Ouch!

So I went on a 10 mile run Sat morning along the American River Trail. It was so pretty. My run went great- 10 miles is getting a lot easier. Afterwards the team even had a clinic with a physical therapist to go over good stretching techniques.
After the practice, I headed over to the Rocklin Jubilee to do some fundraising- and all of the sudden my foot HURT! I mean, I was limping! Anyways, 2 days later and my foot still hurting I went to the doctor and had some x-rays taken. No breaks or fractures so I just have to take it easy for a week or two. Bummer- but this just makes me more determined than ever to make it to 26.2!

10 Miles! Whoohoo!

Today I ran 10 miles! It was a team workout, which are are always easier because I have people to talk to while I'm running and there is some added motivation. (Don't want to be the one everyone passes along the way). Anyways, we did a great run from the Fish Hatchery out to Negro Bar. I was so excited that I made it the whole 10 miles, and I wasnt totally exhausted. In the marathon, 10 miles will get me from Union Square to the Golden Gate Bridge!
On the fundraising front- I'm starting to get donations in the mail! I'll get my totals updated here in the next few days. Once again I'd like to say thank you for all your support! If anyone is going to be at the Rocklin Jubilee this weekend look for me- I'll be fundraising there.

Running all night....

No I did not run all night. I'm just in awe of Dean Karnazes. He's this crazy guy who runs all night long. He lives in San Francisco and will run all the way to Napa, meet his wife and kids for breakfast and then run all the way back. And he thinks this is fun! He has actually run like 262 miles.....insane. I'm going to read his book for some inspiration. Quote "On one occasion, Karnazes ran 100 miles all-night to the start of the Napa Valley Marathon, and then completed the marathon in 3:15. " WOW!
http://www.ultramarathonman.com/

To tell you the truth...

To tell you the truth, today I was not in the mood to go running. I had a long day at work and was in a bad mood. But, of course even when I don't want to run I know I need to- after all- I have a marathon to run in about 18 weeks and I have people counting on me to raise much needed $$.
Days like this are when my little bracelets come in handy. Its part of the Team in Training tradition to wear hospital bracelets with the names of your honorees. Right now I am wearing two and I will continue to wear them until my race day. One of them is for Max Herlehy (3 and a half- he has acute lymphocytes leukemia) and the other if for Jake Kimmel (He has Waldenstroms Macroglobulinrmia). Whenever I feel like I can't run, or that I'm having a hard day- I just look at my wrist and think about what is really important. It makes it a lot easier to make it that last mile in the 90+ heat.
I'll never forget my first swim practice on the triathlon team last year. I was talking to the fellow swimmers about why we were all doing a triathlon. I said that I was doing it because I wanted to meet people and get in shape. Then the guy next to us said that he was doing it because his 12 year old son, Alex was an honoree for Team in Training the year before. Sadly, Alex had lost his long battle with Leukemia. My teammate had promised his son that even though he couldn't be the doctor that found a cure- he would raise the money for the doctor that would find the cure.
That conversation plays in my head quite often. I think its one of those Oprah "Life Moments" she talks about. It really inspires me and reminds me of what is really important in life. And it helps me to keep running when I want to stop.

Hiking in Auburn....

Today I skipped out on running, instead I went on a really nice hike in Auburn. If you like to hike, or want to be out in a really pretty place with some great views, I highly suggest that you hike the Stage Coach Trail. It runs from the top of the canyon and then down to the confluence. Its great because its shaded most of the way and once you get to the bottom you can dip in the river. Well, I don't dip in the river because like I've mentioned before I am such a wimp and my opinion is that the river is too high and too fast and although I am a great swimmer I don't feel like taking any chances. So I look at the river and then think to myself, "Crap, now we have to hike all the way back up and I am really hot." The hike back up is not too hard but it will make you sore the next day if your not in good hiking shape. But anyways the views are amazing and there are always great people on the trail hiking or biking. The one thing about the trail to remember is that once again, you do put yourself in danger of those animal attacks. I'm always watching the bushes for a surprise mountain lion or rattlesnake, which seemed to be annoying to my hiking cohort. I think he will thank me one day when I save him from a potentially bloody situation with my attention to the shrubbery.

Warning: Potentially Boring Post!

Today's run was very nice- I did about 6 miles in a neighborhood close to my apartment in Roseville. The housing tract I ran thru had all these houses that looked like mini castles....Minus the moats. Add the Escalades and Mercedes. It was a great day for a run since the rain went away! Shoes are still holding up well. Still need new shorts. Mine have issues. I got to use my new MP3 player.....Did not feel sore at all afterwards.....Spent the rest of the day at the Dog Park and the pool...

It is raining....in June!

I'm supposed to be a running machine but its freakin raining outside. Can you tell me why its raining in June? This is crazy. I mean, I like the rain, especially since normally its like 900 degrees outside in Sacramento in June, but come on. This is a little nuts!

June 5, 2005. The Dangers of Running: Animal Attacks!

Most people would not think of running as a dangerous sport. However, for me it is living on the edge. I'm not one to try scary things. I don't like heights, fast cars, airplanes, boats, motorcycles.... lets just say I am a scared cat.
So how is running a scary sport? Its scary because I am afraid of wild "critters". I can't say "animals" because I'm afraid of more than just animals. Here is the list of things I have seen running that have scared me: Dogs, rattle snakes, bugs, cats and deer.
Even more frightening then the things I have seen are the things I haven't seen! Here is the list of things I have not seen running but that I am scared I will see: Mountain Lions, bobcats, panthers, tigers, bison, bears, gorillas and alligators. I realize that the majority of these things are unrealistic to see on runs around Sacramento, but then again, you can never be too careful.
Check out this site to see some crazy animal attack stories from around the world.
http://attack.igorilla.com/

June 4, 2005. Foot Cramp!

Today was team practice at the Folsom Fish Hatchery- great place to run. I went about 6 miles and my time was around 80 minutes. I had to walk some of the time because of a cramp in my foot. Urg! Foot cramps hurt- its funny because you never even notice that you have muscles in your feet until one hurts. Anyways, it started to hurt on about the 3rd or fourth mile so I switched from a run to a run walk.
Overall it was a great run and I felt wonderful afterwards!

June 1, 2005 ...New Shoes (cute salesman)

Today I bought a pair of REAL running shoes. Very exciting. I’m used to buying my athletic shoes at Big 5 or Sportsmart where I always have to beg someone to help me and I don’t know why I even bother because no one knows anything about shoes anyways. So, I was told very clearly by all my coaches and everybody else I know who runs that I should avoid those places at all costs and go to Fleet Feet. That’s because shoes are like the only required piece of equipment and if you get the wrong equipment- horrible things can happen. What kind of horrible things? Black toenails, toenails falling off, huge blisters, hurt knees and lots of other things I would like to avoid.
Before everyone informed me about the importance of running shoes- I had been proud of my $9.99 shoes I got at Big 5 last year. I thought it was normal that if I ran more than 4 miles at a time my toes went numb. Well, let me tell you- Fleet Feet was a whole different story than Big 5. My salesman talked with me about why I needed shoes and what shoes I’ve used before. I avoided telling him the $9.99 story and just told him my current brand and that my toes go numb. Then we picked out socks. Which is very important- (do not wear cotton socks when you run, you might as well just ask for blisters!). After we picked out some very cool socks, he sized my foot (remember the one size bigger rule!) and then he watched me walk and run so he could pick out a shoe that would work best for me. I felt like an idiot running around the store, but I learned that when I run my feet roll to the outside, so I need a shoe that wont pull me further to that side. This will save my knees. My salesman (I forgot his name but not only was he very nice and very cute) is a long distance runner. I thought 26.2 was a long distance- but my salesman told me he used to do marathons but he now runs 50 mile races! Marathons were not enough of a challenge for him. I don’t even like to drive for 50 miles. He runs 50 miles. That’s like over 10 hours of running consecutively. Wow. So I trusted his opinion on my shoe selection. Together, we found the perfect shoes for me. It was a big decision since these are shoes I will run at least 500 miles in over the next few months. Anyways, now that I have my shoes I am ready to run!