Hard Day's Run

Every now and again you have a bad run day. Today was a bad run day for me. My body just did not want to run. And since I didn't have a running partner today, I had a hard time. But I managed to do a little over 10 miles and really the toughest part was mentally. I am so happy that I am able to run again and it just amazes me what our body is capable of.
We ran along the American River, starting near CSUS and running down past Cal Expo. It was a nice day tun, we have been so lucky to have some nice breezes during our long runs. I did manage to drink 2 whole water bottles of water and was still really thirsty at the end of the run.
We got our running schedule for July and it look like by the end of the month I will be up to 15 miles! I am excited about that.
This week I will be on vacation and wont be running- but I'll be doing a lot of hiking which will be fun and a great way to cross train!

A perfect Saturday!

There is really not a better way to start out your day than the way I started out my Saturday.
I woke up at 6 a.m. totally tired because my family arrived at my house at 11 p.m. (they are staying with me for my cousins Angie's wedding- more about that in a second). Of course we stayed up for a while talking- and since I had woken up at 5:45 a.m. Friday to work out before work- I was beat. So it took a lot of effort to get myself out of bed and into my car to drive out to Folsom Lake for my team practice.
Practice began as usual with some group stretching and announcements. We also had a really nice talk from one of my teammates who's husband is a Leukemia survivor (for more info on him check out my Honoree blog). Then the workout began.
The run started at a school in Granite Bay- then onto a trail that took us along the Lake and over the Folsom Dam to Beale's Point. It was a great place to run- the breeze felt great and the views were fantastic. Folsom Lake is really a pretty lake! It was nice and quiet and peaceful.
After running around Beale's Point the trail headed into the hills back towards Granite Bay out to Douglass Blvd. At that point we ran into some older neighborhoods where I fell in love with the cool 60's style homes....I love getting away from the cookie cutter houses and into neighborhoods like these that have so much charm and character. Anyways, My running partner and I decided to take a slower pace than usual to compensate for the steep hills in the second part of the workout- which was a good thing because some of those hills had a 15% grade and boy was it tough running up them!
This workout was my longest so far this season- 10 miles! It felt great and I am happy to be back in the double digits. I was also happy to be able to take two hours out of my week to get out to the lake and enjoy the beauty that we are blessed to have- nothing makes me feel more at peace with myself and the world than being surrounded by nature.
The day continued being special as it was my cousin Angie's wedding day! She looked absolutely beautiful in her wedding gown and very happy with her new husband. They had a really nice reception at the church stake center in Manteca and some great food (Lucky for me after a 10 mile run you can eat whatever you want!) . We got some dancing in- did the Congo line, the chicken dance and the hokey poky. It was great to see my cousins together again- with everyone being in college or married it is hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time.
I am hoping to put in a some miles this week and next weekend am shooting for an 11 mile run. It would be great if I could be at 15 by the end of July. But- we will see.

Another day, another workout

Yesterday Amanda and I had the great idea of running around the park after work.....It was at least 90 degrees and at 5:30 p.m. we were the few people who ventured to the park for reasons other than going swimming or laying on the grass drinking beer. It was miserable. I ran past one guy who was running and he looked like he was about to pass out....I wonder what I look like when I am running? Hopefully not like I am going to pass out. I actually have a very cute running skirt that I have been training in- so comfy. I highly recommend it. As they say, "Run Like A Girl!"
Amanda had a time issue and so we only had about 45 minutes to work out. We also had to make a detour to the bathrooms and so I think we only did a whole 2 miles before we decided we better stop. Good thing because I swear I was getting sunburned!
This morning my run was much better- nice and cool and there was even a great breeze. I am able to really get ready mentally for my day because I don't run with an ipod anymore. I was able to get in a good 3 miles which is perfect since tomorrow is a long practice day with the team!

I told you so! (No alligators in the river...!!)

I have been worried about alligators in the river and in Folsom Lake for the past couple of years. When I was doing my triathlon training and I had to swim in Folsom lake I would get scared that one day an alligator would come and bite my leg off. Well, that hasn't happened but they did find an alligator in the river yesterday...a FOUR FOOT GATOR.

What the hell. First whales, now gators. What is next. I swear there better not be any sharks in that river.

People need to stop thinking its cute to have these animals as pets. I don't think God wanted anyone to keep an alligator as a pet. I think they belong in the wild...not in Sacramento. They need to be in Florida (which happens to be a place I have no desire to visit). I do think that the picture here of my dog dressed up like a dragon is cute. (Well, dragons are kind of like Alligators...and plus I think this blog needed a cute picture of Ellie)

Speaking of alligators, I just finished reading the Poisonwood Bible (Which was one of the better books I have ever read) and it talks about the gators in Africa. People there seem to respect the Gators (unless they are killing them- not cool) and they keep their distance. They are not trying to keep them in their backyards.

So anyways, this just adds onto the list of things to be careful of while running along the river in Sacramento: mountain lions, cougars, rattle snakes, ticks, mean dogs, crazy people, whales and now gators. I really hope that I am never running along the river and spot a gator.

Back to running- today we had practice in Elk Grove and got to run on some cool country roads. I logged 7+ miles. It was a great run- the weather was perfect- we had a great cool breeze. I feel wonderful- 7 miles is easy now. This week I'll be back to my normal training schedule and I am hoping to do 9 or 10 next Saturday.

As far as my fundraising goes- so far so good. I've raised almost $700! I have a long ways to go....

What Cancer Cannot Do

What Cancer Cannot Do

Cancer is so limited –

It cannot cripple love,

It cannot shatter hope,

It cannot corrode faith,

It cannot destroy people,

It cannot kill friendship,

It cannot suppress memories,

It cannot silence courage,

It cannot invade the soul,

It cannot steal eternal life,

It cannot conquer the spirit.

-Anonymous

Stop the heat!! Now!!

Urggggg. Sacramento is getting hot. I am not a hot weather person. Give me a rainy day and a sweatshirt anyday! But- I live here so I guess I should stop complaining about the heat and just get over it. It’s a fact of life that if you live in Sacramento you’re going to have to deal with heat.

So, that means I have to really make an effort to run in the mornings before it really starts sweltering. Otherwise it will be like today and I’ll be running when it’s 90+ degrees outside!

I cannot believe it is already June! Only 5 months until the Nike Women’s Marathon in SF. I just logged an 8.3 mile run yesterday- and it felt great. We ran at Davis Community Park which is a great trail- goes through the greenbelt and wetland area. The park has funny sculptures of dogs doing various things like riding tricycles and chasing birds. It’s a very pretty place to run- and I couldn’t have asked for better weather.
Currently our team has 150 people, plus 30 staff. It’s fun to be able to spend Saturday mornings with such uplifting people. I’m adding several profiles to my Honored Hero page- be sure to check them out and include them in your thoughts and prayers.