gifts and hugs, so nice to get to see her during the work day. Ryleigh smacked her head on the desk pretty hard and got a good little bump but she got over it pretty quickly.

I had considered going for a run after work but realized I didn’t have a sweater for Ryleigh so I used that as a good excuse to go home instead. We ended up just going home for a nice relaxing evening at home. Dale has his bible study night tonight so I was on my own but Ryleigh and I had a nice night and I made one of my favorite dinners – pizza from scratch.

So over all a simply perfect day with lots of love. Happy Birthday to me ; )

Workout: Winsor Pilates abs video and 30 minutes on spin bike 6am

MAYhem race #2 Whoo’s in El Moro 25K

Holy runners high – I am still high from Saturday. I LOVE TRAILS!!!! I wish I had the eloquent words of this fellow trail runner to express the pure uninhibited joy I experience out there — I wish everyone I know could have the same experience, it awakens you.

So this was the second race of my month back to running, I did the PCRF half the weekend prior. Mentally I was doing fine, not feeling overwhelmed or discouraged at all, totally ready for this challenge I had created for myself. However, my body was not feeling that great, can’t seem to shake this cold and my shin splints have been pretty brutal. Friday night I really was not feeling well at all but I sucked it up, got my clothes ready and tucked into bed by 9:30pm.

El Moro is my favorite place to go for a run, it is my happy place for sure so I was super excited about this race. Plus the fact I knew I would see lots of good friends out there and it was going to be a beautiful day.

25K runners getting ready to start

Deborah's first race back after knee surgery, she is one serious ultra runner. Hello dorky smile!

So the start is no joke, if you know the area it starts right off at No Dogs – toss you right into a long climb for about 2 miles – total elevation gain for the 25k is roughly 3,477. The beauty of trail/ultra running is there is nothing wrong with power walking the inclines especially for us back of the packers. I didn’t let myself get caught up in the front runners and just took off at my pace on the trail I know and love so much. I have had so many experiences out here its like each step is filled with a memory. First time trail running, good runs, bad runs, running pregnant with my Ryleigh, first time hiking back after I had her, all the good friends I have shared great conversations with. Many miles left out here, I felt like I could close my eyes and my feet would know the way.

Starting line view.

Trail buddies Deborah and Kelly

Not even a mile in and already way up here.

I felt really good and excited about the miles ahead of me. I hadn’t gotten to the nervous “oh my gosh what am I doing?” feelings so I was pretty excited about that. After a steady climb for the first 1.5 or so (didn’t download my Garmin splits and am kinda bad a guessing mileage) it changes to some nice rollers and some good runnable spot, with one pretty steep calf burner tossed in there – gets me every time!

Soon we were to the Ridgepark aid station which I just ran thru since I had my hydration pack on and still had plenty of fluids (using Nuun ) and several GUs in my pack – I was good to go. It was here that I started to see the 50K front runners going in the opposite direction to finish up their first loop and then turn around where I started and head back same direction as me to finish their two loops. Maybe next year for me!

It was here that I also finally passed “yellow shirt”! Now this is funny cause being a back of the packer I am NOT a competitive person, just happy to show up to the start and survive to the finish. But ever since last weekend when I motivated myself by trying to catch people I am trying a new mindset. This IS a race, I should push myself, I should try to pass people, it shouldn’t be comfortable – this is a challenge. I know I knew this woman from the Trail Headz but for the life of me I could not remember her name so she became “yellow shirt” to me (sorry Wendy!), I was determined to not let her catch me, I would finish before “yellow shirt”. Anytime I wanted to slow down I would look behind me, there were plenty of times when she was right within view and it would get me to trotting again.

Another motivator was the fact that I didn’t want the 50K front runner to pass me. This is one big loop course the 50K runners doing the same loop as us but twice, once in each direction. I knew there was a good chance the front runner Kurt could be hot on my heels and finish double the distance before me so that kept me moving too.

After a short trot on one of my favorite single tracks, Fenceline we took a turn onto a trail I have somehow never been on – Rattlesnake, another fun single track. I was excited to try the new trail, not excited to have to STOP and pull off the trail for all the mountain bikers that didn’t feel the need to let me by. Like a line of 10 or more, going slowly. Hello, I might not be fast but I still have a number pinned to my leg and I am still in a RACE here and don’t want to sit on the side of the trail for you.

Ok rant over. I did however gladly pull over for the steady line of 50K runners making their way up the climb – kicking butt! So fun to see so many happy familiar faces out there. I LOVE trail running. This is where it started, the runners high, it came on fast and strong, I started flying down this trail and had to restrain myself from screaming out at the top of my lungs, “I effing love trail running!” It really almost happened.

Then crap, right foot landed wrong and major twist of my ankle, it hurt, I was pissed. It was mile 4.85. I stopped assessed the damage and thankfully after the initial sting it was fine to keep going. Thank goodness, sure did scare me though.

After getting energized by my intense runners high and flying down a long downhill I came into the aid station at Four Corners feeling pretty great. Filled up my pack with water and ate a few yummy juicy strawberries and took off. This was just about half way and I had one gell just before reaching the aid station.

More fun flying downhill and a quick left onto the Lower Moro Canyon trail for some nice, cool and very runnable trails at the lowest point of the canyon – back down to level ground. Which of course meant one thing, the climb was coming again soon. This is when that darn song got stuck in my head  - “Here Comes The Rain Again” by the Eurthmics. Only I rewrote it, “Here comes the climb again, burning on my calfs like a memory, it’s burning again, oh baby…! Or something like that. I am no songwriter but man I could not get that out of my head!

The other thing about this area is this is the part that has always made me a bit nervous. It is way back deep in the canyon and when you look into the bushes there are lots of little rock cave looking areas. Kitty caves as I like to call them. I always pick up the pace and try hard to get out of this area.

The next climb up was Slow and Easy. Well it is slow – easy not so much. Was pretty warm by then, not much shade and a pretty steady climb up, up, up. Even still I never got discouraged or upset I was still having TONS of fun. And there came that darn little yellow shirt again. There was the third and final aid station at the top of the climb and Wendy caught up to me there. I sucked down a few bubbly cups of Coke which really hit the spot and a few potato chips and took off. Gotta get some distance between me and “yellow shirt”.

Are the birds circling a downed runner below?

After the aid station another little stretch of some fun single track on Missing Link. This is where I started to really slow down some, I was getting tired, it was about mile 10ish. But this is also where I realized that I could totally kill any time I had hoped for. Going into this race I had the goal of finish under 4:00 and before the 50K winner. If that meant 3:59 with Kurt directly behind me I would be happy, goal met. But at this point looking at my watch it started to look like I had plenty of time to break 4:00 and maybe even a bit more under it than I had hoped. Pretty cool.

All the way up here again?

Here it is just a quick right onto Upper Moro Ridge with just some small rollers and then only declines to the finish. It’s on! It was also here that the first bike riders of the day actually let ME pass them, I was so thankful. He said, “well its the right thing to do your in a race right?” Ya, go tell the other guys that. Even with all that crap though it is nice to see how many people are out there enjoying the trails, it was packed! As I was cruising along feeling good there was an older gentleman on a bike who said, “keep on going” to which I replied, “always!” and he got a good laugh out of that one.

So close, I can see the water!!!

Then came the last trail of the day, good old “I Think I Can”! This can be a beast of a trial, if you are going up. Thankfully today I was going down and it is a screaming downhill wide open fire trail for about 1.2 miles or so – I was flying and loving it. At this point I was realizing I could have a time of 3:45 easily and this seemed pretty darn cool to me. Once I hit the bottom and turned left onto Lower Moro Canyon headed for the ocean it hit me. I am NOT going to make 3:45 I am going to make 3:30. I was in disbelief, no way how is this happening? I did stop and walk sections of this easy flat part for fear that I would be pushing too hard and perhaps the end was farther than I thought. But no, I know these trails it really is that close, I really can do this so run darn it!

Got to run it in and see lots of my favorite trail friends there cheering for me, it was awesome. Best part is I went to ask LT my finish time and he told me 3:29 – both “yellow shirt” and Kurt were still behind me. I had not only finished but smashed any goal I had thought of. I was back on that runners high.

And dirty, very dirty....not to worry all clean with a nice "deluxe" pedicure yesterday.

The best part was I felt great! My shins were feeling good, my stomach was feeling good and I was still having a great time. In all honesty I could have pushed harder out there and for that I am a bit disappointed. I probably could have finished 3:15 or so if I really, really gave it my all. So I went to my car and got my clean clothes, they new camping area here has nice bathrooms so I went and washed all the sweat and trail dirt off. I headed back to the finish to watch some more friends come in.

At home with the well-earned mimosa to celebrate.

Do you do trail runs, what has been your favorite trail race? Do any ultras? 

Workout: 4 miles planned after work with baby girl and stroller

Update did the 4 miles and OUCH my shins hurt. Gonna do spin bike instead tomorrow to stay off the shins

So recovery from the PCRF half has been going ok, I think. In all honesty I have no idea what I am doing with these weekly races or the proper way to recover from one race while still preparing for the next.

Sunday during the race my shin splints felt fine, then as soon as I crossed the finish line they were KILLING me! Lots of stretching and icing and they felt better but still there for sure. Sunday after the race was just a lazy day around the house, I was feeling pretty tired but I think that was more from this darn cold than the race. As for soreness, I was pretty stiff but felt fine by Monday morning.

Baby girl ready to charge down the big kid slide. No hands, no help, no fear. The sign said the slide is for ages 5 - 12. We had a 1 year old and a 38 year old on it. What rules?

The cold. I am still suffering from this darn cold. Not a head cold anymore which is nice cause I hate that spacey out of it feeling I had last weekend. Now it is a bit of a cough and really bad stuffed/runny nose.

Workouts: So this is where I have no idea what I am doing. I want to keep active and progressing towards my coming races yet at the same time feel like I need to rest after the previous race. So not sure what the right answer is but here is what I have done so far.

• Monday: 45 minutes stairclimber @ the gym
• Tuesday: mellow 2 mile walk with baby + daddy to dinner
• Wednesday: 4.75 trail miles – mellow pace (do I know any other?)
• Thursday: 4 miles road miles planned after work with baby
• Friday: I Have No Idea….
• Saturday: Whoos in El Moro 25K – MAYhem race #2
• Sunday: drink champagne and eat yummy food

So any advice or input – what should I do on Friday? Nothing, short miles, cross train to get some cardio but take it easy on my shins, seek mental therapy?

5:30am fuel time.

So when reading this keep in mind that “speed” is relative, what is slow walking pace to some may be fast to others….

My training getting ready for this has not been that great. I have not been very active since I got pregnant in March 2010. Carrying and giving birth to my 10.5 pound beauty took more out of me than I had expected. That coupled with me lacking the follow thru to get started again has made it a slow road back.  But this was it, I registered for this race and I was going to do it!

Then of course all the typical pre-race jitters came my way. Dreams of oversleeping and missing the start. Waking up 2 days before with a brutal cold. Shin splints that hurt to walk the week before. Yup, that sounds about right. It’s like my body wants to give me every chance possible to back out and slink back to my couch in fear. Nope, sorry not going to happen. I am doing this!

Expo area. Looked like lots of fun booths but I didn't go look around.

I had some pretty nervous feelings leading up to the start like “who am I kidding, what am I doing here?” But calmed myself by repeating “It’s just a half” I have done many fulls and even a 50K, 13.1 miles is nothing, my body will remember how to do this. I should not be nervous about a race anymore, starting over or not.

I saw Heather near the start and said a quick hello. I decided to do this race from reading her blog, her little beauty is battling cancer. Can not even imagine.

Start. Guy to the right is one of 4 Ninja turtles, I finally passed two of them around mile 10. And there is Heather, Mom of Team Gabby in the orange skirt and sparkle skirt. Nice PR girl!

Then I met up with Amanda and her friend Rachel at the start, we were all sharing our nervous little jitters. Count down and we were off, my mood quickly changed and I was actually excited! Oh my gosh I am finally running a race again, I love this crap!

So now the paces… I have been running my training runs at about 11:35 ish miles. This is where I feel comfortable. So yes barely walking for some but to me and my body this is running. My goals going into this race were A: 2:30, B: 2:59, and C: don’t die. I honestly would have been happy with anything getting to the start was huge for me.

We started off and I felt great and comfortable. We were going faster than my normal pace but this IS race day, ok I will try and hang with this as long as I can but might have to pull back and let these girls go. I kept checking in with myself and saying ok you can slow down now, remember you have to make it the entire 13.1 but my body always answered with “this feels great lets keep going. So I did.

Mile 1: 10:40
Mile 2: 10:47
Mile 3: 11:08

This is a smaller race so the field was very quickly thinned out. Starting at the Irvine Spectrum shopping/office area the beginning miles are nothing spectacular to look at. Not terrible but just normal streets and easing your way into the neighborhoods. Not much of any crowd support but some cute kids in mariachi bands that were fun.

Soon onto the river trail path and thru some small parks, around a little lake, freeway overpasses and into the neighborhoods some more. I thought it was pretty funny that many felt the small overpasses as hills – um if this is a hill then I am really scared for next week!

Mile 4: 10:33
Mile 5: 10:45
Mile 6: 11:04

Somewhere around here I lost the girls I had started with and was pretty surprised. I thought for sure it would be me falling behind them. I started to get a bit nervous. What have I done, I have gone out too fast I might blow up. My main goal was NOT to walk. I could slow my trot to a slow jog but no walking cause then mentally it would be over for me.

Right about the half mark I ate my gu and kept on going. Even though I got a bit nervous each time I checked in with my body I was feeling pretty good. Sure I was a bit tired but this was a RACE and kind the point to push yourself, right? I can do this. If all these little kids can fight cancer every day and still smile and play I can run hard for a few more miles. ALL things are possible. Some of these miles were thru a really pretty little park area off the roads and I really liked that.

It was too distracting for me to try and pull out my phone to snap photos so I only got this one. There were much prettier parts of the course.

Around here is where I met a nice lady who was running her first ever half marathon and I cheered her on, so exciting!!

Mile 7: 10:40
Mile 8: 11:00
Mile 9: 10:59

Ok so I was starting to get a bit tired but still keeping focus and having fun and that is what matters. I started concentrating on catching people and passing them, and it was working! I would set my eyes on someone and just keep going until they were behind me. I must admit it was especially fun passing the two young, thin girls in their matching Lululemon outfits. I could not believe that my Garmin was telling me I would come in SUB 2:30. Hello running high!

Mile 10: 11:22
Mile 11: 11:08
Mile 12: 11:35

The nice lady I had met who was running her first half and I had been bouncing back and forth and she came up behind me here. I hung with her for a few to tell her how proud I was of her. She was so excited and amazed at her time as well. She told me to push on and finish hard. I knew I had more in the tank and didn’t want to leave anything out there so I pushed on.

Mile 13: 10:40
Last 0.1: 8:29

The last straight away and as always it is straight back to high school cross country and Coach Tweit telling me to kick it in hard. With the last several hundred yards I starting kick hard and fast. There was a women right next to me and she was kick hard too. I was NOT going to let her pass me, it’s on. Then oh crap I think that finish is a little farther than I thought I don’t think I can keep this pace. But she is not giving up and I refuse to either. So we both sprinted our hearts out and finished together. We congratulated each other and thanked each other for the fun push at the end.

Finish: 2:23:59 (garmin 13.19 miles)

Happy Dance

Love coming home to this.

Post race rewards!

“It’s just a Half!”

So I may not have the best training base in the world. So I may have only run once this last week. I may be battling shin splints. I might have a nasty cold and just want to lay on the couch all day.

Oh well whatever it’s just a half!

Workout: “running” errands…

So I scheduled a vacation day for today some time back because I knew this weekend was going to be crazy and i wanted some extra time to get everything ready. Great idea, I need those extra hours.

Tomorrow I am doing a baby shower for my good friends Kelly. We are doing the Very Hungry Caterpillar theme and it has been so much fun putting it all together, such a cool theme.

Then of course Sunday is race #1 of MAYhem, the PCRF half marathon in Irvine. I had been feeling really good and ready for the race until the last week. My workouts were fading and ever since my treadmill workout on Monday my shins have been killing me. Oh well, whatever.

Workout: planning on a video later tonight…well it is now almost 10pm as I am back to finish this and no video…

So the treadmill was not the best idea in the world, my shins are killing me. I am super prone to shin splints, they always pop up. I have been properly fitted for shoes several times, I think it has a lot to do with ramping up my miles quickly as well as my added weight. Oh well, whatever. Gotta get dedicated to my stretches and strengthening exercises and hope for the best. I am not giving up.

Eats were ok today aside from some chocolate covered almonds, I would give myself at B+. Baby girl is a bit picky today and had lots of crackers for dinner but did pretty good for lunch, I will give her a B+ as well.

Got lots done tonight for my friends shower on Saturday, it is very hungry caterpillar themed and it has been so much fun pulling it together!

Workout: 4 miles on the treadmill

So I was planning on running in the Upper Back Bay after work, beautiful place and close to work. But it is very cold and dark clouds so I decided it wouldn’t be good to take baby girl out in that so I decided to head to the gym.

When I do go to the gym I usually like to do the stairs for 60 minutes, it kicks my butt! They were all taken, 6pm prime rush hour at the gym so I waited a few minutes and jumped on an open treadmill. I can do this, people knock out miles on these all the time, I will just do my planned 4 miles here. Stupid thing won’t turn on. So I wait some more for another to open. This one doesn’t have a holder for my iPad, I was going to read to pass the time. Ok fine, I will prop it up on the little side area. Ok way too hard to read this while running looking to the side, I will watch some tv on Hulu. Crap, no headphones. Ok fine, I will be stuck with the loud gym noise and my own crazy thoughts. 4 miles I can do this! Let’s knock it up to 10:00 miles, way faster than that 11:15 pace I have been running on my long runs. This feels great I love running. I am a machine. I can do this.

Crap. My iPad just launched off the back of my treadmill and went flying.

Ok we survived, let’s get this machine back at the 10:00 pace and kill the rest of these 4 miles. Hit start. Hit start. Hit start. Crap. It won’t start again. Consider smashing the treadmill screen with my iPad repeatedly but regain sanity just in time and jump off so I can finish up on another less sucky treadmill. Watch some girl jump on the same treadmill and hit start. It starts. Oh well, whatever.

Finally on the next available treadmill and the mojo is gone! 10:00 pace is hard. Moving is hard. Want to get my baby and go home. My thoughts are manic and all over the place. Why can’t I get a focused stream in my head right now? Somehow I managed to suck it up and finish out my 4 miles.

Now finally at home and not much time for dinner I just fed the baby girl frozen waffles. Mommy fail #1,456. Oh well, whatever.

Workout: 4 miles after work

So today is officially the start of my MAYhem month and I am excited. Even without all the races this month would be a bit hectic with lots going on in our lives but it is all positive and exciting and we are ready for it. Life is good, smiles, hugs and kisses are abundant. Hopefully I can keep this positive mindset each and every day.

Weight is still at the same place, 50.2 lbs to go to goal weight. So one new thing I did this morning is that I stashed away the scale and will not weigh myself again until June 1st. I am focused on no junk, no wine, no being bad this entire month. To most that is normal life to me this is still a challenge. I am ready. I think I will probably be posting photos of daily eats more often to help with that goal.

Great, still have to take the dog for a walk before work, with the baby and noticed it is raining outside. Fun.

Breakfast: 2 cups coffee @ home, egg burrito. Yum.
AM Snack: Luna bar @ 10:45
Lunch: left over pasta, decaf latte and woodie pie. Yes, you read that correctly. I had to run some errands that were too close to my favorite coffee house/bakery. Not even thru day 1 of MAYhem and I messed up. Oh well, whatever!

Question: What do you think is a realistic weight loss goal for my weigh in on June 1st?

Workout: nothing planned

So I haven’t been that great this week with either the food or the workouts. It so goes hand in hand for me. Workout hard and I want to eat healthy. Get too busy or side tracked to stay on my workout schedules and I end up eating like crap. Still have a long way to go to make it so that stress does not equal eating bad for me.

Last week I was dreaming about this local bakery Susie Cakes (www.susiecakes.com) and so wanted a treat after lunch on Sunday. For some silly reason they are closed on Sunday’s so I had to let that craving go.

So like I was saying, not the healthiest week for me. But yesterday afternoon I worked really hard at getting my head straight and back on the right path. I had too much going on to workout but I ate healthy and was super productive last night. Felt great.

Then this morning my husband tells me…”there is a surprise for you in the fridge”

3 Woooie Pies!

He quickly explained they w ere not all for me and I would have to share. These suckers are no joke. Thick, dense, brownie-like chocolate cookies with tons of sugary buttercream smashed in the middle. They are easily about 3 pounds each, not kidding.

So after I said thank you so much for the thought, really was sweet, I had to laugh. I explained to him how I need to get back on track and I finally had my mindset right last night after the indulgent week. He tells me well than consider this your last hurrah.

So here’s to my Last Hurrah (version 1,267.5)