RoseRunner

Ambassador of What?

2012-03-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

Fact: I don't have any advertisements on my web page. Not a single one. I may have hideous flower wallpaper, and the crappy layout of the Blogger platform, and a neglected "about me" page, but no ads. No sponsors. No affiliations or partnerships.

Completely devoted only to myself. ew?

Reasons: I'm still holding strong to the fact that this is my public diary, 75% devoted to the running aspect of my life, and therefore has nothing at all to do with making money or supporting products. I also don't think I get enough traffic to warrant the eyesore of a Google Adsense box that would make me $0.12 per year.

I'm also a really bad liar. Which is why I would lose my sponsor the first second I wrote, "I think its rad that these chocolate milk people support me, and I think chocolate milk is delicious, but I only drink it when it is handed out for free after races." Ya dig?

But now, I have been sitting on an e-mail proposal for over a month now. (Maybe that means the offer is off the table....since I never replied). The invitation: to become a FitFluential Ambassador. (Maybe now the offer is extra off the table since I'm gossiping about it here...).

First of all, I'm pretty confused why they would want me. Am I an ambassador of FitFluenting? OF COURSE I am. That's probably the first association that comes to mind when you think of me. However, am I a really great blogger who is a social media queen and takes over Twitter and Facebook and blogs twice a day? Hail no. I'm terrible at that. I try to post twice a week, and even that seems impossible some weeks.

Second of all, I don't know what being an ambassador would mean. Do I travel to foreign blog lands and represent the United Nation of Rose Runner as the highest ranking diplomat? Also hail no. I think, what it means, is I would be one of these beautiful, mostly white, mostly female, exclusively thin, fitness enthusiast portraits.

Sup. I'm white. I'm a girl. I blog about running. Meet your new ambassador.

Ultimately, I don't really have any clue what this is or what the point is. I think it's some gathering ground for fitness bloggers with some benefit for all involved.

So if I haven't already alienated myself from any possibility of ambassadoring, whachu think? Will you:
A) like me more if I dive in and represent the CRAP out of it,
B) be annoyed to find another blogger in your feed pushing something you don't care about, or
C) seriously don't care at all, this post is wasting your time, and think I should be able to make decisions without consulting the masses.

RUNNING

Running is the only constant in my life right now. My firm is in the stages of trial preparation, and this has pretty much obliterated my social life, any semblance of a healthy sleep pattern, and left me cancelling my physical therapist appointments (three times!), avoiding the dentist (14 months now since my last visit...) and driving a car that desperately needs an oil and tire change. I'm a mess.

No awesome tempo runs this week (the 9.39 miles in one hour record holds!), but I've been getting a 12-14 mile run in before several work days and a longer 18-22 mile run on Sunday. Just running for the deliciousness of it all, no goals at the moment.

I will be running the Oakland half marathon in three weeks, which will be unpredictable. I know my hip issues will still be present since I haven't had the time outside of work to deal with it properly; I also don't even know if I will be able to make it to the race, because of work. Trials don't wait for you to go run a race, I guess.

Now scroll back up and answer the multiple choice quiz.

Oprah Hates her Stomach

2012-02-26T21:28:00.001-08:00

Although I've never watched an Oprah show except for one or two sick days in high school (it's on at 3:00? 4:00? Isn't everybody not on their couch at that hour?), I have been a loyal O magazine reader for about 9 years.

Every time a new issue arrives in our mailbox, the Gentleman and I hold our breath to see....if....once again, Oprah found a way to hide her stomach on the cover of the magazine.

Look at these cute puppies, but not my stomach!

We've noticed a hilarious/sad trend. On the off chance that the cover is not just a shot of Oprah from the shoulders up (most common), Oprah--or her magazine production team--finds a way to creatively cover up Oprah's middle section.

Christmas bulb wreath! Not a chubby belly!

We like to ponder whether she has strict orders that the cover-photo team always cover her up, or whether the cover-photo team secretly keeps taking these kinds of photos without telling her because they can't figure out how to flatter her body after years of working with Kate Moss types.

Today we hide the thip. Thigh/hip area. That was a typo but now I'm going with it as a cool made-up word

Seriously?! How does anyone not find it awkward that she is hiding behind a cake?

Dogs are a common go-to cover up. Double-time with the block of words

Dogs!! Oprah HATES just one dog at a time. She LOVES many dogs at a time.

I can't even find her legs in this one

Thank you...for incredibly large font "Thank You!"

My very favorite. Oprah covers herself with Rosie O'Donnell....who covers herself with a curtain

Three Oprahs, concealed by one word flag.

Maybe these are all a coincidence -- after all, photoshop seems like an easier solution if hiding a bulge was the real purpose. Either way, I don't understand what the editors/Oprah are trying to hide. She is supposedly "candid" about her weight issues. And, she looks fine as far as I'm concerned. She's also OPRAH. She could look like Jabba the Hut and we would still admire her for whatever that thing is that she does that we all love.

Who is Oprah fooling? Do you think this is her choice or her editors? Am I trying desperately to devote an entire post to something irrelevant but slightly amusing? Yes.

I Don't Mean to Be Mean

2012-02-23T20:31:00.001-08:00

Oh boy.

I don't know quite how to do this. But it has been brought to my attention that there is something I should probably address and clarify up in here. Up in "Rose Runner", whatever and whoever that is.

I feel that I have an angry job. Many days of the week are spent "fighting" with opposing counsel, through nasty letters, phone calls, formal motions, or at a court hearing. Many other days of the week, certain people in the office are stressed and pressed for time, which can spread a less-than-rosy mood around.

When I am out of the office and I get to be myself, I really value escaping this atmosphere. I love not playing the game of win or lose (which is what litigation is), and I enjoy not having to craft arguments. I do not want to spend any of my precious personal time being angry, or mean.

Now. I have, from time to time, written "controversial" posts. We're not talking abortion or gay marriage here (pro both, obviously...I do live in the bay area). We're talking "here is this running related thing that I think is overrated." This is true enough to my character -- I started this blog with the goal of being myself, expressing my thoughts, and not dumbing it down to be that awesome blogger who always talks in happy exclamations!!

Somewhere along the way, I think some readers (some -- maybe just 3, maybe 100, I really don't know) have grown to interpret my writing style as mean. As unkind, or presumptuous, or catty. But there is something I need you to know.

FIRST: my brain goes 2834982 miles per second. I literally cannot meditate for 6 seconds. Literally. Of the millions of thoughts I have per day, about 0.0000000000000003% of them make it on the blog. Maybe even less. So when you read a post, you are not necessarily reading something I feel strongly about, or that I spent much time thinking about. You're reading some off the cuff thoughts, many of which I change my mind about within the week, month, year.

Meditating in nature? No. Wrong. Actually, I'm thinking about stuff. Lotsa stuff.

SECOND: I am a nice person. I really am. Somebody, vouch for me on this? I do not hate one single blogger in this whole wide internet. I do not dislike one single blogger. I don't even hate Natalie Portman, despite all the grief I give her terrible movies (Blaaacckkk Swaaannnnn, Nooooooo!) I may not love certain content, and fine enough, right? But as long as you are a good person who doesn't kill, rape, or steal (excluding stealing images from the internet, guilty here) then I totally like you. Please, and sincerely, I want to extend a virtual hug to you as an apology if you ever think I have been unkind or unfair to you.

Loooook at that....I'm sweet! I swear!

THIRD: I am a critical person. I am critical of certain aspects of myself, and the people that surround me. I am critical of the movies, books, magazines, music, and food that I pay for. I have learned that when you are critical on the internet, the tone can be interpreted by others more harshly than intended. By making a remark of criticism, I am not trying to hurt anyone; I am just voicing those thoughts in my head.

Wine Critic

This wine gets a high score of "tastes like every other white wine I've ever had"

FOURTH: I can not change the way I write. I am sure there will be some other "controversial" post in the future. I just ask that you take it with a grain of salt, and if it offends you, let me know so that I can set things right.

Phew. OK. Is that clear? I'm sorry. I will try and tame myself a little.

I CAN be tamed

RUNNING

I have got to stop being so competitive with myself, or I'm going to keel over on the treadmill one of these days.

In an attempt to one-up myself from my last tempo treadmill run (9.27 miles in one hour), I did the following this morning:

9.39 miles in one hour (avg. pace 6:23)
1.0 incline (moved down to 0.5 incline somewhere around minute 48. I was struggling).
Minutes:              Speed:
1-16                     9.5 (6:18 min/mile)
16-32                   9.4 (6:22 min/mile)
32-60                   9.3 (6:27 min/mile)

This was HARD hard. My face was beet red afterwards. My hip, as usual, locked my leg up at the 50 minute point. But darn it, I wanted to push it harder than the week before! So I forged ahead!

I'm really hoping my future self will understand that I should not continue to reach higher...I seriously have no room for improvement right now. 9.39 miles in one hour! Cummon, that's good enough, right!? Please!?

Whatever. I'm sure I'll somehow push it harder next week.

p.s. it's true, no one at my gym bats an eye at the fact that I am the one crazy person flying sweat in every direction, pumping the speed up and up and up. Actually, I can't confirm this is true. I'm usually just staring into space, and when I'm running hard, I'm too busy distracting myself in my head to notice people around me.

Are we good? Can we hug?

Do you compete with yourself when you run, or with other people around you?

Things I've Seen While Running Lately

2012-02-21T21:23:00.000-08:00

1) As you may know, I live a block away from a 3.4 mile circumference lake, and I run around it all the time. With lakes comes a few things....crowds of people, waterfront condos, geese that poop everywhere, and seagulls.

Seagulls are smart. They figured out how to grab these nasty clam/mussel things that lie just under the surface water of the lake, and then figured out that the easiest way to open and eat the suckers is to fly 50 feet up and drop the clam/mussel onto concrete, where it shatters open.

On many-a-run, I have been startled to hear a shell hit the ground with a loud and sudden "Smack!" and I think, "oh, you silly smart seagulls." Then, I think "gosh. I hope those silly smart seagulls don't ever drop one of those straight onto a little kids' head." Given my close encounters, I didn't think they were actually smart enough to know how to time their clam bombs to avoid moving people.

Where's this going? Well, recently a seagull dropped it's sharp, crusty dinner at a speed of 60 mph from up yonder in the sky, right onto my shoulder mid stride.

Scared the CRAP out of me! I thought someone threw something at me with full force. One of these days, these birds are going to crack someone's skull...but, honorable and brave runner that I am, I shall forge on with courage and RUN around this lake, seagull crossfire and all!

2) Have you ever noticed how cute it is that babies drop stuff out of their strollers all the time without their parent knowing? Usually a sock, shoe, glove, blanket, pacifier, bottle, or toy.

I would estimate that on 100% of my runs, I see a baby product abandoned on the ground. I like finding socks/shoes/gloves the best. They are so cute, little miniature people clothes. Little miniature people who can't hold on to their shit.

During a couple runs recently, I noticed a whimsical trend where people are placing lost baby items on tree branches, like ornaments. Treating a small baren winter branch like a foot, and slipping the baby sock over it. So cute. Maybe I should start a movement where we all go buy 100 baby socks and just start decorating the public streets with them? Nobody's going to be in a bad mood if they see baby feet everywhere.

3) This morning as I popped out for a run, I saw two bottles of GT brand Kombucha, abandoned on the sidewalk, and literally 92% full. It looked like someone took one sip of each, and then left them outside of their car.

I stared at them, bemused, pondering the possible scenarios of how it came to be that some abandoned SEVEN DOLLARS worth of drink. Those drinks are dang expensive!

Scenario 1: "Hey girl, check these drinks out. They're more than three dollars! They must be totally amazing. The most delicious thing ever. I bet they taste like Disneyland. Let's get some!"
"OK!"
And then with expectations as high as Disneyland, they twisted off the tops, had a sip, sprayed it out in a dramatic movie-shock kind of way, and declared, "this tastes like vinegar soda, with random pieces of sick-person mucus texture mixed in!", and abandoned it on the sidewalk.

Scenario 2: "Hey hippy friend. I earned $20 this week working at the co-op, let's go reward ourselves with the medicinal rejuvination of a Kombucha to purify our toxins."
"Sounds great!"
"Ah, ok, bout to take my first sip. Mmmmm ---HEY! Hey! I just remembered that I have to get some hemp birkenstocks RIGHT NOW. We gotta GO! go go go go go. The Kombucha can stay behind, no time to lose!"

4) A sidewalk garbage Christmas tree.

For real? Who keeps their Christmas tree until February 20? That is some serious denial.

5) a Billboard for the movie "The Tourist."

I find it very humorous when a billboard space is in such low demand that nobody buys the space for several years, making it so something very irrelevant and outdated takes up the real estate. I used to see this a lot when I lived in Los Angeles. Some old Jennifer Aniston ad would stay parked at a bus stop station for three years past its release date.

6) No money on the ground.

I used to find money all the time while running. $100 a year, easy. This was also mostly in Los Angeles. I'm guessing this is because the fashion is so ridiculous in LA that people are constantly losing money out of their skinny-jean pockets?

Fashion is totally worth having useless pockets

Rack your brain: what's something interesting you've seen lately during a run/walk/bike?

That's Numberwang!

2012-02-16T22:40:00.000-08:00

Hey! I know most people won't get the reference in the title, but for those who do, cheers.

Now. That last post was fantastic -- thanks for engaging in the comments guys!

If anyone failed to peek at the contributions to a discussion of Daily Mile from my last post, I will recap here, and I will use NUMBERS since I learned that most of you LOVE numbers/graphs/charts :)

[numbers made up by me, but also 100% precise and accurate]

About 86% of those who commented USE Daily Mile (total surprise to me -- I thought it was a smaller deal)

of those, 91% use it because you love the numbers/graphs/charts.

7% like meeting people through Daily Mile.

And 2% think I should STFU because people who want praise for every daily run should be allowed to get it. No problem by me, I wasn't planning on shutting the site down, with all my lawyer-ly resources and such....

Anyway. I love the spark of discussion that sometimes happens in the comment section of blogs.

Now I know we've got a bunch of number nerds in the house!

I can kind of understand that, because I love my Garmin running watch (although only for time/pace/distance). Still, I don't plan any runs nor do I track past runs besides penciling in a rounded mile number into my desk calendar, which is mostly exciting so that next December 31st, I can see how many times I ran to the East Coast and back (approximately once, in 2011).

I like seeing good hard run numbers

Does anyone else just run to RUN? Without the charting and graphing and planning? Run freeee!?

While we're talking about numbers, I have two other significant number-based things to share.

1) This entire week so far, Monday through Thursday, I have been home and awake for a total of about 3 hours. That is to say I have been at work until just before my bedtime. This is disgusting. I hate it. I will never take it for granted again when I get to leave the office before 7:00!

2) 9.27 miles in one hour.

I'm too tired to say anything clever about this, but man, I had a killer treadmill run this morning before a long-ass mind-sucking day at work. Tempo workout #3 in my lifetime.

Workout:
1.0 incline
Warm-up at 8.4 mph (7:08 min/mile) for 3 minutes
9.5 mph (6:18 min/mile) for 2 miles
9.4 mph (6:23 min/mile) for 2 miles
9.3 mph (6:27 min/mile) for 2 miles
9.2 mph (6:31 min/mile) for 2 miles
9.1 mph (6:36 min/mile) for last 7 minutes.

After the full hour, I bumped the speed down to 8.5 (7:03 min/mile) for 30 minutes, which felt surprisingly slow and comfy after busting through an hour at 9.1-9.5 paces.

And somehow, I watched the treadmill numbers hit 1:27:02 at the same time that the distance hit 13.1 miles.

What. The. Hell. Did I just accidentally kinda sorta PR in the half-marathon on a flipping treadmill?

I have run a faster half marathon, but it was on a short course (1:26:29 in about 13.00 miles by my watch). This can't be right! Why am I running faster in my 6:00 a.m. zombie state with a stiff hip than on a race course!?

I always thought treadmills were harder than running outside, but now I feel like I'm tricking myself. I guess I'll have to wait until the Oakland Half Marathon at the end of March to see where I really stand...

That's Numberwang! (Now you can all be in on the joke)

Have you ever PR'd during a workout?

Christian Bale and I Both Hate Daily Mile

2012-02-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

My Saturday was so lovely -- it's own post later -- but this Sunday has been all sorts of lame, and in the mood that I'm in, I can just feel it....bubbling...uh-oh....here it comes. A rant.

The Rant: Daily Mile.

Really?

I stumbled upon one runner's Daily Mile page (page? is that the right word) a couple months ago, took a quick peek, got really bored, and haven't been back.

Until. I popped back in for a second time yesterday, obliging a blogger who linked to their Daily Mile page.

Same reaction: bore. But this time, I also met the page with a dose of cynicism.

Guys. Guys, guys, guys, guys. Guys. Guys? Do we, grown ups, really need a pat on the back (or twenty) every time we get up for a run?

I know WashingtonRunsHere recently posted her thoughts on the silliness of receiving medals for placing 3,874th in a marathon. Or a 5k. As if we are all so needy for praise and acknowledgement that we must have a prize for doing just average. Honorable mention, if you will. However you react to her argument, I'm going to branch off of it and say that nobody deserves a round of applause, or ten "you're such an inspiration" comments, for a daily five- miler.

A lot of bloggers that I really like are on Daily Mile so first of all, I don't hate you for using it, and second, I understand that there are all sorts of justifications for using it.

For example, I foresee the following justifications:

1) It's really nice to have the encouragement of the running community spread all around every day.

My response: I agree there is room for encouragement for many occasions. Someone may deserve encouragement if they are deathly overweight and are easing into a diet program, three cheers each time they choose an apple instead of french fries. Or super thumbs up when your toddler first wipes their butt on their own.

However, I'm a fan of not being babied. The last time I was praised for wiping my butt, I was about two years old. I don't need congratulations for living through one more day with my hobby (um, running).

Guys I did it! I went running!!!!!! Just as planned!!

So you ran a marathon? That's a big deal. Write about it on your blog, on Facebook, on your forehead, and you deserve the praise. Really you do, especially if you pushed it hard and/or met a time goal.

But please. Your daily workout. Is not news.

2) Daily Mile is just a short-format Running Blog

I guess it's true that some Running Blogs already receive fawning in the comments over reports of a daily run. But I think generally there is content that supports the worthiness of blog posts - pictures, thoughts, stories. Daily mile is two sentences - "eight miles on the treadmill today, 7:58 pace, felt so-so."

OHHHH, GOOO-OOOOOD FOR YOUUU (Christian bale)

3) I do Daily Mile to keep me accountable to my workout schedule.

Hm. OK. Then is there some way to turn off the comments function? So that it doesn't turn into a compliment party? Cause if not, I'm not buying it, and it still sounds like "please give me attention for each run that I go on."

Sorry. You can send me hypocrite mail if I ever sign up for Daily Mile, but for today, it strikes me as really needy. And I still haven't bought into the group-runner mentality, so I'm conditioned to not like this kind of thing.

My rant for the month. Done.

My daily miles? Just shy of 21 miles, 4 of them with the Gentleman, the rest just easy and fun. I can't believe what a huge difference it is for my body to run 21 miles versus 26. 21? I could probably hit that 3 days a week, recovery time not very necessary. 26 miles? Strictly elevators for at least 3 days.

Your turn. Daily Mile? Any reasons I shouldn't blacklist it quite yet?

Compression Socks and Stranger Danger

2012-02-09T21:05:00.000-08:00

I caved into the blog-pressure and got excited about the idea of compression socks.

If it's good enough for two of America's best female marathoners...then I'm sold. But I don't like running in speedos, so maybe Desi has it right on running gear...

I think there is a 50-50 split on whether these things are legit are totally placebo.

After CIM, a time when my quads and calves burned up more than any other body part, I thought why not give these sock things a try if they are supposed to help with....um....calf circulation....or....what are they supposed to do? Help with recovery?

Well right before Christmas I spotted a Groupon-type deal, two compression socks from here for $35 dollars, maybe it was $40. Either way it was about half off.

I said "xmas please" to my personal Santa (mom) and promptly received the Groupon. Then I had to order them, and they arrived last week.

compressing

I didn't go out in public like this, no worries. (oh wait...I actually think I did go food shopping in this outfit, with boots added)

I had been worried about buying a size "small" because my calves are fantastically large. So large, in fact, that in my life I have been asked if I am a) a dancer b) a gymnast and c) a fitness instructor, because of my shapely calves. It was also noted by the big man on campus in high school, a literally big basketball player, that my calves were bigger than his. Fuck you, puny calf boy.*

Anyway. I ordered the smalls. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most difficult), they were a 4 in terms of difficulty to get on. 4 is also a button up shirt when your hands are cold. 8 is tying your shoelaces in the middle of a soccer game when your hands are numb. 10 is Spanx.

Immediately I was concerned about how not-tight they were.

Then when I went on a run in them, I realized the horrible truth.

They were just socks. $35 socks. My calves could not have cared less, except for how nice it was to not have to soap my calves down after a run (I always end up with dirt on my inner calves. You?)

*speaking of inappropriate things that people say to me without any solicitation, I want to briefly reveal to you that during my 3-5 runs each week around my neighborhood lake (Lake Merritt), I get talked to about 80% of the time.

Examples:

1) There is this one guy who walk/runs around the lake almost every day. I usually only see him on the weekends because he is out between, oh say, 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. He might not be all....there in the head. I say this because whenever we cross each other while running, he stretches his arms out like he is an airplane and skips towards me, waving, and sometimes shouts things like "fast!" At first he freaked me out, but after 3 years of rendezvous around the lake with him, I know his name is Robert, and he loves running unconditionally, and I smile and give him a thumbs up and go extra fast for him.

2) There are a few separate guys who walk in the weekday mornings and give me encouragement every time I run by. "How many laps are you on!? Looking goooood girl. Go Kristen!" (Kristen's not my name, but at least one guy thinks it is).

3) Then there are the groups of 4-5 men who walk every morning between 6:00 and 8:00 a.m., they appear to be retired, wearing windbreakers or other sweatsuit outfits straight out of the 1980's. They might smile but it's hard for me to acknowledge them because there are at least 5 groups of guys like this, and I'm embarrassed that I can't tell the groups apart, so I don't know who knows me and who doesn't. But today, one group brought me to a halt. "Hey -- hey! Are you on your second lap!?"

"yup. I'll be starting my third soon."

"What?! Second lap?! We were all talking about how fast you are going!? You must be under 30? Are you a distance runner? You've lost weight, you look like you've lost weight?"

That is what it sounds like when 5 guys ask questions at the same time. All I got out was "umm....no, I've always looked like this", and then I ran on my merry way wondering which one of my extremities looked like it belonged to a weight-watchers graduate. What in the balls?

4) And sometimes I just run into Merilee with her daughter. Merilee caught this photo of her daughter, and me running around the lake in the background.

She's so lucky to grow up near this awesome neighborhood!

In conclusion AND in summary, most running encounters are very encouraging and friendly, and generally make me think that people in Oakland aren't used to seeing a white girl run hard. Don't they know that Magdalena Lewy Boulet lives here?

Now onto my awesome football-less weekend.

If you live in the bay area, you may want to get thee to Commonwealth in Oakland.

Picture porn to show you why:

My curry egg-salad sandwich with mango chutney

Our shared "scotch" egg -- coated in sausage and crumbs

The Gentleman's shepard pie

Oh just the best scone I've ever had, with jam and clotted cream

Progress

Seriously great

Oh and I also got this trout salad. I ate a lot.

After the above brunch, I managed to do something YOU have likely never accomplished: I bought two dresses while on a hike (see: above picture of me in compression socks for one of the dresses).

We walked about 8 miles round-trip to a mall in Emeryville so I could stop at See's candy, and to enjoy the beautiful day. We popped into at Target to use a bathroom on our way to Emeryville...and...I walked out with two dresses for under $50. I have more dresses than underwear. Literally. too much.


My...umm...See's candy stash. Listen listen, See's doesn't sell stuff ANYWHERE but their stores, so when I'm at a store, I stock up. I'm smart, not a hoarder.

Compression socks: Gimmick, or love it?

What's the most ridiculous thing a stranger has said to you while on a run?

Do you wanna come hang out and help me with my See's candy stash?

Nine Miles, One Hour

2012-02-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

What happens when your boyfriend under-cooks a homemade loaf of Artisan bread?

He refuses to eat it, because it is doughy and dense in the middle.

I then realize this is my heaven and the loaf is that perfect compromise between my love of dough and my love of homemade bread.

And then I eat the whole thing.

Really, the only thing that has ever kept me from eating a whole homemade loaf in one sitting is that the Gentleman eats half with me. This time he didn't do his part, and I didn't complain because ooooohhhh my gosh dough. I love dough.

Eaten alternately with salty butter, blue cheese, and brie, I had the Thursday Night Munchies that just wouldn't quit.

And then I woke up Friday morning and had such a bad-ass run! Totally attributed to the bread.

Man I don't know what I would do without this blog. The whole day I was like, "I wanna tell someone about how cool my run was this morning!" But in reality I have no one to tell -- I could text the Gentleman, and he'd be like "that sounds like a good run." The only thing he can really measure for running is that anything under 3:30 marathon is fast (I think I taught him this a few years ago when I ran a 3:31. hehe).

I suppose this Friday morning was officially "Tempo Run Number 2" for me. Hopped on the treadmill, pumped up the incline to 1.0, and pumped the speed up to 9.0.

60 minutes between 9.0 mph (6:39 minute mile) and 9.1 (6:35 minute mile) with a few minutes at 9.4 mph near the end.

Total: 9.03 miles in one hour. Hell to the yes!

I didn't know I could whip that out and it could feel good. It felt so so freakin nice. I didn't feel any hip/butt pain....until minute 50. Minutes 50-60 were not awesome. My leg did the locking thing it tends to do when I run fast.

While I'm on this roll bragging like a....blogger, here is a stream of pictures of me in a pretty dress that I wore to the Gentleman's work event this past week.

I did not mean to include my race medal collection....but....appropriate for the blog

It was quickly apparent that this photo shoot needed some props

Just like Madonna and Katy Perry, I can...look cool with a guitar

What wonder is this!?

Pick a hand, any hand

aw I'm shy, I have nothing in my hands


The Gentleman said "now REALLY smile" so I went for it

Then I turned the tables on him and acted as Photographer

na nana na na, your shoes are untied.

Oh heyy, you look HOT with your shoes untied

So happy it's Friday. The weather is scheduled to be fantastic this weekend in Northern California, and everyone will be on the couch for the Superbowl on Sunday. Now I ask -- where should I go to take advantage of the lack of crowds that will be out and about? I won't be watching football now that the 49ers are out. But I love the empty malls and freeways that accompany Superbowl Sunday. Maybe the ferry building in San Francisco? The beaches? Any ideas?

What I'm Loving

2012-02-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

The song "Houdini" by Foster the People

The "Pumped Up Kicks" song is ultra-overplayed, and...not very good. So I wrote this band off. But this song is impossible not to dance to. Adding it to my running playlist, and hitting repeat.

WATCH or die.

Coming home from work and finding a delicious, plant based, healthy meal prepared by the Gentleman.

Soba noodles, edamame/corn salad, black beans, sauteed zucchini with onions


Close it up now

And the homemade no-machine bread keeps on coming...

He even does step one of packing my lunch for the next day. Classic fruits.

I can't get too used to this....his tax busy season starts soon, so we will both be getting home too late to cook a proper meal.

"The Artist" the movie

I've been a huge-ish fan of the lead actor, Jean Dujardin, for 3-4 years now, ever since a friend introduced me to his O.S.S. films (French spoof "James Bond" films, in the style of the Naked Gun or Hot Shots, but better).

This movie came out and knocked me off my socks (I think this may be an incorrect combination of two phrases. Oh, well). I really hope he wins the Oscar, and that the movie wins too!

One of my favorite scenes

Another unforgettable scene

"Easy for You" Stetson commercial

I used to sing this as a bedtime song to one of my sisters when I was like 8, to be funny. And right I was. That is funny.

This map of terms used for Soft Drinks. (Click for enlarged view)

I love this because I remember as a kid thinking my friend who moved to Napa from Utah was a weirdo for calling soda "pop". She must have lived in that blue part of Utah.

I am signed up for the Oakland Half Marathon, countdown 7 weeks.

It starts at 9:00 a.m. Right outside my front door. So perfect for a lazy-butt like me who loves running but hates waking up early and hates driving.

This is the race last year that started it all for me -- by all, I mean my excitement about racing and blogging

Can't wait to do it again, even if my weak hip gets me a Personal Worst.

Speaking of my hip...Physical Therapy Appointment set for Next Week

Nothing to say about that except...it's about time!

I've been running as usual, but my hip/butt area has never been the same since October/November of 2011. After my December marathon, the pain migrated and primarily is where my thigh meets my butt.

My nail polish

Christmas Gift. Pastels always make me happy.

The fact that now that I am 28, I spotted my first wrinkle.

It's on my forehead, and it literally sprouted the day I entered my "late twenties". I guess I know now that I won't be one of those gorgeous people who has zero wrinkles when they are 60.

But really, am I lovin this wrinkle? I dunno. Kind of yes, it is such a strange tiny little shape. I guess I crinkle my forehead in a strange way.

OK, it is admittedly hard to find. It's on that forehead somewhere though.

If I start rocking bangs soon, you know why. Bangs keep you young. And are horrible for runners whose heads sweat once a day.

Coach Jay Johnson's Myrtl Routine for Hip Exercises.

I am forever indebted to SweatyKid for telling me to get on this, I love these moves. They burn so good!! And I fully expect they will make my hip perfect and I will blame SweatyKid if I am not healed asap.

This Image My Sister Posted on my Facebook Page

While I STRONGLY DISAGREE with Mufasa, and I love everything (ahem 82% of) Oakland, this picture did remind me that my 11-year-old obsession (there really is no term more accurate) with J.T.T. will forever hold a place in my heart. Good thing he grew up to be handsome so that I don't have to be embarrassed in my 11 year old fantasy whereby I forced him to marry me.

Niiiiiice. I got this Entertainment Weekly mag, and am planning to hang the pics of him on my wall

And last, I'm lovin that my littlest sister (a cute 19 years old) is officially my FIRST family member who has read this entire blog. I think she will now be a stalker. Say HI to HAMMERS (a family nickname)!

Hi pretty Hammers!

The Run That Got Me Thinking...

2012-01-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

I did my first ever TEMPO run on Friday!

Here's what happened.

Apparantly, my alarm has been set incorrectly all week (for P.M. instead of A.M.), but I typically wake up 10-20 minutes before my alarm because I have a spastic brain -- so Mon-Thurs I turned the alarm off before it was set to go off.

Friday morning, drained from the work week and some family drama, I never awoke on my own. And my alarm never went off. I woke up an hour late for my daily pre-work endorphin fix with the Gentleman's alarm.

I got outta the house in record time, and knowing I had less time than normal (usually in the realm of 90 minutes) but tons of energy to burn (the family drama gave me that feeling where you need to RUN out some feelings) I decided to do an impromptu treadmill workout instead of the easy elliptical+magazine deal I usually do on Friday mornings.

Gotta get my Bieber fix somehow.

This is more like it. I'm 3-4 issues behind because I've been neglecting the elliptical for a few months.

I hopped on the treadmill and skipped the warm-up cause I was buzzing to go. I pumped it up to 8.7 mph (6:53 min/mile) and spent the entire next 60 minutes between 8.7 mph and 8.8 mph (6:48 mph). I finished with 8.73 miles in one hour. Yum!

Now what is a tempo run....my understanding is that you more or less run race pace for an hour, or 5 miles, or something like that. Maybe you're supposed to run faster than race pace. Who cares.

But lets pretend you are supposed to run race pace. So let's suppose that 6:53/6:48 min/mile is my "race pace". Do you see where this is going??? Some of you might. Some of you probably don't. Here's where I'm going.

6:52 min/mile ---------->>>>>>> THREE HOUR MARATHON.

To be precise, I think the idea is to get a 2:59:59 marathon (or anything starting with a TWO), so one of those 26 miles has to be 6:51 to fit the bill, nadda mean?

I will surely tackle the 3-hour marathon one day. I was 89% certain leading up to CIM that I wasn't ready for it -- I wasn't ready mentally, nor training-wise, and especially not hip wise.

3:05:08, 7:02 pace by my Garmin

Not yet ready to dip under the 3 hour mark

I'm still not ready for it -- especially not hip-wise. (This is making me think of "Samwise". Lord of the Rings, what what). But, I do think I'm mentally getting there. Knowing that a 3:05 was not miserable -- fun even -- and was done with some body problems, I have the confidence that a 2:59:59 is totally attainable with this body, brain, and work schedule I've currently got.

And, this 8.7 mile "race pace" run this morning was totally comfortable! I have no idea why. I've done a pretty bad job of getting in speed stuff in since December 4th 2011 (marathon day). I've been keeping it cool, just running whatevs. So if I can handle that pace now for about 9 miles, surely I can handle for 26 with some good hard work?

But for a dose of humility, during my easy/lazy noon run on Saturday, I didn't hit 8.7 miles until nearly 75 minutes -- almost 2 min/mile slower than my treadmill tempo run! Most days of the week I'm very much an average runner.

Anyhow, I will be keeping my ear/eye open for a good marathon this year. Part of me wants to wait until next December and do CIM again. Part of me wants to tackle something this spring. And part of me wants to get on a plane to Chicago in October (especially for the tourism factor, because the massive number of runners there FREAKS ME OUT).

But first, figure out the hip. I keep meaning to freaking make a physical therapist appointment, but you know, work and other stuff takes over. So figure that out. Plan A.

The 2:59:59 is on my radar. Just so you know. :)

Please share any tips -- as to tempo runs or any other great training runs -- that I can put in my pocket to help reach a sub-3 hour marathon this year. Or next year. Or just some day.

Run with Wings

2012-01-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

I don't have a large enough readership to get the awesome freebies that some big blogs come home to on their front porch regularly.

Instead, I have to earn my freebies. By placing in races!! Ohhhh, snap.

As a blast from the past that is November of 2011, I placed 2nd (1:26) among women in the Run With the Jets half marathon in San Mateo. (I placed 2nd in a lot of races last year. Never first. But second place still means freebies!). I later learned that the top three women won a pair of Mizuno running shoes. The running store providing the shoes was in Burlingame, a city 45 minutes away that I never found my way to...until this weekend!

Running with the Jets!

Getting chased down by the 1st place woman

Paparazzi'd by the Gentleman

The running store, A Runner's Mind, was wonderful in so many ways. First, it is owned and operated by a family -- how dreamy is that!? They were, as most devoted runners are, really lovely people. Second, there was a bigass bowl of jelly belly beans with a spoon for scooping at the checkout. I will have to be back....they know what runners want (sugar?). There was a bowl of sticks of gum too! Third, based on the whiteboard calendar in the store (and based on their website), they host group runs and support local races all the time. If you live near Burlingame, this is the place to support and hang out with if you need a running group.

And now....my very first pair of Mizunos.

Check it out -- $115! In my pocket!

Mizuno Wave Rider 15. We'll find out how they work for my feet.

I probably won't try them out for another couple months, while I work through the other million running shoes I have (more like 7 or 8)

Hidden in my closet

At the front door (two of these are the Gentleman's)

While I was out near Burlingame picking up my free Mizunos, we stopped for lunch in San Carlos at The Refuge, known for it's excellent Belgian beers, the best pastrami sandwich in Northern California, and terrible service that is only tolerated because the sandwiches are so good.

My beer. So loved it.

The Gentleman's beer. Flavor: snail with a saxophone.

Sandwich (whoa) from the website. I split this with the Gentleman...and finally found the one meat that was WORTH it. Back to vegetarianism now, for real. Until I come back to The Refuge.

Back to Running.

Today presented me with a 17.5 miler with wings.

Wings? Like, I had Red Bull beforehand? Nahhhhhhhh.

Let me try and describe this kind of run. This is the kind of run that keeps me coming back day after day after year. It is the ultimate running Nirvana.

This euphoric run is especially prevalent on winter days like this, where the freshness of the air and the crisp scent of rain and wet trees heightens your awareness of each breath you suck in. And then you notice that you are on mile 15, and your body is so strong and adapted to the heavy mileage, that you are just gently opening your lungs with each breath, and you don't even feel the effort of your legs pumping forward; you are just flying. Effortless. The winter air makes me feel weightless.

This kind of day, you know? Picture of Sunol from a hike last year.

Now I'm off for a day of football. 49ers v. Giants.

What makes a euphoric run for you?

Embarrasing Thoughts

2012-01-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

1) I don't understand twitter. Not like, "I don't understand why people like it so much!" but like, I don't get the "@" and the hashtags and how you follow someone, etc.

2) Further living under a rock, I don't know what a tumblr is.

3) I also don't do Linked In. I think this is a bad career move.

4) And while we're at it, I don't do Daily Mile. I don't really want people spying on my exact daily mileage, thankyouverymuch.

5) When I'm at home, really cold, I sometimes grab a hair-dryer and use it as a personal heater.

6) I have been laughing for 3-days straight when I think about the most recent episode of the Bachelor. Highlights: Courtney-the-model ambivalently accepting her rose by saying that the night, with the surprise of Shawntel, "has been a lot....you know, cuz of whats-her-butt..." I will never stop saying whats-her-butt now. Another highlight: Ben making out, very badly, with every girl.....while all the other girls watch from 8 feet away.

This is the face Courtney-the-model makes after subtly insulting someone

7) On the same note, I always root for the villain. I loved Vienna, I loved Bentley, I loved Michelle Money, and now I love Courtney-the-model.

8) I have never liked Mexican food (in California, this is a party foul) until this year when I learned that "tacos" at food trucks are soft tacos, and are really just small flour-tortilla-pizzas.

9) I don't own nail polish remover, so the only way I lose a coat is through chipping or outgrowth.

10) My dad still isn't speaking to me (or the Gentleman), ever since the Thanksgiving nightmare where we disagreed about running.

11) I'm often dismayed that the high-school personality revolving around "duuuude, I drank/smoked/snorted so much last night, that makes me soooo cool" persists in many, many adults.

12) I stopped giving a $hit about political elections in 2005, right after spending the 2004 election season in Washington D.C. during the Kerry/Bush election. It's an angry, disgusting game to follow.

13) I refuse to watch Modern Family -- I've seen the curvy woman with the exaggerated-sexy-accent act dance around in enough Pepsi commercials to know I can't stand it. I also refuse to try Glee.

Just....shhhhh, Sofia Vergara

14) Ever since becoming a lawyer, I look at calendars in an entirely new light. They bring a new sense of panic, and dates are like puzzle-pieces.

15) I've been eating meat for about a month now, mostly because I gradually became less appalled at the lingering memories in my head from the movie "Food, Inc." None of the meat thus far has been worth it (not a single thing made me think, YUMMM, this is what I'm missing!?) so I'm back to not eating it already. Although, I will adopt a flexibility so I can try some on special occasions (nice restaurants, holiday meals, weddings).

16) I still steadfastly do not want to have kids, which completely contradicts my absolute obsession and craving to constantly be around this little gem.

Gemma

6 months, almost crawling!

17) I revert to an 8 year old when the electricity goes out. Which it has about 6 times in the last 3 days. I immediately figure someone cut the power so they could break in and stab me.

18) I think 40 degrees is really, really, really, really, really cold. This week has been rough.

19) The Gentleman and I split a green smoothie 4-5 days a week.

20) I wanted a nose job extremely badly when I was about 16 years old. Then I forgot about it for 12 years. Now I hate my nose again. (Not fishing for a compliment here, just sayin)

front

side.

21) I can make a meal out of condiments. Cream cheese; nut butter; nutella; olives; spoon; good to go.

23) I cannot stand Jennifer Hudson and her Weight Watchers commercials. I'm sick of her flaunting her "new" bod, deflated boobs and all.

I find this cleavage to be....yucky.

24) Recent soundtracks I have slipped into my car during my commute to work: Les Miserables, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Wall-E.

25) I think about quitting the blog-world about once a week. Somehow, I've made it one whole year!

Your turn to reveal!

This Day Happened

2012-01-14T23:19:00.000-08:00

*Note: I won't be writing about the Olympic marathon trials that occurred today, because I didn't watch them and I'm a rude runner who loves the sport but is not particularly interested in the elites. I am only aware that trials happened because the runner blogs in my reader can be rather redundant.

Today was the kind of Saturday that reminds me that all days should be Saturdays, and that I should revamp my efforts at winning the lottery so I only have to work when I want to.

I slept in until 8:30 (ahhhhhhhhhh -- like the spa "ahhh", not "omg ahhhh there's a spider), spent some time with the Gentleman (interpret this however you want, but be a grown-up about it), and then headed out for a perfect run on a perfectly crisp 60+ degree sunny-vitamin-D filled Oakland day.

I ran 19 miles -- the most since running a marathon like 6 or 7 weeks ago now -- and felt so ON. Back to my old, pre-marathon self (lame hip and all) where 19 miles felt like nothin'.

Some guy riding his bike approached me and said something about how I looked like "a real runner," and I later got a couple "hey speedy!" comments, which made me smile and just want to give running a BIG FREAKIN HUG, and never let it go, never let injuries take me away. Such a drug...I sailed off the good vibes and finished the run at a 7:50 avg pace--something that never happens when my run includes some steep Oakland hills, which this one did. I would have carried on past the 20-mile mark if I didn't have to get home to...

Help my cute guy set up some delicious food for a football viewing bonanza! The San Francisco 49ers were playing their first game of the play-offs (big freaking deal), and they won, which means this exact fun Saturday scenario will occur again next weekend.

First, we got all the fantastic food out and ready, and I don't know how to reveal this without sounding like a lazy-ass, but the food was entirely prepared by the Gentleman. He gets excited about recipes and cooking, while looking at a recipe card makes me depressed (24 ingredients? Do I have to get all Rachel Ray and carry them all at once like a toppling pyramid from counter to table?) I footed the grocery bill, so I contributed in my own way.

*I will say, I have helped him cook before, and I find it very rewarding and even fun if I am in the right mood to stir and stir and stir for 30 minutes.

The chef, setting the table

The living room, set and ready, with our now-adored new TV with some talkers talking

This is the kitchen where I watch him cook

His hearty homemade bread (NO breadmaker involved)

Plus dairy

Italian sausage chili....yeah so I may have failed to mention that I've been eating meat. For about a month now. Edamame guacamole on the upper left.

More cheese, wine, chili in the crock-pot, quinoa salad in the front.

close up. Quinoa, corn, black beans, lime, scallions, etc.

I suited up in the cute new dress my sister found me for Christmas, from a vintage shop.

The boots may have been overkill, but I decided to pretend it's a little bit Winter in California

READY for FOOTBALL!

It's kind of a relief I don't always keep a camera with me, right? Otherwise posts would be loaded with this nonsense. Which is your fair warning that more pictures are coming.

Cause next, we ate that food and watched that football!

The appropriate way to watch football

First, we were all serious: "Actually, in 1824, Sir Footballius stated that there shalt be four downs"

Then we had some beers, loosened up, and made fun of Tim Tebow the appropriate number of times

Whatever made me laugh this hard is probably not blog appropriate

Simmering down


And the whole gang.

Happy running and sport watching!

This girl....

2012-01-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

Is murdering the reputation of Bloggers.

What a mess...I can't say I've ever known someone who was able to combine 12 incomplete sentences into one sentence.

"I mean the -- here's what it -- so I feel that -- and, to be clear there's -- you know, the way I am -- does that make sense?"

followed by some manic crying.

I know we don't all watch this show, but I must talk about it a bit on this blog because I wait all year long for this, my favorite guilty pleasure, the one and only thing that helps me not hate Mondays entirely. Seriously, how cool is it to find Monday approaching and to think, "oh, that's not bad! The Bachelor will be on!"

Sadly, I don't think I'll be posting much more about the show this season...it seems dreadful. Is that something that is always said? Ben is such a drab guy. Doesn't do it for me in the slightest. He is awkward, boring, not funny, and seems to think that Sonoma revolves around him (come on Bay Area folk, did you find it ridiculous that he painted Sonoma as a tiny sleepy town?)

And while I'm selfishly writing about things that only I care about, check out this NUMBER FIVE ranked place to travel (that's out of the WHOLE WORLD y'all!) in 2012, by the New York Times. Excerpt below:

5. Oakland, Calif.
New restaurants and bars beckon amid the grit.

Tensions have cooled since violence erupted at the recent Occupy Oakland protests, but the city’s revitalized night-life scene has continued to smolder.

The historic Fox Theater reopened in 2009 and quickly cemented its status as one of the Bay Area’s top music venues, drawing acts like Wilco and the Decemberists. Meanwhile, the city’s ever more sophisticated restaurants are now being joined by upscale cocktail bars, turning once-gritty Oakland into an increasingly appealing place to be after dark. James Syhabout, the chef who earned Oakland its first (and only) Michelin star two years ago at Commis, followed up in May with the instant-hit Hawker Fare, a casual spot serving Asian street food. Big-name San Francisco chefs are now joining him. Daniel Patterson (of two-Michelin-star Coi) opened the restaurant Plum in late 2010 and an adjacent cocktail bar later, and another restaurant, called Haven, in the recently renovated Jack London Square last month.

I could add 3 million and eight other reasons that Oakland is awesome (ok, and 2 million things that suck), so if you ever find yourself in Oakland and need to eat or entertain yourself, I would love to assist!

Chillin on the infamous BART

Oakland Library patron

Last, I also want to say something to hold me to it: A reader asked a while back how it was that owning a Garmin made me faster. This reminded me that in general, I wanted to do a post, or a series of posts, about the things that helped turn me from a 3:30 marathoner one year into a 3:05 marathoner the next. Hands down, without a doubt, the #1 thing was owning a Garmin. A running watch. To be continued.

The 2012 Goal Post

2012-01-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

Today is January 8. I guess it's time I address the mandatory blog post on "my goals for 2012".

running GOOOOOOAAALS!

I've read a lot of runner's goals this week. A lot. Really ambitious, detailed, calculated stuff. I totally enjoy reading these goals, but I don't quite know where it all comes from. This may sound weird, but I don't sit in my head very often thinking about my "future goals" -- and especially not with any kind of precision. I kind of picture y'all sitting in an office chair with a notepad and silence on December 31st, reflecting and analyzing the past year, and creating The Perfect List for the coming year.

I can't compete with that. This is NOT the running blog for those looking for a majorly inspirational character who has Deep Thoughts about Running and then tackles those goals.

Driving aimlessly. Metaphor.

So...

 First: I Don't Do Goals.

Really. And this has totally worked for me.

Of course, you know, I can show up at the starting line of a race and have an idea of the time I want to finish in. And there is this fuzzy expectation, either created by me or by others who know I am already scratching the surface with a 3:05, that I will aim for a sub-3:00 hour marathon one day. But generally, I don't create annual or monthly goals.

And this goal-less philosophy certainly doesn't apply just to running. It applies to all that other good stuff in life.

Analysis #1: I am afraid of failure, and thus do not like to create a goal that could possibly not be reached.

Analysis #2 (and the one I will insist is true): my favorite version of life is a calm one. I'm not the most zen person you will ever meet, but in general, I prefer to live life on a day-by-day take-what-comes-your-way basis. I don't look one year in the future. I don't look five years in the future. If you ask me where I see myself in ten years, I will punch you in the face.

You may judge this to be a pretty weak-sauce way to live life if you are a hyper-driven person. And I do have drive, but, it is an instant-gratification kind of drive. I will work my ass off during a run that I am in the middle of, but I won't look ahead to create some killer training plan. I will bust out a term paper for school or a brief for work because I want the instant pat on the back, but I won't create a plan for how I can work my way up to CEO of my own company.

So how is it that this goal-less life has worked for me? It has worked because I'm totally satisfied with the various aspects of my life. I don't mean to say that life has been handed to me on a platter -- I mean that I am able to accomplish well enough things without being anal about the journey to reach those accomplishments. For example:

Education: I floated through college without a plan--which resulted in a stupid double major of sociology and political science--but ended up receiving a Juris Doctorate degree 7 years later.

Running: I ran a marathon in 2006 without the slightest clue or training besides my daily sanity runs, and found myself at the finish line at 3:33. I started 2011 without a plan, began this aimless running blog in February, and ran a 3:05 marathon and a 1:26 half-marathon based on the excitement of keeping written tabs on my races.

Love: I flirted with the guy in my law school classes without a plan, fell madly for him within weeks, moved in within months, and have embraced every single goal-less day with him since.

It works. Goals can create stress and confine you. Living for each day creates freedom, happiness, and for me usually finds success.

Second: Running is Just Running.

It really is. I love it--it is my religion and my therapist--but it isn't my job. It is just my joy. Since it's not life or death, I don't have much calculating to do for this thing. And I think I need running to be flexible to love it.

So I won't plan the heck out of it. I will embrace each run as it's own, whether it ends up being a slow aimless run or a short burst of intervals.

There you have it. I don't have a single goal for 2012. I only hope to enjoy most days, if not every day, and to more or less do what I want as I meet each day. Whether that is run hard, run easy, work hard, sleep hard, travel hard, or love hard, it is not to be planned for me.

We shall see what 2012 has in store for me. In the words of my dear pal Kirsten Dunst: Bring It On. (And, I never should have dumped Jake Gyllenhaal.)

Hot Lawyer

2012-01-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

I'm either a sucker or a saint, but reading some of your comments about wanting the Runners World daily calendar made me want to give one to everyone. I momentarily considered buying 20 so that everyone could have one. YOU get a calendar! and YOU get a calendar! and YOU get a calendar!

The random number generator, between 1 and 30, selected number 19 -- Maggie Wolf!

Congratulations Maggie, I would have picked you anyway ;) Email me your address at roserunnerblog@gmail.com, and I will send it to you on Saturday!

Sucker or saint, yesterday I was also a hot lawyer. Hot, that is, if you like weather girls.

We had picture day in our office. Good decision all around, as it will be nice to have a lawyerly portrait for everyone in the office, and to update the firm website.

In general, lawyer portraits are extra silly. Arms crossed (power pose) or noble stare (I want to WIN for you). And always a wall of law books in the background.

Our firm offers....camel toe?

So I get to work, dressed in a great suit and ironed shirt, having spent a little extra time on makeup that morning at home (for a grand total of 2.3 minutes instead of the usual 1 minute). I learn immediately that a makeup/hair girl will be prepping us for the pictures. All the men in the office will get a quick touch-up to hide redness or puffy eyes. But I will get the works!

The beauty woman introduced herself as a makeup artist for Dancing With the Stars. Wow! Ok. Surely she knows that lawyer pictures are different from the look that professional dancer Makshiavel Dianova wants (made-up name, probably close to something on that show).

Well, I'm not sure if she knew the difference. You decide!? A partner at the firm snapped the following pictures of me so I could send the Gentleman a teaser of my new career as a newscaster.

I also want to WIN your case for you

I will WRITE in my BOOKS for you!

I will CURL MY HAIR for you!

I'm going to hire the beauty woman full time. Those curls look great! Wish I had beauty skills...

Question: she put Visine in my eyes (and I think everybody's eyes) because we are lawyers who don't sleep enough and stare at screens too long, thus, bloodshot eyes. It instantly made me look better, and made my eyes feel less dry.

I asked, "are there any bad side effects of using Visine?" because I was certain I had heard that you should not use it regularly no get rid of red eyes.

"Oh no. You would have heard about it if there were! I use this on everybody." But...I did hear about it. And all of her beautiful clients might now die from eye whiteness.

In all seriousness, I know google is right at my fingertips but you are much more fun to engage with. Do you use eye drops for superficial purposes? Have you heard of or experienced any bad side effects?

RUNNING

I'm still running. Still with an imperfect hip. Doing strengthening moves every now and then. Losing my speed, and as soon as the weather gets bad (it has been SO NICE here in California!) I will get on the treadmill and do some speed workouts.

Sunday: 12 miles
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 13 miles
Wednesday: 13 miles
Thursday: 7 miles
Friday: 11 miles

I accidentally ran every day in 2012!! Dare me to keep it up? (I won't accept the dare).

Regift Giveaway!!

2012-01-03T20:39:00.000-08:00

Giveaway!

My Christmas fail is your gain. I had asked for the runners world weekly-desk calendar, cause I'm old school and keep my miles tracked in pencil. I received the daily box calendar instead.

You know the type. Flip a page each day, get a new running tidbit.

I'm not going to lie. I just looked this thing up and saw that it was $37 on Amazon, leading me to believe this thing is cooler and more valuable than I thought. Now I seriously want it. Don't make me give it to you....but I said I had a giveaway, and I need to back that up.

So just know, if you win, I am kind of mad at you for taking this from me.

I do need to get rid of it -- anything that requires me to do something every single day (I guess except for brushing my teeth) is too much pressure for me to handle. So I will let you take on the burden of ripping off a page every day instead.

Just promise me, if you win this, you will share with me any super-cool daily words of running wisdom. Like, if you get the magic tip that will make me run a marathon in 2:45, I will be so mad if you don't share.

Unfortunately, the winner will miss the first week of January. But on the bright side, January 10th (or whatever day you receive it) will be awesome because you will have extra running facts!

Go ahead and comment to your heart's desire. Just use any letter of the alphabet or any number in the world and you will be entered. If you comment but don't want it, say something to that effect.

I'll randomly (ha, yeah right, I'm going to pick my favorite person. no, it will be random. will it? yes) pick by Friday morning, so I'm favoring those of you who don't let your reader build up for weeks like I do. Happy 2012!

The Best Post Ever Written

2011-12-31T20:24:00.000-08:00

It's such a relief that I have something better to post about than New Years. Resolutions and reflections are just fine on March 23rd and August 8th, I'm not buying the hype. I'm talking about my birthday instead.

I did the obviously best thing one could do on their birthday.

Went on a rain hike!

So all of December has been delightfully perfect, sunny, clear clouds. Starting a few weeks ago, when the Gentleman asked me what I wanted to do for the Big Day, I said 1) Hike, 2) fancy dinner, 3) Portlandia tour (to be explained later).

We woke up on my birthday, and as we are on long-weekend-vacation mode (which is to say not checking the internet), we assumed it was lovely out just like the rest of December.

Then we stepped onto the trails of Tilden park in Berkeley, and within about 50 yards I was more or less drowning, quicksand style, in thick gloopy mud.

Birthday Yum

We turned around and found a different trail. I'm so glad we didn't bail due to the mud, which we almost did. The other trails were great. We hiked in a thick fog with gentle drizzle, nobody but die-hard dog owners out for a walk in sight.

My legs were wiped by the end. I'm not in hiking shape apparently. We whipped home, glammed ourselves up, and did some Glamour Shots so that I will never forget how hot I was the day I turned 28.

Secret: those are thermals, not tights. You're looking at my underwear.

Obnoxious

I do this for YOU. For the BLOG. Life is hard

For every 3 pictures of the lady, the gentleman gets to have his moment.

Then we headed out to the dreaded city....San Francisco....for dinner at the exceptionally fancy and snobby (in a good way) Boulevard restaurant.

We weren't able to get reservations, which is a common side-affect of having a birthday the day before New Years, so we wanted to get there shortly after they opened at 5:30 to get seats. Luckily, senior citizen hour worked for us because the hike had worked up an appetite.

Then we ordered a $hit-ton. 3 appetizers, and then 2 more appetizers for my entree (I was kind of trying to create my personalized tasting menu) and one entree for the Gentleman.

I hated this. It was abalone. I think I did not know what abalone was.

Half-eaten scallops. I love scallops.

This dish killed me. I still feel like a blimp today. Truffle risotto with hazelnuts and an enormous pile of burratta cheese.

The Gentleman's pork with kabocha gnocchi and brussel sprouts.

My lobster ravioli

and my crab cake. I really did my part to ruin the Ocean tonight.

I was loosening my belt as each one came out. Literally.

looking for extra space to fit my growing stomach.

durrrrr

3:1 ratio. Don't forget.

We dined in San Francisco because we were going to a show afterwards in San Francisco. Don't you dare think it was because the East Bay doesn't have awesome food. East Bay, and especially Oakland, has kickass food. And unlike San Francisco's restaurants, you usually don't have to sell a liver to secure a reservation. Or a parking spot.

The show? A tour of Portlandia. Give me a shout-out if you know and love this sketch comedy show....and if you don't already love it, click on that link. It should be no secret that I am an SNL groupie. I love Fred Armisen, and while I'm name dropping, these two guys are pretty cool too.

Me and my GOOD friend Jason Sudeikis. 2009.

My sister and I then tried to seduce Will Forte. 2009.

Ok. Back to 2011. Portlandia.

we waited in line forever....and watched a homeless dude approach line-waiters with a palm full of bud. The hipsters happily paid for some.

I decided I look good enough here that it warranted facebook profile status.

we decided this is going to be our new annoying couple thing that we will throw at people instead of peace signs.

Fred Armisen on the left, Carrie Brownstein on the right. Music + comedy.

In character as feminist bookstore owners

Dana Carvey stopped by. Choppin Brocco-li. Oh, you young kids wouldn't get it.

Birthday gifts? The Gentleman got me my favorite racing/running shorts -- the Oiselle distance running short -- in two beautiful colors. I only had them in black, and could not find any other colors in my size online, so score on the find!

Between these and the two pairs of running shorts I got from Santa, I'm pretty sure I won't have to run in just underwear anymore. I think they must have been trying to tell me something...

This week in running was a gradual increase from the last few weeks, as I get back in my groove post-marathon. 52 miles.

I'm ending the year with just about 3200 miles. I get that this is a lot. But when I crunch the numbers like the mathlete that I am, that's less than 10 miles a day (3650 miles/year. Math skillz). 3200 miles is an average of 8.7 miles per day. 8 miles is a short run in my book, so my annual mileage doesn't seem absurd at all.

3 cheers for running! I have a real giveaway coming up in my next post, so SIT STILL exactly where you are sitting in front of your computer until I post it. Don't move. Or you will not win.

December 26th is the Saddest Day of the Year

2011-12-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

Just like Monday is the worst day of the week. You are as far away as possible from the best day of the year. It's a horrible thought. Luckily for me, I have the dangling carrot of my birthday (December 30) to keep me from being too morose about Christmas being behind me.

Christmas really is an essential time of year for my running-self.

96% of all my running gear is gifted to me at Christmas. Last year I got my first ever running watch (a Garmin Forerunner 305) which completely changed the way I run (read: faster). I also received a pair of Saucony Kinvara's after reading other blogger's rave about them (hated them) and the always elusive running shorts with pockets (not a successful pair because the pockets had no zipper or velcro -- I lost $5 the first time I wore them).

This year, the only running-related item on my wishlist was running books. I requested this with the goal of learning more about training plans, since I am uninformed enough to have just recently learned what the term "tempo" meant. And also learned that the second-half of my marathons are hurt by my neglect of Tempo runs!

I received THREE books. One is Hal Higdon's marathon book, which unfortunately I am finding very dull as it is clearly directed at beginners and primarily for inspiration to new runners. The first half of the book is testimonials from people regarding their first marathon experience. Blahhhh. Since his training plans are for free on the internet, this one will hopefully be returned and exchanged for his book "Run Fast".

Doc's guide to running, and this doc doesn't say "don't run, use the elliptical"

The other two books have potential as they really focus on injury prevention and understanding. One is full of pages of strength-training moves, which I love.

The next closest thing to running-related was my request for an Ipad (which I got!), and I will likely use it for blogging and maybe any useful running-related apps. Recommendations for Apps are now welcome!

Other than that, Santa was clearly peeping on my blog. Santa knew that a) I was scrappy and wore long socks as arm-warmers at CIM, and b) that I like to wear bright shirts when I race.

bright shirts


arm warmers

to replace my scrappy use of socks

I previously blogged about thinking arm-warmers were a waste of money when long socks cost $2 and can be worn as arm warmers. I guess my mom (Santa) is hinting at me to stop acting like a bag-lady and use real running gear.

I also got two pairs of successful (so far) running shorts with one large pocket each.

Reebok. Which apparently is a breed of African antelope, as I learned during a Christmas trivia game.

And now on to the good pictures, which include people instead of just things.

Clutching my prized stocking with the Gentleman's family on Christmas morning

Immediately wearing the cute scarf in my stocking. Gentleman is wearing the awesome sweater I gifted him.

Thank you to everyone for the happy anniversary wishes last week...we celebrated with something very special that I will share someday soon

Nephew Robert, in the excellent Peruvian sweater we bought him on our trip to Peru. OK, it was a Peruvian store in Sacramento.

Gift madness at my family's home Christmas afternoon

I'm renaming this blog "fuzzy pictures." It always happens!

Somehow I think this picture may end up in a "things white people like" book. "Posing in front of decorated Christmas trees"

There was a point on Christmas day when I was SO full that I waddled over to the Gentleman and said "I'm almost jealous that you have the flu so that you didn't get caught in the gluttony trap." And then I ate 23 more white-chocolate-peppermint pretzels.

What running-related gifts did you get?

More Important than Christmas

2011-12-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve you say?

SO what, bigger things are happening...I got a haircut. And got rid of that brassy yellow.

My hair had previously been at mermaid length. What's mermaid length? It's when you can stand naked in front of a mirror and cover your boobs with your hair. I have very thin hair, so I made for a pretty revealing mermaid.

The Hanukkah Angel got me that grandma sweater. Just don't get confused and think that my hair is for grandmas. It's the sweater, not the hair.

My yellow mermaid hair

We were on a Christmas train. Santa, the Gentleman's nephew and dad

Check out the lightsssssss!

The Gentleman got a nasty, nasty flu virus yesterday, so I am bracing myself to catch it on Christmas day and spend the day in the bathroom. :( please please please antibodies and white blood cells, do your job. Alternatively, I really hope he just had food poisoning.

Happy haircut season everybody!

Four More Years!

2011-12-20T22:16:00.000-08:00

It's not the holidays, I swear. It's just work. December has unexpectedly become the busiest work month of all this year, and spending 12 hours straight drafting motions/oppositions/replies/angry letters --> me wanting anything but to write more for my 30 spare minutes in the evening before falling asleep.

Fittingly, my running life has been pathetic the past week as well. I managed to get about 40 gimpy-hipped miles in, and then pulled a back muscle while....walking arm and arm with the Gentleman. Eh?

Just to beat all you other bloggers to the punch with the "year in reflection" posts, I'm on track to hit 3,150+ miles for the year.

I hope to get a legit blog post up soon! In the meantime, check out my 2nd ever hang-out with real life bloggers. I'm conveniently wearing a top with a rose on it so you know which one is roserunner (please, this was not on purpose.)

And peep on this ADORABLE BABY NIECE of mine!

Happy Hannukah to the Jews (I'm a non-religious half-jew celebrator of both xmas and Hannukah) and happy 4 year anniversary to me and the Gentleman!

Montage of love....GO

Please don't notice the obscene amount of gifts my mom buys

nature looks good on us

No seriously, we are soooo nature-ey. Ignore that I sit at a desk all day most days.

Candy-cane tootsie-pop, holiday essential

four more years! four more years!

Seattle bums

Does YOUR boyfriend/husband dress this well?

I won

Birthdays Past

we know lots of stuff and gots, like, smart about the law

More Christmas Past

Later

So Many Pictures

2011-12-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

Hey, remember when I ran a marathon 8 days ago?

Yeeeaaaaahhhh. That was great.

Well I'm going to milk that experience a little bit more since I don't quite have the time to write the post I'd like to write. Yup, I just pulled the "I'm sooooo busy" card. (Fact: if you have time to tend to a blog, you're not soooooo busy. Which is to say I am just busy-ish.)

I plucked out a handful of the professional CIM race pictures to share, making sure to select the ones where I look decent, further enforcing the myth that I don't look, you know, "gross" when I run.

These photographers are onto all us sneaky screen-shot users, making it harder than ever to steal a picture. Hence, the rain of "copyright" on all these photos.

Photo # 1, above: Finish line. So dorky that my hand went straight to the watch to stop it. You wanna know what I was thinking while crossing that line? "Ahh, done. Oh -- Oh! Picture guy, oh no wait, let me move my hand!" And then I whipped my hand away, because I didn't want my finish line picture to look like this.

Photo #2 above: something about the brightness of my shirt makes me think of watermelon. Watermelon would be such a great post-race food, especially for a hotter marathon. <-- sorry I got really boring there.

Photo # 3 above: I love those new sunglasses. $15 at the expo the day before, and they were just perfect. I have always had success with purchasing sunglasses for running at expos -- the stands always have some for less than $20. Here's how you buy the perfect pair: you do the "scrunch" test. You scrunch your nose so your cheeks rise, and then check whether the top of your cheeks hit the bottom of the glasses. This is because the worst pair I ever had would rub against my upper cheek when I ran. Maybe I just have chubby cheeks?

Do you wear sunglasses when you run? If you don't, why not?

Photo # 4, above: I only ran sleeveless (sockless, to be precise) and glove-less for the last 5 miles or so. It was definitely cool enough that I could have worn a long-sleeved shirt for the whole thing. Also, I never put on sunscreen for races because I figure I am out of the sun and heading home by 10:30 a.m., and it isn't worth the misery of burning my eyeballs as the sweaty sunscreen drips into them.

Photo # 5, above: I've had my stride analyzed a few times and am a midfoot striker, so I don't know what's up with this photo. It's possible my heel is still in the air and my toe was about to rotate down for the midfoot strike. Or maybe my bum hip was throwing the whole situation off.

Photo # 6, above: This copyright business is ridiculous. I have no idea if I would want to purchase any of these, I can't tell how awesome or hideous any of these are.

K, now the rest of these are just getting repetitive but I swear they are different pictures.

Quick update:

Saturday I ran 3 miles and loved it but I had to stop at 3 -- a gentle achiness lingering in my legs.

Sunday I ran 10 miles and wanted SO bad to go on one of my long weekend 20-milers but I capped it at 3 laps around the lake. I'd like to say I stopped at 10 because I was recovering like a good girl, but the truth is that my hip is a bit worse off post-race than I thought. I experienced the same stiffening of the entire leg that I did during miles 13-18 of the marathon. Slow and steady...strength train...I know.

Grand total of 13 miles this week, for my lowest mileage of the year!

If you love my face, this was the best post of the year. If you hate my face, someone might be forcing you to read this blog against your will.

Post CIM

2011-12-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

After Sunday’s 26.3 miles, I laced those shoes back up and ran 14 miles Monday, 11 miles Tuesday, and 16 miles Wednesday!!!

No. No, that didn’t happen.

Sitting all day (work) is definitely not helping my poor quads recover. I think walking is really key to getting the blood flowing and muscle repairing. Tuesday night, I finally went on a short (like ½ mile at most) walk, and woke up feeling 10x closer to not disabled.

I don’t recall taking 3 full days off after a marathon before. Usually one day is enough before I can do something light, like bike or elliptical at the gym. I’ll probably try out the elliptical tomorrow (Thursday), and maybe go for a nice run on Saturday.

But before I jump ahead to my future running plans, which is the first question I am usually asked after finishing a marathon, (with no exception for this past Sunday. Duuuudes, simmer down, I just finished a marathon I’m not planning my next one yet!), I want to address the second most common question I have been asked:

How is my hip?

Pointless picture, but as GourmetRunner reminded me, nobody likes a post without pictures

I would describe it like this: exactly the same as it was before the race. And exactly the same as it was 5 weeks before that.

So it is rehab time. I have already (beginning right after last Thursday’s physical therapy appointment) begun incorporating gentle balancing and strengthening exercises, including the complicated “stand-on-one-leg” balancing move, and a hip bridge move.

Also, wall squats with a big exercise ball that I previously used for only two purposes: 1) to bounce on while singing/dancing to the Gentleman as he rocked out on the guitar (he is a secret rockstar, just so you know), and 2) to play “ride the bull” where we see who can balance on it, hands and legs free, for the longest. Glad to have a third use for it.

I am excited to strength train. I feel like it is my secret weapon. “Oh, you thought I was a good runner before? Well WAIT til I whip out my strengthening skills and get TWICE as good!”

More Muscles please! Not sure where they will fit...my legs are pretty undainty as it is

While strengthening, I still plan to run with regularity. This hip thing never prevented me from running, it just hindered my stride from being comfortable and optimal.

Disorganized after-thoughts about the marathon:

It went by so, so so crazy fast. I truly didn’t have much of a chance to think about how lame my hip was before the whole thing was over. It felt strange and dreamlike, the whole week snuck up on me so quickly. In a way, I don’t think my “head was in the game” that day, and I wish I had done a little more mental prep to get psyched and ready.
Thank goodness for the following things that really went my way: no bathroom issues, no chafing, no blisters, no problem with the new running sunglasses I bought at the expo the day before.
At mile 24 or 25, I promised myself, as I have during those miles of all marathons, that I would never. NEVER. Run a marathon. Ever again. I changed my mind about that while eating rubbery pancakes 15 minutes post-finish. It couldn’t have been all that bad, could it?
I cannot wait to run CIM again. Eugene, who? Eugene, what? Despite how much I loved the Eugene marathon, this one takes the cake. I can’t think of any flaws, except maybe that it was TOO AWESOME (actually, 5 degrees warmer would have been nice).
The Target socks worked perfectly as arm warmers. No need to buck up $30+ for a gimmick, folks, just buy these socks and poke a hole in the toe for your hands.

I almost choked on a Powerbar Gel Blast (it's a gummy chew). Stupid. But I still won’t run with gels.
It appears I ran about 0.1 mile further than runners who didn’t grab drinks at aid stations, due to the weaving. I’m trying to determine whether that is significant enough that I should consider drinking less water in the future, or carrying a handheld.

After the race Sunday afternoon, the Gentleman and I went to Old Town Sacramento and walked around for about 2-3 hours. Curious what this post-marathoner eats?

3 Pancakes saturated in syrup.
Small cup of tomato soup
Part of a bagel
Part of clif-bar sitting in hotel room
“Poutine” which in the crappy style of Old Town Sac, was undercooked fries topped with lotsa mozzarella cheese (I made them hold the gravy cause it was meat gravy).
Chocolate-vanilla swirl soft serve
Cinnamon-sugar and vanilla-glazed mini-donuts, freshly made.
I can’t remember exactly what I ate for dinner when I got home that evening....Oh, it was a veggie-burger from Qwik-way in Oakland (best veggie burgers EVER) with a messy egg-zuchinni scramble (I craved vegetables sooooo bad after a day full of sugar) and since I’m a little mouse, as the Gentleman calls me, I’m sure I snacked on about 8 other things as well (the usual culprits: almond butter, string cheese, trader joe’s cookies or chips).

Mini donuts...this place was great. Picture stolen from Yelp.

I have continued to be insatiable the last few days despite zero physical exertion. It's a good thing this is the season of endless holiday parties and food...

Share any of your favorite strengthening moves as I begin my heroic journey into rehab!

What's the best thing you ever ate right after a hard race? I've had pancakes after Eugene and CIM, and they only kind of satisfied. After a half marathon, I usually can't even thing about food without nausea for an hour or two.

California International Marathon (CIM) Recap

2011-12-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

Where to start? How do I navigate authoring a short recap post when I feel I could write a novel?

First, the stats, since I know you will scroll to the bottom looking for it anyway.

Garmin: 3:05:03 (26.3 miles) 7:02 mile pace

Official: 3:05:08, 7:04 mile pace

I think I lost the 5 seconds during a tunnel-thing

I will consider this meeting my goal of 3:05. Would 3:04:59 have made me happier? Yeah. But I kind of got way too stupid to do math and figure out how much faster I would have to go in the final miles to make it under 3:05.

Now, I will start here: if you are a struggling runner, losing your motivation, START A BLOG. I cannot tell you how amazing it has been to gain the support of runners that I have "met" through this blog. It has totally changed the running experience. When I ran my first marathon in 2006 in Los Angeles, the number of people who cared that I was running it was....zero. Ok, my mom was interested, and two guy-friends casually asked about it.

Today, I felt so much support, and I thought of your faces when I hit rough spots (and oh boy, I hit rough spots). I really want to thank: XLMIC, Pam, Liz, Janae, Page, Irwin, Alexis, Merrillee, Alyssa, Dolly, Courtney, Jana, Karin, Beth, Aron, Tim, Britt, Jonathan, and I'm sorry to say I am tired of linking, so thank you to everyone else who made me more excited than ever to be participating in a marathon.

THE RECAP

Saturday in brief: drive to Sacramento, in and out of the expo, check into Lake Natoma Inn in Folsom (2 miles from the start!), Sushi dinner (extra extra white rice -- just following the carbo-load rules), bath to relax my tight hip, in bed by 9:30. I slept so bad during the work week, so I was wiped Saturday night and lo and behold, slept great. 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., more or less. I even woke up without an alarm, which had been set for 5:50 a.m.

Expo was a breeze. CIM rocks.

Pre-race: I ate 1/2 a banana; a big bite of a clif-bar; 3/4 of a bag of caffeinated sports beans; 3/4 a caffeinated GU; a couple dates; a couple GU chomps. (ewwww, I'm just realizing I kind of ate a lot. A lot of really untasty sugar crap.)

Yeah, I'm sucking down gooey sugar, what are YOU doing?

Mmmmm, sooo yummy. (Hotels are made for making messes).

It was 38 degrees, so I blasted the heat in our hotel room and made it to the start line without shivering. I wore awesome throwaway clothing, including a pair of running pants that I had to throw away because I threw them in the laundry with uneaten gum sticks in the pocket (I've ruined a lot of my running shorts this way).

If you plan to run CIM next year, take this note and stick it in your pocket: Lake Natoma Inn has a VIP warming hut at the starting line. 10 port-o-potties for about 50 people....one is always available. Amazing. However, as I tend to run late to races, I basically arrived at the warming hut at 6:45 a.m., checked in to make sure everyone knew I was VIP, and then left for the starting line.

I walked up and stood next to the "3:05" signs. I darted my eyes around, looking for Katie and Liz who are both speedsters and I knew would be toeing the start line. I never found Liz (frowny face), but Katie found me and gave me a surge of good vibes. She is always an inspiration.

I focused, really focused, on letting myself start SLOW. slow, slow, slow, I thought. The first mile was largely downhill, and I knew I could fly down with a 6:15 mile, being tricked by how easy it felt with the caffeine in my system and the hills pushing me downward.

Promptly at 7:00 a.m., we took off. I passed the starting line about 20 seconds after the gun, and let the mass of bodies keep my pace in check. More or less, I succeeded. Believe me, it was HARD to let all those people fly past me down the hill and to reign it in for...

Mile 1: 6:43

I thought about the pacing plan XLMIC made for me which scheduled me to take the first few miles from a 7:10 to 7:00 pace; as the rolling hills began immediately at the second mile, I tried to keep it steady and comfortable.

Mile 2: 6:59
Mile 3: 6:48

So, the hip, you ask? It started hurting near the end of mile 1. MILE ONE. Yup. I was wishing I took 8 Aleve instead of 2. It was annoying and saddening, but I was running comfortably, and I was expecting to feel that way. So I ran on, enjoying the spectators, the cool air; not enjoying the 3 chatty dudes behind me who were pondering how the football games would go later in the day.

Mile 4: 6:49
Mile 5: 6:52

There were too many ups and downs to remember, and I loved them all. They are so much more pleasant than the repetition of a flat course. I knew the Gentleman had planned to be at Mile 6, Mile 13, and Mile 20, so the rest of my race was based on my excitement to hit those miles and see him.

And thanks to the Gentleman, photos of Mile 6. Sunglasses and headphones yet to be used.

I hope somebody thought I had tattoo sleeves

I heard "Go Pink!" quite a few times

Mile 6: 6:55
Mile 7: 6:50

I can't remember much about these next miles. It was feeling easy. I was still trying to maintain an even and comfortable pace. I was thinking how freaking NICE it felt to not be sitting on a couch tapering. I threw a couple pieces of fuel down (I ran with 4 dates, 4 Gu chomps, and 3 other chew things. Throughout the race I ate everything but one date, plus electrolyte drink at about 4 stations).

Mile 8: 6:57
Mile 9: 6:57
Mile 10: 6:53
Mile 11: 6:50

Around Mile 12, concerning issues began to arise. My hip was becoming gradually more painful and making my gait more stiff. Being it was mile 12, I thought...this isn't a good sign. Then I got pumped to find the Gentleman at Mile 13, where we participated in the worlds smoothest professional handoff: he gave me a bottle of water with a sip-top, since I tend to miss my mouth with the water cups at aid stations. Turns out, CIM is so freakin rad that they had miniature bottles of water at multiple aid stations. I was well hydrated today -- no yellow pee! (TMI).

Mile 12: 7:03
Mile 13: 6:59

HALF: 1:30:44

From mile 13 through somewhere near Mile 16 or 17, I was done for. Truly, done for. I was sick with fear. First, my left calf (the hip leg) started burning up like it was going to cramp, charlie-horse style. This was either because of all the hills (which I am not used to running fast -- I love hills, but I like 'em slow), or because of my compromised gait due to the hip.

Second, my left leg locked up. My hip kind of stiffened all the way up, to the point that I was more or less dragging my left leg with every stride. Being it was mile 16, I thought....there is no chance, none at all, that I can carry this stiff piece of worthlessness of a leg for 10 more miles. I did random moves - butt kicks, high knees, other weird leprechaun stunts as I was running, all in the hopes of loosening the leg up so I could continue on.

This picture really illustrates how I was dragging that left leg. Ugh.

One thing that really helped me not lose hope was hearing the beep on my Garmin at each mile...and learning that my pace was still hopeful for a 3:05 or less. Don't know how I dragged the gimp leg through those miles so quickly, but hurrah for my right leg!!!

Mile 14: 6:51
Mile 15: 7:03
Mile 16: 7:06
Mile 17: 7:01

By mile 18, my hip was magically loosening up. The damage from 18 miles of hills was beginning to sink into my quads, and the strange blessing of my trashed quads was that my gait regained itself. My brain focused instead on the muscle pains in my quads and calves.

I got excited again to see the Gentleman, and to finally put on my headphones to rock out.

Mile 18: 6:58
Mile 19: 7:07
Mile 20: 7:06
Mile 21: 7:12
Mile 22: 7:15

Another thing getting me through these miles -- the awesome support team of Jana, Beth, and Karin. They chased up and down the streets of Sacramento to make sure they were on course, cheering for all us bay area runner-bloggers who were running today. In the words of Sesa, seeing them was like a second wind!

Well, almost like a second wind ;) I didn't "hit the wall" as they say -- no fuzzy headedness, no hallucinating, no dreams of a cold beer. I felt really strong in the way of my head, fuel, lungs, heart. But my quads were not agreeing. They were truly trashed, on FIRE. I pumped my arms as hard as I could to make them carry the rest of me. I watched my times slow down, but was in great spirits -- I was going to finish this thing with my bum hip!! I was going to reach my goal of 3:05!!

Mile 23: 7:13
Mile 24: 7:20
Mile 25: 7:16
Mile 26: 7:32 <-- ew
0.3 mile: 2:16 (7:29 pace -- also ew)

ew, because of the lack of a kick. That's kinda sad to me.

Mile 26, impressing a dude in a straight-jacket

Less than 0.2 less, so ready to be done

The 3:05 pacer passed me at mile 24.8. How heartbreaking is that? I kept him in my line of sight, and pumped, pumped my arms. My legs were done, I had no kick. I thought, "it's mental, it's mental, ignore your legs, you can do it!" But, my mind didn't win. My legs did. I let the pacer go....he must have finished in mid 3:04.

I finished and rocked my space-blanket for about 45 seconds before being like, "get this offa me!" I don't know why, but I found it ridiculous.

Walking was such a relief

Trying out the blanket for a second

get off of me

Food sounded like hell, but I grabbed some pancakes and tomato soup, and while the pancakes were rubbery failures, the tomato soup hit the spot so hard. Anything but dates and gu at that point would have been a 4-star cuisine.

Wow. What a day. I'll probably ramble with more of my thoughts on the next post, but this is long enough for now. If you raced today, please share below!

My Mystery Plan for CIM

2011-12-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

Considering all this extra time I have on my hands thanks to tapering, you'd think I'd have been posting more this week...but it has instead been a hideously busy week, in which I have not been able put as much time into preparing and planning for tomorrows marathon as I would have liked (hence, rapidly making an ipod mix right before leaving for the drive to Sacramento).

Bib number:1571. Tomorrow morning, runCIM.org will have a link to track runners for any of you who are up and bored (and not also racing somewhere) between 7:00 a.m. and....10:05 a.m.?

THE QUESTION MARK.

I set out a few months ago with the goal of getting a PR. Breaking 3:08, and since it sounds like a nice number (and is the new Boston time cap for men in my age category), I thought I'd aim for 3:05. More or less, a 7:00 min average pace.

Eugene, 3:08. I couldn't let this post be picture-less

Reasons I think this goal is still possible:

I am in at least as good of shape as I was for the 3:08 in Eugene. And this course has more downhills.
I have tapered disgustingly well. 19 miles this week. My legs feel numb and restless and angry. I keep getting this uncontrollable urge to stand up, sitting is kind of....uncomfortable.
I will be surrounded by fast runners pushing me on.

Reasons I think it is slipping from my grasp:

HIP. hip, hip, hip**. I just got back from a gentle 2.5 miles, and just....it's going to be an issue.
Hills. uphills, uphills, uphills.
Sick. The past two weeks, including for the 2.5 miles I just ran, my lungs/throat were burning from that raw, sick feel. I have continued to feel congested and throat-scratchy.

**This is probably worth sharing. I went to a physical therapist for the first time in my life on Thursday evening, finally giving up on my hip and desperate for some last minute magic. I had expected, when this issue arose 5 weeks ago, that it would be gone by now. What I heard from the therapist is that my hip is pretty much effed -- it is stiff and does not rotate the full range that it should -- due to an imbalance of strength in the surrounding muscles. I will be on a steadfast regimen of incorporating strength training in the future. HOLD ME TO THIS, PEOPLE!

I don't have a pacing plan, but the lovely Marjorie offered to create something for me to look at. She has been so helpful and supportive of my issues this week (issues being the hip, and the lack of a plan).

I guess I plan to run comfortably fast. A little faster downhill, a little slower uphill.

Oh my goodness. Sometimes it hits me. I picture myself at mile 12, or mile 20, or mile 7, or even mile 3, and I'm running and wincing, and my hip is demanding that I slow down, and then I pull off to the side and drop out. I have so much fear of this. I know that I have been able to run long with this hip issue, so it can hold up to 20 miles....but I worry that pushing it will lead to the brink.

I really hope that doesn't happen. I will feel my hip when I run, I am positive of that. I have felt it on every single run for the past 5 weeks. I can only hope that it is mild, and not prohibitive.

I am also at peace with the knowledge that things could go terribly wrong. Or they could go delightfully well. There is an excitement in that mystery.

Good luck to everyone who is running this weekend!

The Time I Recapped My Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-28T21:43:00.000-08:00

Many of us have dealt with people close to us preaching the reasons we shouldn't run.

Many of you made really good points -- I loved SweatyKid's input (paraphrasing) that of course runners comprise the group of people who are vocal about joint issues in their later years -- after all, they are the people who are trying to run on those joints! The dude who never ran in his life doesn't complain about being unable to run in his 60's because he still isn't trying to run. And if he tried running for the first time at age 60, he would also probably have joint issues. Harumph.

Still, the fact that so many people commiserated with my "running-is-dangerous" warning from a loved one made me wonder -- not about how nice it was to have a lot of support in the form of shared experiences -- but wonder whether we are all huddled in this little circle of nodding heads, assuring each other that running long distance is SO healthy and everyone else is an AMERICAN who loves couches and McDonalds (exaggeration for effect).

I wondered this, but I don't believe it. I can't. Listen, you don't run at least once EVERY SINGLE WEEK of every single year of your life for 15 years (give or take 5 multi-week injuries) and suddenly give it up. I will never give it up. I can run more smartly, and goodness, I have. I went from running 7 days a week in college, to 3-5 days a week the last 4 years of my life. It works for me. I have a guaranteed good dose of anti-depressants and happy-heart medication constantly.

Non-segue segue attempt: here is the recap of the rest of my Thanksgiving weekend.

First, extra pictures of Thanksgiving.

The pretty table

Hanging out

Somebody's jealous of my blurry face

I'm full just looking at this

After The Thanksgiving That Sucked, I sneezed through Friday (sickness zenith) and watched The Muppets movie (I only mildly appreciated it, and because of a whopping 98% rating on rottentomatoes.com, this translated into me HATING the movie due to high expectations. If you think it is cute when a character constantly looks at the camera to remind you that it knows it is in a movie, then solid. You will love it).

I also hit up Target in the evening to enjoy the spectacle of lingering Black Friday-ers at 10:00p.m., and brilliantly bought a new bright shirt to wear to CIM on Sunday.

This is more purple-ish in real life.

And professional $2.50 arm warmers (long socks to be scissored for my hands). Who's smart now? (Hoping they don't slide down and become a horrible nuisance).

Saturday: friends and the movie Hugo. Visually beautiful.....plotwise, pointless. I should just go see Moneyball, Super 8, or Harry Potter again so I can leave the theater satisfied.

Sunday: Costco trip, to show my mom the LCD TV we want for Christmas. We currently rock a TV from the late 90's that is as deep as it is tall (i.e. NOT flatscreen). My mom convinced us to take the TV of choice home that day as an early gift....so we did....and the strangest thing happened.

We set the TV up in our simple little living room. We stared at it. We turned it on and watched 20 minutes of Iron Man 2. We got.....really....uncomfortable.

47 Inches and $650. And, uh, that creature is adorable.

It was painful. We went stir-crazy. "What is going on!? Why do I feel so strange?! This TV is making me feel bad about myself!"

The pressure to look at this enourmous black box was sucking away at my soul!

What did we do? We decided it would have to be returned. Then we got the heck out of our suffocating living room to regroup in the fresh air of Longs Drugstore.

It worked. I felt so much better away from the TV. We came home and realized it wasn't so scary after all, and we just might keep it.

And then we both had nightmares about the TV. Specifically, I had two nightmares about the number 47 (ahem, the size in inches of the TV).

Psychologists in the house: what the heck was this episode all about!? It wasn't buyers remorse -- I left Costco happy with the purchase. It was something so much stranger. Any comparable stories to share?

RUNNING

If I blogged solely based on what I was thinking, this post would look like this: "Ugh my hip. It felt good for 16 minutes! Nope, I was wrong, my hip still sucks. Wait, I found this stretch on the internet, I think my hip is better! Ope, ouch no, no my hip still sucks."

But I blog based on my thoughts, mixed with an attempt to not be boring, and simply, injuries are boring to read about. Also boring is runners' anxiety and dithering about body issues prior to races. So you are sort of spared. Sort of, because I will still say that for those of you looking out for me and truly curious: the hip issue is stagnant. I am approaching the 5th week of it feeling exactly the same. First 3 miles of any run is stiff and uncomfortable -- then it loosens up and feels good through about mile 10 or 12.

I've taken all sorts of days off. Tried strange yoga poses and sat in bathtubs for MINUTES. Aaaand scene. No more hip talk.

Thursday: 15 miles; 3 laps around Lake Merritt, run to the track for one 6:13 min/mile, run home.
Friday: 6 miles; sinus headache demands that I cut this short.
Saturday: none
Sunday: none
Monday: 8 miles on the treadmill, 5 at 6:58 min/mile pace (thinking 7:00 min/mile might be my goal marathon pace? Still debating my goals....)

TBA: how to track me at CIM if you are interested, and what the heck my plan/goal is for the Marathon in....tick, tick tick... 5 days,

Don't Run Unless You Want to Die

2011-11-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

This will be a good post for you to read if you are tired of hearing about what everyone is thankful for.

I have a ton to be thankful for -- oodles and oodles to be thankful for -- but I will spare you a post about how wonderful my life is, and air my dirty laundry instead.

Strangely, I can write about this because despite the fact that every member of my family is aware of this blog, not a single one of them chooses to read it, so I can safely write about family drama without further instigating family drama.

From left: sister, me, niece, sister, mom

I can also write about this with some degree of appropriateness because.....the family drama started with a discussion about running.

My Thanksgiving week began with so much promise....I was giddy with excitement over a 4-day weekend, could not wait to see my family and especially my two sisters who live in San Diego and my 4-month old niece.

These three are the ones I don't see enough. I was eating pumpkin bread while trying to smile. DON'T TOUCH ME GEMMA, NOOOOOO! (Because I was sick. Read below)

San Diego sister-sandwich

Also trying to eat pumpkin bread while smiling

Tuesday morning I woke up sick. This was aggravated by a long work day, still in the office at the time I should have been tucking under the covers. By Thanksgiving, I had lost most of my ability to taste food, but really this wasn't much a bummer for me as I consider Thanksgiving food to not be awesome. Seriously, if the food was soooooo good, then why wouldn't we eat cranberry sauce and green been casserole all year long? (Answer: cause it's not that good).

The part that was a bummer was that I wasn't allowed to touch my niece, Gemma. I was germy.

Awwwwwww

Still, I was happy, munching away on cornbread and sweet potato dishes and lentils, when my dad asked me if I ran that morning.

Yup, I did run! As a matter of fact, I continued, I am running a marathon in 10 days! (Yes, my family is clueless as to when I have a big race, unless it is in their home town of Napa. They have supported my two marathons in Napa).

I didn't mention my hip issues -- I was hoping to bring that up at some point, as he is a doctor, and might have some words of advice.

How did my dad react to my news of a marathon in 10 days? Was he excited? Encouraging? Curious?

Dad: You know, someone just died in the Baltimore marathon. In fact, anytime there is a marathon with enough people running it, someone dies.

I have known since my first marathon in 2006 that my dad thinks 26.2 miles is unhealthy. It doesn't help his opinion that I ended up in the ER 3 days after running the Napa Marathon in 2010 (chest pains, which were diagnosed as esophageal spasms). So for a minute or two, I permitted a discussion about how to not be that person at a big marathon who dies (Answer: there's no predictability or warning signs, so you are SOL).

This conversation flowed into the next anti-running discussion.

Dad: You know, every single person who runs a lot has joint problems in their 40's, 50's, or if lucky not until their 60's. There may be a few exceptions to the rule, but in my 45 years of experience as a doctor, all runners have trouble and pain by middle age.

I decided at that point I would not be bringing up my hip issue. :(

This discussion escalated slightly as I tried to defend running. I'm not going to share anymore details, as I will probably regret saying what I want to say. Suffice to say, the rest of Thanksgiving sucked, really sucked, and it ultimately had very little to do with running and more to do with someone's pride (not mine).

After dinner. Not in a good mood.

So.

How do you handle people in your life who encourage you not to run? After 15 years of running should I seriously just....not run?

Are you someone, or do you know someone, who has run for many years and is now over the age of 40? How is your/their body holding up? Do they have any regrets for running long distances?

It's All in Your Head

2011-11-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

Let us take a moment to celebrate the 100, most intelligent, beautiful, loveable people to grace the internet:

I have 100 followers.

If the box of followers was on the left side of this page, this would be awesome

I think I'm supposed to throw a giveaway or something, but the only thing I can think of to give away is this Homer Simpson rubik's cube thing that we don't want, but I won't led the Gentleman throw away. I keep thinking it is going to the PERFECT gift for someone some day.

Fact: I don't officially "follow" any blogs, so I don't even know what it means. I exclusively read blogs in my Google Reader. So more than anything, I am truly and absolutely grateful to you 100 who choose to support this blog by clicking "follow," even -- and especially -- since I don't reciprocate. But I promise, if you leave a comment I will always check out your page. I'm pretty sure that if you like me, I will like you.

Goodness. Edited to add: at some point shortly after posting, the number fell back to 99 followers. Someone get on up there before this post gets any more inaccurate.

Now. Let's get mental.

I attended a social event in my law firm office a few weeks ago. Gentle schmoozing turned into a serious conversation about running with a young guy from a bank office that came to the event.

It slowly, humbly came out of him that he ran an incredibly hilly marathon in 2:47...and that he has an extremely rare degenerative arch disease (1 in 30 million people have this. Basically, his arches collapsed).

He talked a lot about how he was able to do this because running is primarily mental. You train your body to do what you want it to....but even more than that, you are training your brain. And if you can't train your brain, well that is a huge part of why you won't succeed with your goals.

I was cheesily moved by this conversation. He was such an unsuspecting runner, just looked like an ordinary dorky banker. Something even slightly autistic about him -- the way he talked about how he trained for runs and races through photographic memory. For example, instead of pacing himself by miles on a Garmin, he paces himself with a normal watch because he can memorize that from a certain tree to a certain stop light is one mile....after driving a marathon course just one time.

And the way that he described mentally pushing through the last mile of a marathon was brilliant. Despite a 6:25 average pace (with hills!), he ran his 26th marathon mile under 5:00 minutes, because he mentally escapes his body.

If it's all mental, are all these hours and hours of runs leading up to races just training our brain? Are we adapting our brain to think that 20 miles at xx pace is safe and comfortable, and then training our brains to accept that the last 10k will hurt no matter what?

He said when you hit the last 10k, you have to convince yourself that you are fresh. You have to believe this. He also mentioned other mental tricks, such as having debates in his head. Making points and counterpoints. Thinking about his work.

This may be an obvious aspect of training for some of you, but it is a new idea to me. I want to approach races with this new strategy. I want to toughen up my mind and learn how to trick it from it's urge in the second half of races to tell me I'm wiped and to ease it up.

Unfortunately, going into a marathon in less than 2 weeks now, I am mentally deteriorating. I have no excitement at all about this. I have a lot of fear for how painful it will be with a hopeless hip (yet I refuse to withdraw my bib -- I will stand at the starting line no matter what).

I'm going to try my best to build a strong mind and attitude towards this marathon, and to battle defeating thoughts while running. I think this is something that may take a very long time -- years even -- to really master. Especially with a stubborn brain like mine.

Do you actively train your brain when you run....or just your body?

Best Thing Ever

2011-11-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

Sooooooooo

This week I have had no interest in listening to/writing my inner blog voice, so I avoided making a trip up in here. Do you ever re-read your own blog and think, "oh, shut it already." Sometimes it strikes me as terribly ridiculous and vain to write out and make readers read about the trivial. But....there are blogs with 208374,83749823 readers who exclusively write about the trivial, so what do I know.

I still have nothing to say today, but a quick update is probably warranted.

Running has sucked this week. My hip keeps teasing me that it might be feeling better after 2-3 days at a time of resting it; so I run, and while this strange hip issue allows me to actually run (something that other injuries simply deny), I can only give about 70% effort before it becomes too strained and painful to run at a greater effort.

In other words, I am able to run, but slowly and with an undecidedly concerning amount of pain. Sprinting is out of the question. I'm terrified that I am losing all my "fast" muscles just in time for a "slow" marathon in two weeks.

Since this doesn't seem to be the kind of thing that is going to disappear before December 4th, marathon day, I may have to write up a new (read: slower) game plan. I will have to face this issue later....maybe December 3rd. At all costs, I will still aim for a PR, but I may realistically have to lower my expectations.

In the meantime, this week has been glowingly fun thanks to the wedding and pre-wedding events for a wonderful pair of friends.

Weddings are officially the best thing in the whole world. I can't believe I'm rude enough to insist that I will never have one (too afraid of all the attention, among other concerns) given that I owe it to the world and friends to have one of these best-thing-ever events.

I had such a blast. We danced hard, drank mildly, ate happily, hugged generously.

If you thought I would learn how to post quality pictures as any quality blog should, you were wrong

Just go with it. It's art.

The Gentleman played the first-dance-song with 5 of the groom's friends

My finger was jealous and tried to get in the band

This dress....I wish I had a better picture. All my shots of the bride and groom are video.

Hope to have more time and inspiration to post during the Thanksgiving weekend. Happy 3-day work-week! Does anyone have to work on Thursday or Friday? :(

The Unwise Runner

2011-11-13T21:49:00.000-08:00

What do you do the day after posting on your blog about how are suffering hip issues!?

Run 22 miles!!

This morning, after behaving and taking several days off running, I decided I (ahem, my hip) was feeling decent and set out for a long one.

From miles 4 through 21, I didn't notice my hip at all. Running clearly "warms" it up, as it feels stiffer when I am sitting or walking.

I ran 6 laps around Lake Merritt (about 3.5 miles/lap), plus the distance to and from my front door, for a total of 22.13 miles in 2 hours 46 minutes. Pace: 7:31 min/mile.

6 laps was pretty monotonous, but I listened to Mike and Tom Eat Snacks (Michael Ian Black and Tom Cavanagh, both of whom amuse me to no end when I run) and felt really good until mile 22. As I approached mile 20, I was happy to find that each mile was ticking away at the same pace, if not faster, than the first 10 miles. Like so:

Miles 1-10: 8:11; 7:34; 7:22; 7:37; 7:32; 7:38; 7:30; 7:39; 7:24; 7:27
Miles 11-20: 7:36; 7:28; 7:32; 7:20; 7:27; 7:24; 7:24; 7:29; 7:22; 7:31
Miles 21-22: 7:24; 7:29; 1:00 for 0.13 miles.

Mile 22 was the only rough mile. Both hips started stiffening up, it felt almost like I had to shorten my stride to deal with them. There were also brief moments in that last mile which forced me to recall the feelings of the last horrible-but-lovely miles of a marathon. That's something that I can't say I have ever experienced in a normal run, so it was a miniature test of facing THE WALL. Shudder.

Water stops not included in the total time. My Garmin auto-paused when I stopped at water fountains (4-5 times).

Overall, I'm glad I got a long run in despite the fact that a wiser runner may have continued to nurse their hip. I have never claimed to be the wisest runner. I still have 3 weeks to get this hip happy... I am really appreciative of your stretching, icing, and foam-rolling advice. I don't have a foam roller, but I DO have a Tiger Tail (hehe....such a silly name). So I will attack with the Tiger Tail.

A couple non-running pieces of fun.

Last weekend I visited the niece Gemma again, and practiced restraint by only kissing her 23 times.

She drools a lot....real immature

Yesterday, I went to our annual Friendsgiving (or Friend Thanksgiving, whichever term your prefer). Conversations were flowing, food was in abundance, and I wore my $18 Costco Kid's dress.

I was told it looked Presidential, which is hilarious when I think about the fact that Costco is trying to make little kids dress like Hillary Clinton.

Doing my best Presidential pose.

Friends eating

eating and making spiderwebs out of my hair

A lot of toys made their way to the dinner table, as there were at least 6 toddlers

This is my second year partaking in the Tofurkey, and I have to say, it does not suck at all. I truly like it more than real turkey. Real turkey always tasted slightly...I don't know, raw or something.

I'm getting giddy for the holidays! Fingers crossed I get some days off work....

Do you celebrate a Friend Thanksgiving?

Track Love, Angry Hip, Free Shoes

2011-11-12T21:32:00.000-08:00

Somebody pleaaasse tell me it's ok to start tapering 4 weeks before a marathon?

Because my hip demanded that I take this week off. 3 weeks left until CIM.

I had an amazing start to the week after the Jets half, attending a track workout at Piedmont High School with the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders on Tuesday evening at the invite of Merilee. I wore a sports bra to work and busted out of there just after 6:00 p.m. in order to intrude on the track warm-ups at 6:45 p.m.

I can't even begin to tell you how moved I was being there on that track. I haven't stepped foot on a track since I was 18 years old (ok, I casually jogged around the UCLA track a couple times, but not for a real "workout").

16 or 17. This track was made of dust, not that great rubber stuff.

The field inside the track was flooded with about 40 high-school soccer girls. I stared at them as I circled the track, nostalgically remembering my soccer years, and thinking, "were we really that beautiful??" Those girls looked so beautiful. Running through drills, throwing their body at the soccer ball, socks falling down around their shinguards....gave me chills, I tell you. But it also pushed me to run as I was bubbling over with their energy that was contagious in the air.

I very, very rarely run in the evening, but I was happy to find it felt so nice! I caught my groove in a sub-7:00 pace for about 4 miles, jogging slowly for 200 meters twice. The energy out there was just fantastic. So much cooler than staring at the farting (literally) adults on the treadmills at my gym. Goodness my gym always smells like a fart. WHO is doing this!?

Track. So it went great. Merillee, you are a deeeelight. However, my hip was giving me gentle warning signs that it was not happy. Warmed up as my hip was at the end of the day, it wasn't warning me so loud that I thought it was worth stopping.

But Wednesday morning, it was over. Stiff as a board (not light as a feather).

If you recall, as my legions of loyal readers should (joke), I get an injury scare before every every every marathon. Every.

Nope, I know what you're thinking, you're wrong. It's not because I increase my mileage -- I don't. Virtually nothing changes between my "training for a marathon" phase and my "running because I like to run" phase. This time, I have done more speed running than in the past, and sure, we can blame my hip on that. But I will blame the RoseRunner Marathon Curse.

If I can run in three weeks, or if I can't, all will be fine. There are 8732498234 other marathons in my lifetime that I can run. knock on wood.

Ok lets seriously move on to the coolest thing ever.

THIS. PICTURE.

Ignore the fact that running-photo-stills create cellulite where none exists, and look behind me....at the Gentleman! I love that this was captured so much. The good old support crew and personal photographer, still and smooth on the sidelines.

This is near the finish line, and if you're interested in the Gentleman's view:

I spy the photographer! Behind the finish line

A couple other professional race photos.

I think this is right before the halfway point turnaround. At this point, I had NO idea Christina was right behind me. She went on to win 1st place woman 2 minutes ahead of me. Maybe it's because she doesn't bite her lips when she runs like me....and doesn't wear headphones with wires 25 inches too long.

Right out of the start

Sexy. No, I will not post a larger version of this.

Now the other coolest thing ever.

ANOTHER NEW FREE PAIR OF RUNNING SHOES!! That makes 4 pairs this year....all from half marathons. I'm definitely in the black in terms of recouping all my race entry fees :)

The most wonderful bearer of good news, Jen Maravillas, placed 3rd woman at the Run with the Jets Half, and left a comment telling me she bravely saturated in her sweat after the race long enough for the award ceremony....and learned that the top 3 women got free shoes. Congrats to you Jen! Let's go get some shoes!

I followed up and the prize is a pair of Mizunos -- a brand I have never tried before, but I am looking forward to it. One of these days I will try and be a little more selfless and hold a shoe-giveaway on the blog.

Any advice for a tender hip flexor?

Anyone else belong to a gym that always smells like a hot fart?

Which do you prefer: the track, or a treadmill?

Reflections on Running With the Jets

2011-11-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

Official Stats
Time: 1:26:34
Pace: 6:36
Overall: 10th place of 406.
Women: 2nd place of 234.

A few loose thoughts regarding the past weekend's half marathon, and regarding the comments on my recap.

First, I really appreciate every time I receive a comment supporting my race result. Some of you are over the top nice, but I learned long ago that the best way to react to a compliment is to accept it, so thank you.

Now, I don't really know if anyone actually believes I am as rad of a runner as might be suggested from the number of exclamation points in a congratulatory comment. In fact, a quick study of every running-blogger race recap will reveal that everyone thinks everyone elses race was incredible/awesome/ amazing/Herculean. And I can get behind that -- a personal record for time or distance is a Big Freakin Deal no matter who you are.

Where am I going with this....I think I'm trying to walk a fine line between coming across as phonily humble, or rudely ungrateful. Because what I want to say is that despite the gorgeous time on my Garmin reading 1:26:29, my reflections on this race still have me feeling....unsatisfied.

Hear me out.

I interpreted a couple reactions to my last post to suggest that the fact that my Garmin recorded a "short course" to be a problem. I don't know whose problem this is. I did go under one overpass, and my Garmin read 5 seconds shorter than my chip time (1:26:29 v. 1:26:34), making it possible the watch did drop out at some point. But it still makes this feel like less of an accomplishment, when my 1:30:00 in Oakland was on a course that read 13.35 miles on my Garmin. If I factor in all these discrepancies in distance, my pace improvement is.....meager.

Maybe my times aren't improving....maybe the races are just getting shorter.

Enough of you agreed that this photo is rad, so I am going to post it on my next 50 posts. Deal?

Chillin before the race

Next, I am disappointingly not sore. I say disappointing because for miles 8-through-12 of that race, my legs refused to give me more. My legs were puttering out. I thought for sure I had shredded through my muscles giving it all I could. I thought my hip was dying. And then I woke up the next morning to learn that as far as my legs were concerned, I had just gone out on a normal Sunday gentle jaunt.

My hip does feel tender. I am hopeful it will recover on its own by being nice to it. Sounds like an amateur plan, but I don't visit doctors because I have a 100% record of doctors telling me that as a birth-bearer, I shouldn't run -- stick to gentle activities, like the elliptical.

But my bigger concern while reflecting on the race at this point is: why do I fade so hard when I feel so good during the first 7 miles?

I want to be stoked about the weekend's race, of course I do. But I can't help feeling stagnant. Same old thing: I can easily hang onto a 6:30 pace for 5 miles, maybe a couple more, and then jhdfljaheur.

Well, I randomly flipped to the back of my Runners World desk calendar to find this Racing Tip for the Half Marathon: "Every week should include three types of workouts: speed drills, tempo runs, and your long run. Speed drills make you faster. Tempo runs raise your lactate threshold, which will help you maintain a racing pace in the second half of the event..."

I have not had the pleasure of participating in any "tempo runs." I cannot maintain a racing pace in the second half of a half marathon.

Thanks for the tip, desk calendar! Now I need to ask you: what distance is appropriate for a tempo run while training for a half? what about while training for a full? And does tempo pace mean "Race Pace"? I can't promise I will adopt the "tempo" into my unscheduled running life, but I may throw it in the mix at some point.

Finally, this post is meant to be reflective. I'm just pondering. It's not like I sat around all day wallowing in my post-race thoughts -- I had a busy and invigorating day at work, followed by a spontaneous and fun evening with the Gentleman.

Now I leave you with a montage of the Famous Stick. Vote for your favorite if you wish.

Run With the Jets Half Marathon

2011-11-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

The REMIX! I mean, the RECAP!

written by: the eternally 2nd place woman RoseRunner.

Garmin time: 1:26:29
Place: 2nd place woman
Pace: 6:35

Official stats to come....

I made the choice to sign up for this on Friday. The forecast was showing 30% chance of rain, and I figured I had a 70% chance of having an awesome dry race. I was right y'all, no rain at all this morning.

As a runner-blogger, I always have something to blame for not having a perfect race, and in the week leading up to this one, it was my left hip. Being a little bitch like "RoseRunner, you never stretch me and you never strengthen me, we can't withstand this kind of relationship, I'm going to make a fuss until you figure out how to treat me right."

So the rain was working with me, my hip wasn't.

Also working with me: the time change. Ahhhhh, blissful to wake up at "7:20" (shhh, it was really 6:20 but it felt like 7:20 to me) for a "9:00" race. Do you play these mind tricks too? I'm going to act like I get to sleep in an extra hour for at least a week until I cave and catch up to the real time.

I drank half of a 5-hour energy which was a freebie from my last 1/2 marathon; a banana; cherry juice; some gummy chews; and then we left for a 40 minute drive to San Mateo.

Perfect timing arrival. The bathroom wait was about 2 minutes. +98 points for the race already.

The race started at Coyote Park with this beautiful view. +3984 points for the race already.

This was my serious and official running gear. OK, it was my PJ's. It was about 49 degrees.

Picking up my bib was a cinch. +4,000,000 points for the race already.

I was quickly realizing it would be too warm for my long sleeved shirt and gloves, so I did a little strip dance and put on this purple shirt, which is the purple version of the same blue shirt I wore 2 weeks ago at the Livermore 1/2.

We waited until 8:08 for the race to start [9:08 if you know what I mean, hehe, time trickery]

Getting my dates in ready position

Lots of men, and then me.

Get to the RACE already, I know, sorry. Ok so the race started. The course was an out-and-back, along the water. I went out "too fast" or whatever, but that's my thing and I was feeling good so I didn't cry about it.

mile 1: 6:11
mile 2: 6:23

I was thinking "no ladies in sight, if my hip behaves and I can finish this thing, I might actually get first, wouldn't that be lovely."

Acting like I can keep up with the guys who will run a 6:11 pace the whole time.

My new favorite running picture of all time.

My hip started hurting at mile 3. No one wants to hear about it I know, but that is what was going through my mind for the next few miles. Just wondering if I will be able to last without seriously injuring myself.

Mile 3: 6:32
Mile 4: 6:22
Mile 5: 6:35

I was so thankful that I stripped off my long sleeved shirt before the race. With the sun out in full force, it felt warm. All the way through the turnaround at mile 6.55, someone was drafting right behind me and I could hear their footsteps forever. It didn't bother me, it actually made me keep my pace up.

I ate a date around mile 5, and continued to scare/annoy the water volunteers by not stopping to grab my water, and instead grabbing it mid-run and splashing them in the process. Does nobody warn these sweet volunteers that this is common? In smaller races, I always hear someone laugh or comment with surprise that I kinda....make a mess. Sorry.

Mile 6: 6:35
Mile 7: 6:38

When we hit the turnaround, my world changed.

First, I realized that there was a woman right on my tail. I had no idea. We ran side-by-side for about a mile after the turnaround, and then I watched her leave me in her dust. I was fading fast....because...

WIND. Oh my goodness, I had not noticed what a handicap I had in my favor for those first 6.55 miles. The wind had been at my back the whole time. No wonder it felt so easy!!

I plowed into the wind for the entire remaining half. That, combined with my fatiguing legs, left my time drop-drop-dropping. I was pushing it pretty hard (I think).

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering what the wonderfully supportive Gentleman was doing while waiting for me, he was taking pictures of this stick.

There are a dozen different versions of this picture.

And the reason this was called "Run with the Jets" -- the planes flying into SFO were by our side.

Mile 8: 6:52
Mile 9: 6:59
Mile 10: 6:58

Mile 10 is a nice point. I can mentally deal with having 3.1 miles left. Miles 7-through-9 are generally pretty tough for me mentally. I usually feel like crap, and knowing I have 5 miles or so left sounds unbearable.

Unlike two weeks ago at the Livermore Grape Stomp half, I did not have that burst of energy saved for the end. I trudged on through the last three miles, begging the wind not to be so cruel. And begging for my hip to shut the front door (the worst of the hip was mile 10).

Right before the finish, daintily avoiding the puddle.

FINISH! I was very happy to be done.

Mile 11: 7:01
Mile 12: 6:54
Mile 13: 6:38

Once again, my Garmin came up short from a full 13.1. Blerg. I don't know who to trust anymore; Garmin, Google maps, or the soreness of my butt (I will be sore this time).

I pranced (or waddled) over to Ms. 1st place and we chatted for a while. She was lovely, and I may have a little girl-crush on her. She finished somewhere in the low 1:24's, had just moved to the Bay Area from New York, and was a Central Park running-club member with Megan -- so I dropped Megan's name as if we were old bff's, even though I just stalk her blog.

New 1/2 PR, so I'm happy as can be. Thanks for listening.

Half-Marathon Anniversary

2011-11-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

When you think of the version of me you know through this blog, you may think, "she runs a lot of races."

Well, you mere mortal, let it be known that this Sunday will mark the 1 year anniversary of my first ever half marathon.

As I think is explained somewhere on my "about me" page, from 2006 through 2010, I pretty much ran one race per year. A marathon. I have always loved running, and at the same time didn't really understand racing. Why pay money when you can run for free, I always pondered.

In the past 365 days, I have run:

6 half marathons (not including the one I may run this Sunday).

1 full marathon.

What the hell happened this year that bumped up my racing by 600%? (if I did the math wrong, then consider it hyperbole).

so many things....

1) I received a Garmin for Christmas 2010, and became enraptured by the possibilities of numerical proof of improvement; of competing with myself; of racing with a freaking clue how I was doing, pace-wise.

2) I started a blog, super accidentally. I reserved this page on the web so I could comment on other running blogs. And then my sister and friend Allison found it, and I was so embarrassed that there was no content on it. So I added content. Got addicted. etc.

3) I grew to love racing. LOVE it. So much more excitement in my running now. Running used to be primarily for relaxation / problem solving / meditation / endorphins / alone time. Now it is also my time to challenge myself and to create goals. I lost this part of myself in law school; kind of gave up on myself as someone who was capable of being great at something. It feels really freakin nice to have that small "type A" part of myself back. Having a fireball of motivation for something in your life is a great way to feel excited to wake up in the morning.

I keep thinking this is just that year that I ran a lot of races, and that next year will look much more sparse. But I already know I will run my local Oakland half because I adored it so. And for that matter, the half is my new love of all loves -- so easy to pick one up without the prep, mental and physical, that goes into a full marathon. So I imagine I'll run a handful of cheaper halfs next year.

5ks? 10ks? Maybe I'll touch one of those. Still unsure about that.

My year in racing (find full recaps on my "Races and PR's" page...I'm not in a linking kind of mood right now)

US Half in San Francisco 1:38:xx

I learned to wear brights so the Gentleman could find me

Just a miserable, miserable run. The rain came down hard the entire 98 minutes it took me to run this thing -- and the tough hills to conquer had none of the rewarding views (such as those from the Golden Gate Bridge) because of of the thick rainclouds. Not my best first impression of the half-marathon.

Oakland Half 1:30:00

If you don't recognize this photo, you read this blog from your Google Reader

This was my first race ever wearing a watch, and what a world of difference it made. I watched myself blow through mile after mile between 6:30 and 6:50 paces, not even having a clue I was capable of that. I adored this course which starts just outside my neighborhood, and can't wait to run it year after year.

Western Pacific Half Marathon 1:32:50

this endless dirt trail was....boring

The race in which I learn that I do not like out-and-backs, nor do I like running without any crowd support. I struggled to motivate myself, but in the end it was good I took it a little easier since this was 2 weeks before the Big One (Eugene).

Eugene Marathon 3:08:17

Pink and baby blue; dressed like an infant

This one's a blur. I don't know how I ran a 1:32 first half and then had the energy to run the second half in 1:36. I don't know how I will attempt to top that this December at CIM either. But I do remember being on Cloud 9 all day, buzzing with happiness for what my body could do, especially after a knee-injury scare I was dealing with in the week leading up to it.

See Jane Run Half Marathon 1:28:22

I will never run in a ponytail again

I had heard good things about this one and I adore Alameda, so I showed up. And then gagged at all the estrogen. It was like going to a Sex and the City premiere. Too many "women love chocolate"-type taglines. And I don't like chocolate unless it's white or filled with caramel.

However, I got my half PR here. Now I realllly need to get a new PR so I can hate this race through and through.

The Giant Race Half Marathon 1:30:40

freakishly blonde after buying a new brand of hair-dye

I unexpectedly won an entry into this one 3 days prior. I loved the stress-free feeling of racing without any expectations. And I especially loved that it was free, and then I won/received upwards of $150 in goodies. I dealt with a hamstring issue this day and almost experienced my first DNF. Also experienced my first mid-race port-o-potty stop. Rite of Passage.

Livermore Grape Stomp Half Marathon 1:28:35

I like the palm tree in this pic...

I remember this one like it was just 10 days ago. Cause it was. Decent course, but sadly a bit of a confidence dropper for me, as I had expected my new method, consisting of copying other runners who actually "train" for races, to pay off with some huge improvement. Turns out, I ran the same pace as I had back at the Oakland half on no speed training at all.

San Mateo Running With the Jets Half Marathon

[PLACE FUTURE PICTURE HERE]

Help me out. I'm leaning towards entering this and running it this coming Sunday, but for one problem. Forecast shows rain. One of the very prominent reasons I want to run this is to practice racing in the shoes that I think will be my marathon shoes (asics gel nimbus). But I always assumed it was a bad idea to wear your good shoes in the rain, because the rain could warp them. Could this be true? Should I try to avoid wearing my potential marathon shoes for a wet 13.1?

Oh and of course, naturally, I won all of those races. [That's a joke. the Gentleman didn't get it, so I must clarify]. We can't be winners all the time....unless you just lie about it. Whatever. Have you had a kick-ass year of running?

the Born to Run Diet

2011-10-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I am reading Born to Run....at a pace of about 1 page per week. I began reading it this past January, and am about 3/4 of the way through it.

Anyone jealous of my speed-reading skills? Maybe I should trash running and start blogging about my reading training instead. "Today was pretty good, I hit about 20 pages in 2 hours and 30 minutes. That's 1.3 chapters in metric terms. I ate one Gu, and a milkshake. I wore my green Costco sweatpants and managed to complete the session chafe free."

Oh, blogging about running is so dorky.

This book, compelling in so many ways, does it's fair share of very gentle and subtle preaching about the "best" way to run. It leads and guides you to the discovery that barefoot running (or minimalist running, avoiding a heel strike) is the way to improve speed, agility, and banish injuries once and for all.

It also leads and guides you to the conclusion that vegetarian (and maybe even vegan or raw) eating is key for a strong, elite runner.

One example is Scott Jurek, ultra-marathon runner sensation, who saw his energy and performance grow stronger and stronger as he focused on a vegan diet focused on plants, fruit, and whole grains.

Scott Jurek

Another example is the Tarahumara, a native American tribe in Northwestern Mexico who are known to be long-distance running phenomenons. They eat little more than chia and pinole (ground corn).

The last example is the author of the book, Christopher McDougall, who started eating salads for breakfast before runs and found himself stronger, and naturally, lighter than ever.

All, of course, on top of weeks of, I don't know, 150 miles or more.

I was reading this thinking, "I love plants. I already haven't tasted meat in almost 2 years. It would feel so great to follow this native, naturey, minimalist eating plan and shun the Standard American Diet."

And then it struck me that while it sounds like an athletic and disciplined approach to becoming the best runner one can be, in real life, this diet would peg me as severely disordered and underweight.

Seriously guys. This regimen in the book describes my college self perfectly.

Running 100 miles a week: check
Eating a diet based on plants, fruit, and whole grains: check
Avoiding white flours and sugars: check

What was the result.

Was I being heralded for my athleticism?

Was my trim, ethiopian-like body leading to a lightness that made me run as fast as the wind?

ha. haha.

No. I was told to eat a burger. I was told to eat a sandwich. I was told, through the tears of my sister, to get help.

That's me on the right. This was about 3 months after my first marathon, 22 years old.

This may be hard to believe, but I was eating in the range of 1800-2200 calories every day. I was running 10-15 miles every day. I was 22. And all that food was "healthy" -- vegetables, fruit, popcorn, frozen yogurt, whole grain cereal and bread.

You know what else? I was not unhappy. People see someone underweight and think there must be a sadness hidden underneath that thin layer of skin.

I felt great, every day. I was so in love with running. Reaching for an apple instead of a candy bar was never a hard choice. It was a simple time for me -- the hardest part was trying to make people leave me alone.

Cute hip bone, psycho. 21 years old.

Obviously, I can look at these pictures now and recognize why people were concerned. But I can still freshly remember what it felt like to be in that head, to know I was skinny, but to feel really, really good.

So now what?

Now, I more or less follow a Standard American Diet -- full of daily pieces of candy (snickers, whoppers, donuts and lollypops find me at work every day), pizza, cheetos and chips of all varieties, extra salt and sugar in everything. All in order to run 80 miles a week, and look like this.

Healthier looking, but no Deena Kastor

I've spent nearly 5 years training myself to "understand" that in order to run as much as I do, I need to (or get to) eat a bit excessive. I'm in the 2500-3000 calorie range almost every day. I don't think I could do it any other way now that I am in the delicious habit of eating 3 dinners.

So what am I to think of this running wisdom, that it is to my benefit to be a twiggy little Tarahumara man?

Scott Jurek and a Tarahumara man

Well....what do YOU think? Is the book spouting elite athletic wisdom, to eat a vegan and limited calorie diet on heavy miles? Or is it a recipe for a scarily underweight runner?

I have to say that many of the top runners probably would strike us as sickeningly skinny if we saw them in our every day lives. I know Skinnyrunner just posted about her date with Kara Goucher, and she couldn't help notice how tiny tiny she was. But they have doctors approval that they are in good health. Is skinny the new healthy for runners?

Redwoods and Costumes

2011-10-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

Exactly one week ago, I was letting my legs chill out prior to the Grape Stomp Half Marathon on a peaceful day in the middle of a bunch of redwood trees.

That face makes me laugh, and swoon. Sister and baby Gemma

the crew. I made exactly 8 Fern Gully jokes.

We spent way more time staring at stuff like banana slugs than walking. It was a gentle and beautiful walk.

Gemma's blanket is there so she doesn't disintegrate the Baby Bjorn with her drool

I ducked in to prove that Gemma and I are best friends

Memorial Park. The only way I can describe where it is, is to explain that I drove through Woodside and La Honda to get there. It is slightly inland from Pescadero.

Not too much to share on the running front. I may or may not be running a half-marathon next Sunday in San Mateo. I'll be checking the weather and my body, then probably make a decision by Wednesday.

Who has big Halloween plans? I'll be doing my usual whiny, "I'm not paying big bucks for something I only wear once," which is also to say that Halloween is not my holiday. I think I dressed up for it once out of the past 10 years.

If I can't have an AWESOME costume, then I don't want any costume at all. And since I'm not creative enough to have an awesome costume, I usually don't dress up.

If money was a non-issue and if I enjoyed dressing up, my dream costumes would be:


Jareth, the Goblin King from the Labyrinth

this kid's got the right idea

laser cats from SNL

I'm so angry they stole my idea

And I love this one. From Parks and Rec, a sumo wrestler who lost weight.

I'm Gonna Start A Riot

2011-10-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about what's going on in Oakland?

If you live in the Bay Area, I know you have. If you live out of state, they are probably just referring to it as "Occupy Oakland protests in California and related Police Brutality." If you live in my apartment, you have heard helicopters swarming non-stop for about 40 hours.

I don't think it is wise to bring politics into this sweet little blog.

But it is my platform, and this is where I like to vent. See: here, and here (near the end).

I will say little, so know that I have much more thoughts on the topic....

My thoughts:

I fucking love police. I love them. I would never choose to live in a country without them. I am terrified of imagining my city without them.

Police have one of the hardest occupations I can imagine. Dangerous, thankless, and constant high-stress situations.

Really think about what your city, state, or country would be like without them.

So I respect cops. I don't throw bottles at them. I don't throw paint at them. I don't provoke them or resist them when they are pointing a stun gun at me. I don't refuse to leave Frank Ogawa Plaza when they demand I stop camping there after numerous days of allowing me to do so, because my uncivilized nastiness has left a trail of crap that only a power-clean can fix, all in the name of hating banks (not cops), and then taking it on cops (because I hate banks. And rich people. Which cops are not).

No, I don't suffer from a history of racial profiling. This surely makes it easier to respect and love cops. But for Kelly Clarkson's sake.....do not expect me to have any sympathy for someone's injuries from tear gas and rubber bullets because they didn't have the two brain cells needed to know that you don't aggravate cops.

People get so lost in their beliefs. If you want to fight your fight about being one of the 99%, then don't squat in a meaningless plaza in Oakland. And don't piss off a cop who is just doing their job in keeping the city clean and safe.

So. That's that.

I was notified that these three purty pictures were ripe and ready for $878 each.

finish line. Really glad I wore cotton to show off my sweat marks. Who knew my right shoulder worked so much harder?


Also really glad I rocked my cute 1990's Britney mid-riff

Pretty course, right?

If you dare to air your political thoughts: what are they? Why is everyone in my facebook feed APPALLED at the behavior of the police? Am I the only one APPALLED by the behavior of the non-peaceful protestors?

Livermore Grape Stomp Half Marathon Recap

2011-10-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

OK, let's do this race recap for real.

Overall: 13th place of 328.
Women: 2nd place of 180.
Age Group, women 20-29: 1st place of 41.
Official Chip Time: 1:28:35

Accidentally trippy picture of the start

Before the Race

I woke up at 6:34 after a splendid night consisting of thoughtful neighbors smoking and talking about realllly important stuff right outside our apartment window between 1:00 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.

I wasn't hungry at all, but I ate 5 caffeinated Gu chomps (we didn't have coffee on hand and I needed caffeine stat....you know why. Wait maybe you don't. It was so I would quickly empty my bowels).

I had a few swigs of cherry juice as well, and then pocketed 6 dates for the road/race. We left the house at 7:00, and arrived at Robertson Park in Livermore at 7:35.

I used the park bathroom instead of a port-o-potty, which was awesome because the line of 20 girls for one stall all got to stand inside the hut and listen to the one person use the restroom. Super conducive to a good bowel movement.

The start area

I left those parameters and headed towards the starting area with about 8 minutes til 8:00 a.m. It was surprisingly chilly (about 52 degrees). Sesa spotted me, and I had been looking forward to meeting her that morning so I was truly excited to have a brief chat. She is beautiful (and forever 21...lucky genes) and her blog-voice is refreshingly funny and candid. And she had a heckuva good race yesterday.

I snuck up to the front of the chute. For like the third time this year, I had the impression that I would be in the top 3 women based on the stats from the year prior -- which showed the 2010 1st place female at about 1:30. But then, also for like the third time this year, apparently several other woman looked at last years stats and saw they could win the thing, so they showed up too. Get outta my non-elite races, you fast girls!

(Just kidding. 1st or 2nd place woman really means nothing to me. I just care about my performance. For real).

During The Race

So we started. And for some reason I was crazy relaxed. Too relaxed. I usually shoot out and get a really fast first mile...but I was just like "whatevs, I'll relax now and run fast later." My first mile was indeed slower than my first mile has been in a while for a half marathon.

non-blurry version of the same pic

Mile 1: 6:29

We were running on a bike path. It was brisk out, but not too cold. I was running in a pack of dudes, and they were all running like asswads. There were some serious fights over who got to hug the curves, some were cutting the curves, and all were getting wayyyy way too close for comfort to me in order to draft or whatever these stupid idiots do. Cummon, I'm running a 6:29 mile here! Not elite! Stop drafting like you're important.

One woman was clearly up ahead, and I recognized her as the woman who placed behind me in See Jane Run -- with her pace today, she had been training hard! I wasn't even considering trying to catch her (note: she went on to finish exactly 2 minutes ahead of me. I should have tried to catch her.)

Not something I thought I would say, but I regret not going out faster, where it was flat and downhill -- should have banked an extra minute on the first 3 miles. I think that method has worked for me in the past. But I'm glad I expiremented with going out a little more reserved.

Another woman was in my vicinity. We kind of took turns passing each other for the first 7 miles, but I eventually lost her for good in the hills (read on), and finished 1 minute ahead of her.

Mile 2: 6:29

Mile 3: 6:26

We turned around at the halfway point for the 10kers, and started running against the half-marathoners who hadn't hit the turn-around yet. The bike path was pretty narrow, but this turned out to not be a huge problem because the other halfers were generally good about leaving a little bit of space for us.

I was a little concerned after the turn-around, because I knew we would be going gently uphill for the rest of the race until about mile 7, where we would hit "a hill" (this turned out to be a good rough trio of hills). Heading into the race, I didn't think this slight incline would cause me any trouble.

Turns out, it did. I could feel myself slowing down, despite the fact that I still felt plenty energetic. I guess I can't hit "half-marathon pace" unless I am running flat, or downhill. That's a weakness for sure.

Mile 4: 6:35

Mile 5: 7:00

I forgot to mention this in a previous post. One week before this race, I tried on a couple of Brooks shoes and settled on the Launch. I wore them 3 times before the race; twice on the treadmill, once outside for 3 miles. I thought they were fab.

I'm not sure what I think of them anymore....but I'm pretty certain I will not wear them for CIM. Around mile 4, there was some pain that I can't recall perfectly, but it was in the ankle-to-calve area of my right leg. Something was feeling off about the shoes. I was regretting wearing them.

I ate a date around Mile 5, thinking maybe it would magically make me go faster. I came quickly to terms with the fact that I was running as fast as I could (was I? I have no idea) on an incline, and just hoped I could make up for the time during some flats or declines.

Also, by Mile 5 I was (as predicted) in no-mans-land. There was a guy in front of me that I didn't want to let out of my sight, because I was afraid of making a wrong turn. The 3rd place girl was also somewhere near me. Most of the race was indeed pretty lonely, except for the parts where we turned around and passed the other half-marathoners. Despite the solitude, I still was mentally inspired to do well, so I can't say that harmed me as much as it has in the past.

There were no cheerleaders except for the volunteers at water spots, and the energy of spectators is always slightly related to my energy level. So that is what it is.

Gentleman caught me at mile 6

Mile 6: 7:03

Mile 7: 7:05

More gentle incline, heading out from the bike path and towards vineyards.

The volunteers were so awesome, and this is why: these guys who were SO INVESTED in making sure I got a water cup successfully with minimal spill. They would start handing it to you, then kind of stride with you for a few seconds to make sure you were good to go. The Gentleman had been camped out near one of these stations, and said he had seen a lot of the very front-runners bail on a water attempt -- so I think the volunteers quickly stepped up their game. It was really sweet.

Look how awesome this guy is -- getting ready for me

He is so ON!

I ate a second date around mile 7-8, and was sad to realize I only had one date left (I had eaten 2 about 10 minutes before the race started). I never ended up eating that third one, so no big deal.

I think dates are great race fuel. Absolutely no stomach issues -- dates are cramp free! They are easy to eat and swallow while running, and didn't leave me thirsty.

I'm not sure that I need any food during a half, and I can't say if it helped or not...but I'm glad I practiced, and I feel confident that eating a date every 3 miles or so during a full marathon should be fine.

Mile 8: 7:05

Mile 9: 7:00

Dammit hills, go away!! You are stealing precious seconds from me!

I actually don't mind hills at all. They don't fatigue me much and I love the neighborhoods and views that they reward you with on the average run. And I did catch the woman who was vying for 2nd place woman and left her behind for good during the hills. But the fact is, I am SLOW at hills. compared to my flat speed, I am signifacantly slower. My 6:30 pace turns into a 7:30 pace.

It was lonely out here in the vineyards, and I really wanted to hit the turnaround. I felt like we kept going further and further out to the middle of nowhere....let's just turn around now. Please.

I should also note: no visible mile markers anywhere on the course. I think I saw a small "12" written in chalk near the 12th mile point. I was purely relying on my Garmin and hoping it was aligned with the race director's miles.

Mile 10: 7:02

Mile 11: 6:45

Mile 10 provided the beautiful gift of a turnaround. I caught sight of the woman in front of me, about 1-to-2 minutes ahead. I was dreaming happily of all the downhills that would be in my future.

And there were some, and they were FUN! I was flying down them. Buuut, we also hit a few of the backside of hills we had previously run down, so I wasn't gaining as much time as I hoped for mile 10 and 11.

Mile 12: 6:37

Mile 13: 6:39
Last bit 0.05: 0:21

I don't ever remember having this much energy for the last two miles. I tried to kick it. I reminded myself that I can do ANYTHING for just 2 miles.

Nearing the end

It felt good to have strength at mile 12. I zipped through that mile, nearing closer and closer to the sounds of the finish line, where 5kers and 10kers (who I think started a 1/2 hour after us) were flooding in.

Which of course meant that when we joined the path of the 5k/10k with about 1/3 of a mile til the finish, my final kick/sprint got kind of messy.

I glanced at my watch, and thought there was some minor chance that if I ran hard enough for the last 2 minutes I could eke out a PR. Running "hard enough" turned out to be a challenge in the glob of runners.

I'm on the right. Not too bad here -- the trail is still fairly wide.

You know the drill; bobbing, weaving, pulling out all my Tom Cruise stunt moves to try and sprint to the finish. There were a bunch of kids running the 5k, which made it harder to grunt "outta my way suckas!!!".

Luckily, this often-present race issue was for a relatively brief stretch. And then I was finished.

After the Race

I walked in a daze past the medals and water, and felt someone grab my anklet-chip. Then I snapped out of my daze and sought some water.

I approached the 1st place woman and gave her some props. I mentioned noticing that my Garmin read a little short -- 13.05 miles. She checked her iphone (Nike + app?) and said she recorded 13.1 miles. I think my garmin lost a few meters here and there when we went under overpasses while on the bike route.

I got out of there before waiting for awards, noticing there were no freebies besides 5-hour energy drinks. I'm now on a mission to get whatever goodies 1st place in age group/2nd place woman might have earned.

I liked this race. I wish it had been an easier course so I could get some stronger affirmation that my recent speed workouts have been paying off. I wish I could run one more half before CIM....maybe?

Thanks for listening.

Half Disappointment

2011-10-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

Some elements of the half marathon this morning were encouraging.

Other elements were defeating.

Overall, I think it was a wash. A half disappointment.

yours truly in the blue shirt, the first 200 yards or so

Unofficial Garmin Stats

1:28:34

2nd place woman

That is a non-PR by 12 seconds...

The race went like this:

Miles 1-4: feeling good, this is easy, hitting 6:29's.

Miles 5-7.5: constant incline, CANNOT get my legs to go faster up what feels way worse than my happy treadmill 1.0 incline. Hit 7:00 minutes over and over, get really negative in my head that this race is going to be a failure.

Miles 7.5-10.5: Hills. Serious hills. We were climbing all over these rolling vineyards, and I was sprinting down the downhills to try and make up for lost time. Most challenging half-marathon course that I can recall. continue to hit 7:00 miles.

Miles 10.5-13.1: Finally some flat and some gentle declines. Feel great and fresh since so much of the race was run "slowly" thanks to the hills, so I pump it to make up for some lost time. Hit 6:30-6:40's.

This was the easiest yet hardest half I have run.

Easiest because I felt great at the end. I had a lot of energy and my legs felt strong. I was thinking that if I HAD to run another half marathon in 1:37-ish to hit a 3:05 marathon, it could happen.

Hardest because I was so unprepared for the hills and so surprised how slowly I ran the gentle incline.

I may write a fuller recap later (I'm going to the Bridge School Benefit concert for the rest of the day), but that may be all that there really is to say...I shall ponder.

p.s: the volunteers were awesome.

Half Expectations

2011-10-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm exited for this Sunday.

I will be running the Livermore Grape Stomp half marathon.

This is the ugly image that is on the race shirt I just picked up today. Really...bad design.

Let's talk about my expectations for the race.

On one hand, I am hopeful that I could run this thing hard, get a PR (under 1:28:22), and generally boost my confidence as I head into a full marathon in 6 weeks.

And I should PR -- this is the first time ever I have followed any sort of a "training".

If you haven't heard me drone about this before, I recently began running a one-hour speed session on the treadmill once a week. These workouts have been challenging, extremely fun, and possibly-hopefully working.

I will head into the race having accomplished 5 one-hour speed sessions. 5 weeks.

Now, that 1:28:22 -- I earned that through a relatively lackadaisical regimen consisting of running at a comfortable speed whenever I wanted, going on lots of long runs for fun, occasionally picking up the speed ever so gently....and then just saying "go faster than normal!" on race day.

This time, the mantra could be more like "go as fast as you do for about 10 minutes at a time on the treadmill!", and maybe my body and mind will agree that it can do so.

On the other hand: I have a history (ok, one race) of not performing well MENTALLY in smaller races. Without numerous racers acting as rabbits (aka a pace setter) by my side, and without the encouraging crowds that a bigger race brings, I become mentally uninspired and it is very hard to push myself. Very hard.

This race will have about 300 runners. That is small enough that I believe it is very likely I will be in no-mans-land by mile 3. Which is to say, running alone.

Another element of imperfection is that the forecast is very warm -- 87 degrees. Don't know what that means for 8:00 a.m., but extra water stops may play a role in slowing me down. I think I usually grab only one or two swigs of water for half-marathons, but strangely enough I can't really remember my half drink history.

Fresh tub of dates. I WILL be stealing these from my pockets while running, regardless of water stops

In sum, as is always the case when I dish out money for a race, I will aim for a new personal record.

And then also in sum, I made pre-excuses for why a PR may not happen.

COSTCO DRESSES

Remember when I devoted a post to the excellence that is Target Dresses?

Well who would have thunk it. But I found some uber-cute dresses for $18 at the most unlikely of places.

Can you guess where!? Oh, what? You read the caption of this part of the post already? So it was obvious? Oh. Ok.

Yeah I found them at Costco.

BUT what you DIDN'T know, you know-it-all, is that I found them in the KIDS SECTION.

I'm not one of those pathetic middle-aged women who only eats carrots and seaweed so I can brag about shopping for myself in the kids section.

Au Contraire. I was able to fit in, and purchase, dresses from the kids section because a size 14 there is easily an Adult Small Plus. And they had a size 16 too, which must be good for an Adult Medium. Don't know what they are feeding the kids these days...

$18!

This silver number is so hot. Love the sleeves. Perfect for a holiday celebration. Unfortunately, while it is a decent fit, it is clear this was not built for a woman with a chest or a hip-to-waist curve. It kind of hangs flat whereas it would be much cuter if it cut in a little at the waist.

Nothing that a belt can't fix.

This blue number is so ADULT! If you can't tell, the black trim (besides the sleeves) is beading. This is a thick sturdy cloth, and looks formal yet spunky. I will probably wear it to work with black tights or leggings.

Both dresses hit mid-to-upper thigh.


beading.

I will be happily day-camping near Half Moon Bay tomorrow, so I won't be up in this here blog until the race recap. See you on the flip side!

Have you ever purchased clothing at Costco?

Have you ever purchased clothing for yourself from the kids section?

$100 Recovery Drink

2011-10-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Going with the theme of "100" for the week...I'll get to the title later in this post.

I did not expect to get many comments expressing amazement/support for my 100-mile week.

I was expecting a few "yeesh, you're going to get injured", or "you're plain crazy, foo"

Keep in mind, sharing my mileage is still relatively new for me. Before this blog, I put in a decent amount of effort to hide how much I ran. I was embarrassed to meet friends for lunch and tell them I had just been running for 2 hours....although in hindsight I should have fessed up so that they understood why I ate all my plate, and then pulled the old "so....are you finishing that? no? Can I have it!?" -- annnnd, already halfway down my throat.

Even though I didn't get any such injury-threat comments, I do want to point out that I would never have hit that number if it was uncomfortable. In some ways, I am a wimp. I really don't push past my comfort zone that often -- so I hit 100 miles because it was comfortable. That's a great thing! I think it means I'm doing something right in preparing for a marathon.

(In full disclosure, the week probably would have been 98 miles if I was solely basing it on comfort. But I pushed my Sunday run from the 15-16 I would have preferred to 18, because duh. Who wants to run 98 miles in a week when they can run 100?)

And yes dudes, I worked a full week. 46 hours, not including my commute, not including lunch breaks (....cause I don't take lunch breaks). Remember that after accounting for sleep, there are 17 hours in a day. I rarely work more than 10 of those. It's easy for me, a non-parent, to find 2 hours in that spare 6-7 hours to run.

THE $100 BOTTLE OF WINE

As you can imagine, or as you may experience yourself, lots of running means lots of eating. This past week included some great, blog-worthy dishes.

First.

To reward the Gentleman for being a super-star through the "busy extension season" in the tax world, his employer told him to go big at a nice restaurant and that they would foot the bill.

Go big we did.

He refused to allow camera flash in the dim restaurant

Saturday night at Flora restaurant in Oakland

$100 bottle of wine !!!!!

Stoked. The wine works

This sip cost $4

This one, $3.57

On to the food.

I actually ate all this. I didn't run 20+ miles, and then order a dry salad while allotting myself 2 of my man's fries like, ahem, some dainty ladies in my Google Reader feed. When I run that much, I obey my hunger. Fried food and desserts are welcome with open arms.

Burrata with stuff that is in the way of Burrata. Buratta is Mozzarella cheese with extra cream in the middle.

Calamari with cream stuff

I'm sorry for the bad photo, but wined as I was, this is how my fish dish looked.

The Gentleman got some pork thing which was supposedly great.

Then, satisfied but not stuffed, and past the 2.5 glasses of wine point, I started to get embarrassed and nervous about whether I could stand up to go to the bathroom.

How do I GET UP!?

All these chairs....between me and the bathroom....I have no chance

So to muster up the courage, we ordered an strong Irish coffee. That means whiskey.

And then. We had. The most delicious dessert thine tongue haveth ever tasteth.

Be aware, I'm a chocolate non-appreciator. When it comes to dessert, I go for caramel or white chocolate, and preferably with whipped cream and some salt. Nuts are cool, fruit usually isn't.

Salted Caramel Pudding with Whipped Cream.

It was like pure caramel. I will never be able to eat a nasty Jello caramel pudding pack again.

Soon enough we were asleep, and then awake, and we were hungry for breakfast.

Where to fuel Sunday morning, for an unplanned18 miles later in the morning?

Our new neighborhood breakfast joint, Kitchen 388.


Baked eggs with basil.

And this really, freaking perfect Biscuit.

It was like a KFC biscuit (that's a good thing in my mind) on snobby great-ingredient patrol.

Do you watch your diet when you run (or bike/swim/hike/etc) a lot?

If the answer is yes.....eh, I don't really want to hear about it. Tell me about how you go to town to fuel your activity.

100 Miles

2011-10-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

I hit the satisfyingly square number of 100 miles this week.

No intention of doing so, I just felt fresh fresh fresh every day, which in total led to 20-30 miles above average for the week.

The extra 20 miles came from taking only one day off from running this week (I usually take off two days -- Monday and Friday -- but I only took off Monday. And so yes, 100 miles was done in 6 days), and from a 21-miler that snuck up on me on Saturday.

This is how 100 miles in a week happens.

Monday:    OFF.
Tuesday:    17.5 miles, slow and easy.
Wednesday: 13 miles, speed workout (read more below)
Thursday:    17.5 miles
Friday:         13 miles, semi-speed workout unplanned
Saturday:     21 miles, slow and steady
Sunday:       18 miles, some intervals

Quick highlights, since I don't know if anyone cares to read about the dull stats of someone elses run:

Wednesday was my 4th treadmill speed workout since reminding myself a few weeks ago that I had only 10 weeks left till a marathon PR attempt. With my treadmill ADD, I made up the following workout, which is a variation of the 3 treadmill workouts I have previously done.

Incline: 1.0
5 min: easy, 7.2 mph
10 min: hard, 9.5 mph or 6:18 mile pace.
repeat 4 times.

Total: 8.6 miles in one hour

Followed by a relaxing 35 minutes between 7.2 and 8.0 mph.

This workout, and the 21 miler on Saturday, were done in these new paint splatters:

I hated them on that treadmill run. Hated them!

My socks were all bunched up, even though the shoes are certainly snug enough and none of my socks have given me problems before.

The bottom of my feet were burning up, another problem I've never had on the treadmill.

And the 1.0 treadmill incline felt much harsher, which I blamed on a heel that was clunkier than what I have been running with on the treadmill recently:

Although looking at these now, the heel is pretty elevated on these as well.

I left that run thinking the Asics Nimbus shoes must not be made for the treadmill....but that I would let them win me over by trying them outdoors.

Saturday.

I left for a long run in the Paint Splatter shoes at 11:00 a.m. (again, for the life of me can somebody explain why all you runners who don't have kids or plans for the day still wake up before 7:00 a.m. on weekends to run?!?) thinking the day might have 17-18 miles in store for me.

For the first 9 miles or so, I hated all over those shoes some more. Same problems: bunched up socks, and burning feet.

Then, as my run carried on, I became aware of this unusual feeling: the feeling, my dears, was a lack of fatigue.

My legs just kept going and going, and felt as fresh at mile 18 as they had at mile 8. I finally called it quits at mile 21 just so I could get on with my day (plans to hang with my mom), but it is reaalllly unusual for me to enjoy anything after the 20 mile point.

So what's up? Do I give credit to the super-gel-cushioned paint splatter shoes?

OR

The other possibility. I took a multi-v with a good dose of iron in it earlier in the week -- something I rarely do because of the awful side effects of iron supplements (which I did indeed suffer through on Friday).

An extra jolt of iron really seems to give me wings. I have so much more energy!

So a plea: I know I have glossed this subject before, and I received great feedback.

Some said that natural iron (spinach, black beans) is the way to go; some said that there is a form of liquid iron supplement that lack the bad side effects.

I eat spinach and black beans regularly, but I don't think it is making the cut.

What other supplements -- brand name please -- have you had success with? Has anyone tried Bifera and would recommend it? It claims not to have stomach-distressing side effects.

Last thing that made my run on Saturday awesome.

I found my dream pair of shorts.

I have been hunting HIGH AND LOW for just one, simple simple thing: A pair of running shorts with REAL pockets. Not this key pocket crap in the underwear area. Not these tiny little pouches that fit one Gu. Like a full pocket, WITH a zipper or velcro closure, where I can stash my $2 for a 7-11 stop, 5 pieces of gum, 3 keys, one i-pod nano, and the occasional clump of dates or jelly beans.

I have been wearing out these 3 gross, raggedy shorts that I have owned since 2004 (!! ew) because they have pockets, and I haven't been able to replace them.

in blue (two full zipped pockets)

in black. And an unpictured pair in pink.

Behold, my new treasure.

Oiselle Distance Short

The detail in this picture isn't great, but there is a full pocket with a zipper both on the right side, and another on the upper back of these shorts.

Even more awesome, they are cut longer on the inside of the leg opening so as to avoid the evil thigh-chafe, and higher on the outside for optimal leg movement.

I purchased them on sale, in black, which was the only option, at my local See Jane Run store. I now plan on purchasing 2 more pairs since I know I will never find another pair of pocket-shorts for 10 years.

Unless Oiselle googles their name, finds this, and decides I deserve a free pair. Oiselle Oiselle Oiselle! Find me and love me!

Just kidding, I'm going to buy them right now.