Sweet Rewards

After three so so runs this week, things turned around today. I took a chance on Strawberry Canyon and was happy to find a relatively dry trail, no mud waffles today. As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a couple women in the car next to me, they got started a few minutes before me as I fiddled w/my new water bottle, gloves and hat. They were fit and had the appearance of real runners......you know the type tall, thin unlike my short stocky stature. I hung back (way back) on purpose as not to embarrass myself.
The trailhead begins immediately with a gradual but steady climb that flattens out mercifully in spots, good thing cause it leads to one LONG steep ass hill, I'll refer to as Big Bertha.
Despite hanging back I caught up w/the women at the foot of Big Bertha....they walked
and as I passed them I said "call me crazy but I'm going for it!" I kept my head down and arms pumping and took Big Bertha Down!!!!!!!!
I got to the top and kept on running. The trail is pretty flat at this point but starts a gradual ascent after a 1/4 mile or so. The sky was so clear the sun warm on my face....I felt so happy
I started to cry. I turned around after 35 minutes and you know the rest......boing boing boing wheeeeeeeeeee!!!!
I never saw those women again and they were gone by the time I got back to parking lot an hour later.
Several years ago I attempted to run this trail, I got maybe a third of the way......nowhere near where I ended up today...that felt very very nice.
For the record I had penne pasta w/red sauce for dinner lastnight, got a good solid 8 hrs sleep. Pre-run I choked down an espresso GU (kind've gross), and filled my waterbottle w/gatorade.
Not sure I like the hand-held hydration system, it was fine while wearing the gloves, but after awhile I got too hot and took off the gloves which caused the bottle to get slippery. I kept having to switch hands.

Going Through the Motions

Some runs are just this way. Despite a beautiful albeit chilly morning I had to force myself off the couch. Instead of running to the trailhead I caught a ride w/T (whom won't be home until midnight!) I ran for 31 minutes walked for 12 and ran for another 6 towards the gym where I planned to continue to go through the motions of an upperbody workout but when I got there, I remembered it isn't open until 10 on Saturday's (even more lame, it's closed on Sunday's.......but it's super close to our house and T did some signage for the owner and we have a free membership).
I stretched for a bit on the cold concrete out front of the gym then decided to check out a ceramics shop/gallery nearby.....ended up walking home (another 3 mins) parked myself back on the couch and proceeded to eat my favorite bagel:
the works w/sundried tomato cream cheese.

It's okay, I'll be sure to get good sleeps tonight and have a GREAT run tomorrow.

Sidenote, M and I had so much fun decorating a gingerbread house lastnight. COSTCO has the nifftiest little kit out right now.

Let the holiday madness begin

I broke from tradition this year by NOT hosting Thanksgiving instead opting to volunteer at the turkey trot..No problem we had a good time, got home around 11 and made a nice smaller dinner which we ate with T when he got home.
Sometime between getting home and eating with T, I called the in-laws to say Happy Turkey Day and before I could stop myself I suggested that we have Christmas at our house. I hadn't even spoke with T about it, it just sort've slipped out. I can only attribute this to some latent guilt I had about doing exactly what I wanted to do on Thanksgiving.
The thing is, I come from a small not-so-close family with 2 sibs out of state and the only family I see on a regular basis is my mom. T on the other hand has a huge family (in my opinion) and when we host party's the list includes aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents....Oh jeez it just goes on...suffice it to say theres a lot of them.
There will be 22 people here on Christmas day.
Perhaps some may see this as a modest number to me it's a little freaky.
All I can say is thank God for Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and the fact that I'm a runner now!!!!
Tuesdays run was sweet, a light drizzle that got a little heavier at the end of my 35 minute run. There's a man I've come to know on the BART trail.......I'll refer to him as the "Happy Runner" when I first spotted him in my early days, I could barely run a full minute, he'd be singing as he ran , his form was noticeable too he sort've floats at a steady clip, always shirtless and always grinning. Over time we'd make eye contact and after about a year we'd say hi. Occasionally, we'll chat while running in place for a minute , give a high 5 and continue running in opposite directions.
In a weird way I feel connected to this guy, and to some of the other runners I see on the trail (not to mention my favorite bloggers!), whether it's a smile or a nod, a considerate gesture like sidestepping to let another runner stay on the dirt trail vs the pavement. There's another woman I can't seem to make eye contact with but I always try, she's got some type of gait disturbance, but I see her all over the place, sometime I'll work up the nerve to say "Hi" Then there's another older man, a stroke survivor, he wears a running sandal and I always feel a little guilty when I pass him.
I know, I'm a freak!!

Running on fumes is doable but I don't recommend it!

Didn't sleep well at all lastnight, maybe 5 hours tops, I did manage to pull off a 30 minute run.
It's easier to push through muscle fatigue than sleep deprivation.
So, no long runs this weekend. At least I got out there.
T's crazy schedule will continue for another two weeks then start tapering off, in time for M's winter break thank goodness.

No excuses.......

Yesterday's run and the weather had a conflict of interest...By the time the sun was out the desire to run turned into going to the movies. This morning appears to be clear and I have a window of opportunity to run, T will sleep in another hour ........Was hoping to hit the trails but that requires driving to Tilden . I'll have to stick to the nearby bicycle trail.....Getting M out for a bike ride could be fun once past the initial resistance she usually has! It's such a struggle for me to engage her in physical activity. She'd prefer to play on the computer or do art stuff, which is fine but geez, get some fresh air once in awhile!!
This is my husbands really busy time of the year, M and I are on our own for a good 6-7 weeks before life is normal around here. The early years were spent hardly ever leaving the house, hence I quilt and she has her indoors activities........But the past year since returning to running I've been itching to get out more and have had to get really creative with including the family.
M doesn't like riding on the bicycle trails so that cancels out me running and her following on the bike.......She only wants to ride in the neighborhood which never really seems to be enough for me, she's 10 and I just have to get my real workouts when I can......I get frustrated about this at times and I compare her to me when I was a kid.....I was sooo physically active, not that I played any organized sports or had lessons of any kind I was just bouncing off the walls all
the time riding my bike w/friends all over creation, pretending to be Olga Korbet on the neighbors lawn, climbing the mountain the reads "South San Francisco The Industrial City".
Today's kids really don't get to roam like we did. They are signed up for lessons and dropped off and picked up.
My husband has horrible allergy's and is not much of an outdoorsy person and I'm a nature freak! Opposites do attract and our girl is somewhere in between.
Okay, let's see how this run goes!!

addendum:

At the last minute I decided to hit the trail.....sheer genius considering yesterday's rain!W/brandy in tow I ran about a mile before turning around and walking back, the 5 pound mud waffles on each foot kicked my butt..sweat was pouring down my face. Not a fun work-out but a work-out all the same.

t

post-race letdown?

I was bumbed a little to learn my name didn't appear on the results list.
In the post-race email everyone gets there was a link to settle concerns...

So, I typed in my plea for recognition and feel a bit whorish for needing it in the first place.
I really had a great day, a great run and I totally trust my watch.
Hell I practiced setting it like 10x's!!

I had a nice 30 minute run this morning, a bit stiff still though, by the time I felt warmed up
I had to head back home to get ready for work.

I'm looking forward to a longer run soon.

King Oscar Presidio 11/20/05

The race description said some hills, a slight understatement if you ask me......Boy I was glad to have humped some hills is preparation for this one!!!
The upside however being:
Boing Boing Boing Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!
My new Montrails and I had a blast bouncing down the trail after climbing the hills, all three of them!!
The weather was GORGEOUS in San Francisco. Cool not cold. Sunny not hot.
Blue sky for miles. Just perfect, if you didn't think about global warming.

The start was a gradual climb from the parking lot to the trail head where all 600 of us bottled necked (twice) and on the last hill, even with pacing myself and NOT charging up the hills, with head down and arms pumping, I had to walk the last 3rd of the 3rd hill. Fortunately what goes up must come down and I happily bounced down the otherside. My groin is a bit stiff as I write this.
When I say pacing myself.....It's very low tech.....I just felt like I was running pretty decent, my breathing was right. The hills had a lot to do with not shooting out too fast that's for sure!
Trail running might just be my thing! The buzz among the crowd was this was a "long" 5k as was the 10k. The hills made it feel long to me.
For a nano second the jitters crept up, but once we took off, I settled into my groove and just had fun, totally confident I would finish and not stressed about a thing!
At the end ...The final kick, I dug in. I saw Miranda and Tom near the finish waving me on...it was the best feeling. I was winded but not whooped and no dry heaves this time. I actually carried on a conversation with a couple that came in behind me.
My unofficial time was 34:50:09. I rehearsed setting my stopwatch like 10 x's this morning in hopes of remembering to do it at the start-up. Need to check back on the results as they are not up yet.
A woman was the overall winner of the 5k, I think her time was around 25:00 mins.

Swag Up The Wazoo!!!

Along with a very cool technical shirt, a gel bottle, toe socks and gym towel. The goodies were a plenty. Following the announcement of the winners, the director of the event started calling out random things like who's been in ironman?, who's run Dipsea?, who's run a 100 miles?, who wears Montrail trail shoes?..I looked down at my feet and jumped up yelling "me!!". I got a $75.00 dollar gift certificate from Feet Fleet. I couldn't believe it!
I may not of broken any records running today, but I'm sure I was fastest at collecting on my prize, we headed over to Feet Fleet (had to wait 10 mins for it to open!) in s.f right after the race and I got 4 pairs of socks, a cool long sleeve asics shirt and a handheld waterbottle with a holder.

So, this was a better race for me all around. I was secretly hoping to be under 35:00, but I didn't want to jinx myself by saying so outloud.
My main objective was to not freak and to find my place amongst my fellow footers running, bouncing, laughing and feeling pure happy!

The proceeds go towards maintaining the Presidio trails and King Oscar is a Sardine company that sponsored the race.
Afterwards we headed to Fishenman's Wharf and ate at the Rainforest Cafe.....very fun day indeed!