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So there's a reason why elite runners train at altitude!!
I thought I'd check out the hotel amenites, nice pool, jacuzzi and decent treadmill. 10 minutes on the treadmill I was huffing, 20 minutes I was done walked for another 10.

Saturday I went out dancing with my "nieces" and was introduced as Aunt Chris....Much to my chagrin......Sunday we went for a not-too-strenous hike w/the the younger girls in tow (my girl isn't super outdoorsy so this is always a bit of a challenge) Monday I went with our friends to their gym and actually ran for 30 mins on the treadmill and then did a Pilates class (Sue, if you read this yes I was sore!!).

So I did acclimate some though my sinuses were killing me.
I've been home a week and have gotten back on track with my running. Today was an easy 3mi 27:14, I met up w/my family at the flea market. I'm getting good at blending the running with family time.

Just Run!


In effort to avoid running tomorrow at 5am, I ran after work tonight instead. That makes it
2 days in a row of running. The diet coke I drank at the end of day at work was mostly responsible for the extra energy, but as I've said before I'm not fully commited to the 5am'ers.

There was a time when I would never even consider running after work, no way tooooooo tired. The past month has been crazy and I've had to squeeze runs in wherever I can. I'm proud to say despite the hectic schedule, I've been consistent in my inconsistency!!

Going to Gardnerville, NV on friday. It will be interesting to see if the change in altitude will affect my running.

FALL IS COMING

I LOVE THE FALL. IT'S TRULY MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR FOR RUNNING. I ALSO PREFER RUNNING WHEN IT'S LIGHT OUT OTHERWISE YOU MISS THE BEAUTY OF THE SEASON.......BESIDES I'M TOO DAMN LAZY TO COMMIT TO 5AM ON A REGULAR BASIS.

I DID HEAD OUT AT 7:30 AM TO EL CERRITTO BART AND BACK W/BRANDY. NOTHING NOTEWORTHY EXCEPTING THE WEIRD TWINGE IN MY LT. SHOULDER.

OFF TO WORK.

Long Run


This morning I ran for 75 minutes and found some cool trails in back of the race track.
My route:
Gilman towards the race track.
Rt. behind the race track, nice view of the bay on the Lt. and you can get a wiff of stink if they happen to be mucking stall on the Rt.
Go up a decent hill then veer Lt. Towards beach and trails.
Nice trail led off rd. that looped into a single track that went straight back up,
I didn't feel like I had stopped running!
On the main trail again , go Lt. to Bay Trail.(BT)
BT towards COSTCO, then Rt. @ the overpass to the
Rt. at the BART TRAIL (el cerrito) back to Gilman St.

Moderate run, I felt good. Glad I added those hills this week.
I stretched for a minute when I got home then went for a 30 minute bike ride.

My mom came over and helped with the yard sale, which allowed me to read a good article in my copy of Runner's world about the need to *train your brain* Some athletes have two coaches one for the physical performance and one for the mental performance!
It would be nice to replace my feelings of dread into excitement when I:
play
run
lead
hmmm....

I'm gonna............
GET UP EARLY THIS WEEK TO RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I only have to do it 2x's
T/Th
up at:
5:00am
run between:
5:45 - 6:30am
In the neighborhood mostly w/Brandy
I can probably stick with this thru the fall or until it gets too cold/dark?
OR
MWF
Run on the treadmill:
6:00 - 6:45

Okay, I've got a plan to this going.
No excuses!!

Euclid or Bust

So, I did get up at 4:45 am but I didn't actually step foot outside until 6am.
I ran an easy 30 minutes in the surrounding well lit neighborhood. It (Cedar) was a gradual climb the first 15 minutes that got steeper......I decided to turn left at that point...primarily due to the time constraints I'm under today. Anyone who knows Berkeley, Ca knows about the Berkeley Hills.
This is so boring, I'm going to give up tonight and read my Chinese Medicine book.

Back to School

Today I wrapped up a 2 day pain management workshop I attended for work. I'm an occupational therapy assistant and I work in a skilled nursing facility. The workshop focused on alternative methods of treatment...Right up my alley, as I have a background in massage therapy and am a big advocate for holistic medicine. I've recently been feeling a bit burned out and struggling to really help the people on my caseload. This workshop was just what I needed to snap out of my slump.
At lunchtime, I chatted with the facilitator about opportunities available to assistants and she asked me if I had considered going for my degree as a full fledged OT. I cringed (inwardly) I'm sure I gave the impression that I didn't care to return to school, which isn't true I just wouldn't want to go back to be an OT. I would be interested in taking an aroma therapy
course or one on myofascial release.
And what does any of this have to do with running? Like the workshop I just finished , running has got me out of many a slump, it's caused me to see things differently and it's definitely pushed me torwards new aspirations.
I got up extra early this week to run because of the workshop. Not sure if I'm ready to commit to 5 am indefinitely, but I know Brandy oh so happy if I did......actually we'd both be really happy.

It is officially the butt crack of dawn........5:11 am.....it's dark out there.........think I'll take Brandy. I've downed a cup of joe, small 1/2 glass oj and 4 gummy bears. Read a hilarious post by mia goddess....a self-admitted control freak she's currently struggling with post baby weight loss and succumbing to weight watchers dogma. ok, quit stalling.
6:10 am
Ran for 37 minutes. Opted for the neighborhood streets vs the trail, seemed safer. Brandy seems to do better on early morning runs...less distractions I guess.
I felt good on this run too! Cool and calm, even on the hilly parts. Good thing I'm not creeped out by spiders, I ran through a few webs!