Eugene pictures

Here are some long overdue pictures that were taken when me and the hubby were up in Oregon for the Eugene 1/2 Marathon back in May. We had a grand old time and leaving was definitely such sweet sorrow!

It's time to pick up our packets!

Expo crowd

In front of the famous Hayward Field

We snickered at there t-shirt statements. Very clever! haha

We walked over to the starting line from our hotel. It was only a 1/2 mile and super exciting to see the green balloons and all those people!

I am so happy to be here!

A quarter mile in.

Just one of many super supportive local people.

WE DID IT, BABY!!!!

All that while fighting a cold!

July 2008 has been super awesome

BAD BLOGGER! BAD BLOGGER!

That was me just getting mad at myself. Now we can carry on. hehe

I worked on getting my runs in consistently this month - aiming for at least 3 times a week. I've been doing great but have yet to push that to 4 times a week. I am hoping that this will happen with this week!

A few things I've accomplished this month:

• Hitting a PR on the treadmill for the year earlier this month - 32:21 for a 5k distance. This turns out to be 10:26 pace. Make like the Kool-Aid Man and give me an OH YEAH!!! While training for the failed attempt at the marathon earlier in the year my average for the 5k was around 34 - 35 minutes.
• After a summer of staying indoors to beat the heat, I finally ventured outside this morning. My goal for the morning was just to get to 1 mile and then I could walk home. You see, I'm trying to get accustomed to running in the heat so I can run the last ARR Summer Series #5 Run at South Mountain on August 10th. I have a good two weeks to make this happen. Anyway, I lasted 1.6 miles. Then I walked home but I think I need to bring water with me next time. I felt a heat related headache coming on as I walked home. Shoot, it was already 90 degrees when I went out at 6 am. WTF!

I've also added Beginner's Pilates to the mix. I bought a DVD when I last went to Tarzhay. Again, it was an WTF! moment when I first tried the movements. I think I almost farted like 10 times because of the straining. haha I know, I know. TMI.

Just like my runs, I will be updating my blog 3x a week, minimum.

In the middle of the night...

Man, I feel so beat these days. I totally feel like there are not enough hours or minutes in the day to really accomplish any of my personal goals. After work, I rest for a bit and before I know it it is already 7:30 or 8:00 pm! I've been exercising later and later. Maybe this is my problem. I exercise or run about two hours before I hit the hay. I'm trying to switch over to morning work outs starting next week.

Last night, I got to my complex's gym late so I only had 30 minutes to work with. I intended to do a tempo run up until the security guard kicked me out but my stretchy running capri kept riding down and started to annoy the heck out of me. I only managed 5 minutes of walking and 3 minutes of running before I angrily grabbed my gym key and jumped onto the elliptical. I stayed on for about 20 minutes before the security guard came a-knockin'.

Right before my workout, hubby and I went to Best Buy to look for new Apple earphones for my ishuffle since one side of my old one gives very weak audio output. Guess how much those stupid things are?! Freakin' 50 smelly dog bones!! And the incredulous thing is that people actually buy them! They're not the greatest little things in the world and I can't justify such an expenditure so I went back to my trusty Sony sport headphones...no fancy earbuds.

I feel like I'm getting stronger. I noticed this when I was doing crunches last night. In the beginning, my ab muscles were so weak that I actually shook when I pulled my head and shoulders off the ground!! HAHA Very little shaking, if any, last night.

Peeking Out From Behind My Curtain

Where has this girl gone for nearly two months? Holy moly!

I think I had reached a point where I was just too "blaaahhhhgg-ed out"...although, I did miss all of my running blog friends. I have been running here and there. Unfortunately, I did not run the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon earlier in the month. Lame excuses abound but really I didn't feel ready and finances had me strapped at the wallet. I do have my eyes on Portland or Seattle later this year though. Must do the 26.2 while I'm still 26! I turn 27 next January.

My goal for the summer was to quicken my pace. I tired of the marathon training...running at marathon pace almost all the time. I felt so sluggish and slow. My new quest for faster gazelle speeds has re-invigorated my workouts. Just in the course of two months, I've decreased my average pace from 12:00 to 11:00 min/mile. Right now, I think I'm running at somewhere between 10:45 to 10:50 a mile. My goal at the end of the summer is to get down to the 10:00 point. This is where I'm most comfortable. After the marathon, I'm going to push every further for those elusive 9:00s.

My other selfish goal for picking up the pace is to burn more fat. I need to slim down in time for my first wedding anniversary at the end of August. How fast that time has come around! We were going to run off to the Oregon Coast again...or even Las Vegas but we've reasoned to be practical and just enjoy a day at a local spa (maybe in Scottsdale) and have a really nice dinner. Saves on money and enables us to have a smaller carbon footprint.

I just came back from work-related travel to Billings, MT last week and had a chance to go to Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming is soooo beautiful!! I loved it! And this Arizona desert rat was able to walk atop snow and actually fall in!

Eugene

I've been really busy lately!

Lots of traveling for work had me in San Francisco and Denver recently. When I'm in the office, I've been pre-occupied with coordinating a training and getting ready to renew some grants that I hardly have a life.

One thing though...

I ran Eugene. Not the full. I did the 1/2. I had the best time in Oregon as the hubby and I made a 5-day journey out of the whole thing.

2:38:05

Not my best but I was a warrior because I ran the damn thing while fighting a bad sore throat just days before and enduring all 13.1 miles with bouts of coughing.

Hope to have a race report up within the week.

Tonight: 6-8 miles or bust.

On Tuesday, I managed to put in a 4.4 mile run on the treadmill. I averaged a 12:01 min/mile pace which is standard for me and normally I wouldn't whoop too much about it but I did this with some hill simulations. I'd run for about three minutes at 0.5% and then 1 min @ 2%, 1-2 min @ 4%, and then 1 min back at 2% before I returned to another 3 min at 0.5%.

I'm noticing that I am not as sore as I usually was after running. It was wonderful to walk up and down the stairs pain-free at work on Monday - the day after my long run. This never happened before. My legs are so bomb!

I was going to go on another buddy run with my co-worker this week but it's already Thursday and I already have tonight reserved for my mid-week long run. My plan has 8 miles in store for me but I'm going to run anywhere form 6-8 miles. I am somewhat in agreement with what Jeff Galloway touts about only having one high mileage run a week solely to prevent injury. Everything is working for me so far so I'm not going to change a thing.

I was bummed on Tuesday's run though. I found out that my new shoes are indeed snug at the toe for me and it's too late to exchange them so I've decided to either sell or just give the shoes to my sister. I'm hoping that it will inspire her to start exercising. She's been stagnant since giving birth to my niece 1.5 years ago.

I realized yesterday that me and the hubby's trip to the Oregon Coast and to Eugene for the 1/2 marathon is only a month away! I'm so freaking excited!! I get paid next week and I think this is when I'll be officially paying for my registration for the Rock n' Roll marathon in San Diego. Gosh, my hands all of a sudden got sweaty just thinking about it. haha

12 under my belt

Total Mileage: 12 miles
Average: 12:04 min/mile

I truly rock!!

I ran this morning's long run of 12 miles with little difficulty. And though some of it may be attributed to the fact that I woke up earlier and started at 7:00 am instead of 9:30 am, I definitely felt stronger and more positive.

The Arizona Dragon Boat Festival was in full swing this morning at Tempe Town Lake and added a bit more visual excitement to my running atmosphere. I even ran into my buddy who was also running 12 miles for the morning. She is a part of a relay team from the Salt River Maricopa Pima Indian Community that will be competing in the Ironman here in Arizona and she's doing the marathon portion. That's only two weeks away! We were running in different directions so I'd meet her twice around the lake. Nice having someone else there.

I have taken to running and walking for approximately 3 miles in the beginning of my runs to help with warming up my legs, particularly my calves. I THINK I may be developing medial shin splints on my left leg. It's a bit of a stinging sensation but not too much that it's annoying. After 3 miles, the pain goes away and I can run normally.

On Thursday evening, I ran at the lake with a friend/co-worker and asked her what her shin splints felt like as she was telling me she had them in high school when she ran cross country. I asked if her lower legs ever felt like they got weak as the miles dragged on in a run to the point that it felt like her legs were going to give way and cave in. She said she had felt that way so I think I definitely have a case of this on my hands.

I don't know what else to do other than icing, massaging, and strength training. So I've been doing the walking breaks a lot more. Not a bad thing at all because I'm able to get through my runs without needing a stretcher.

For 12 miles, Garmin says it took 2:25:00 but I stopped the clock during my long stretch breaks and water refueling breaks. There were only 3 of these. I'm more interested in seeing my mile times than my overall time since the whole goal of running the marathon is just to finish. But if I were to add these in - I'd have to add about 12 minutes to my time.

My Lap Times:
1 mi - 12:32
2 mi- 11:58
3 mi- 12:21
4 mi- 11:45
5 mi- 12:18
6 mi- 12:04
7 mi- 11:45
8 mi- 12:39
9 mi- 12:16
10 mi- 11:31
11 mi- 11:48
12 mi- 12:04

Week 7 of Marathon Training completed!

P.S. Finally bought a couple new iTunes.

1. An Honest Mistake - The Bravery (An old running favorite from 2005)
   
   
2. Holiday in Cambodia - The Dead Kennedys (From playing too much Guitar Hero 3)
   
   
3. I Feel It All - Feist (All about the steady melody)
   
   
4. Barracuda - Heart (Another GH3 favorite)
   
   
5. Touchdown, Turnaround - hellogoodbye (I needed something 'poppy' and guilty pleasure-ish! :P)
   
   
6. Alec Eiffel - Pixies (this is the jam!!!)
   
   
7. Send Me an Angel - Real Life (I'm an 80's music lush and my favorite hangout always plays this song.)
   
   
8. Anarchy in the U.K. - The Sex Pistols (I think GH3 is a problem. lol)
   
   
9. Someday - The Strokes (Hear this on the radio all the time.)
   

New Shoes!

After work, I usually endure a 40-minute commute to where my husband works in Scottsdale to pick him up before we start to head home for the evening. When I was about 5 minutes away from his building, I suddenly remembered that I had left my running shoes at work. I used to have an old spare that I used in case of emergencies at home but somewhere in the last year, I misplaced them. I hit the steering wheel and yelled out, "Dammit!" (my favorite curse word. haha)

It was too late to go back to my office building. So I thought that it was about time to head over to my favorite running shoe store in Tempe to get some new shoes. I had a coupon from my participation in the Lost Dutchman 10k on my bib that imparted me to a discount of $20 off any Asics brand shoe.

I'm a big Athena girl and the best shoes for me have been Brooks and Asics.

So the hubby went home to get my coupon and left for the shop. I didn't want to get a motion control shoe because my Brooks felt like they took forever to break in. The sales girl allowed me to try on several stability shoes but I felt that they didn't have enough cushion in the heel which is kinda a big thing for me at the moment from all the excess weight I have pounding on my poor feet.

In the end, I selected the motion control shoe from Asics...the Foundation 7.

It's a lot like the first pair of Asics running shoes I ever owned. They were the best I ever owned and I was very sad to have to retire them back in '06.

These shoes are solely for 3-6 mile runs. I'm trying to extend the life of my Brooks Ariels - the shoes I'll be wearing to run the San Diego marathon.

Sometimes I find it funny that I can be so miserly when it comes to buying new shoes for work or casual wear. $40-50 seems like so much for a pair of heels or loafers but I can shell out close to $100 for a pair of running shoes at the drop of a dime. hehe Priorities!

I may have to return my new shoes and exchange them for a wider size though. Maybe tomorrow.

A Happy Tuesday Morning

Whenever you visit a grocery store or trading post on the Navajo rez, you are bound to see a huge section just dedicated to the meat product, Spam. Navajos love their Spam! It's the best when diced into cubes and cooked with sliced potatoes. It's the ultimate when this perfection of a meal is rolled in a Navajo tortilla to make a "spam and potato burrito". Yum!

I tried to find a picture on the net but no luck. This morning, my friend and co-worker made some of these delightful treats for a group of us here at work. She mixed in a little jalopeno bits to make it even more awesome.

So I didn't do any form of exercise yesterday. I take Mondays seriously as recovery days. I was psyched to find out that I wasn't very sore all day after a 10-miler. Usually, I am wincing as I walk up and down the stairs at work. It must have been the cold shower I took after the run and the stretching I did during the runs and afterwards that really helped.

It's warming up here in Phoenix so I must do away with my sweats. Hopefully after work today I can head to a running store to buy some new running attire. Yay!

Marathon Training Milestone

Today, I officially got to the point in my marathon training where I think, "What the &@$! am I getting myself into?!" To run 26.2 miles in one attempt is completely absurd! I haven’t thought this way since I did a 30k more than a year ago.

This morning I set out to do 10 miles. The first thing I did wrong was starting off later than usual. I forgot to set my alarm for 6am and therefore, slept in until 7am. I checked myspace and did some other time wasting activities before I started to fuel up with cereal and yogurt. I scurried around the house for nearly 20 minutes getting together all of my essentials: Garmin, iShuffle, Fuel Belt w/filled water bottles, sunblock lotion, socks, cap, etc.

By the time I was out the door, it was already nearly 9am. I had to make a quick pit-stop at Safeway to get some Gatorade and a bagel. Got to Tempe Town Lake just after 9am and put on all of my essentials like a Gladiator going to war.

I knew this run was going to be challenging because I could feel the warmth but luckily there was a breeze and it was enough for me not to dart back to my car and go home.

The first 3 miles were easy because I employed the Galloway method. After 4.5 miles, I could start to really feel the sun taunting me. I looked at my arms and they had darkened considerably. I thought about finishing up and then doing the remaining miles that evening but continued because I need to train my body to do all the miles at once. I worried because I didn’t have enough water in my bottles but thought that I could make it to the next water fountain by the time I downed all the water.

The last 4 miles were killers and I had to take longer walking breaks to prevent overheating. I took a long break under the Mill Ave. bridge when I was just shy of 8 miles. I lingered there for about five minutes - stretching, drinking water from the fountain, and filling up my water bottles. Starting back up with a mutha!

Somehow I made it through.

My body seems to hate me right now for it refuses to walk. Little does it know that next Sunday calls for 12. (evil laugh)

Get With It! But so Tired

This was basically how I was feeling this week. I didn't do so hot racking up the miles. I'm even embarrassed to put the numbers up here.

It was a relatively tame week in comparison to the past two weeks I've been out of the office and jet-setting about. On Wednesday and Thursday, I took a short trip to Whiteriver, Arizona - on the White Mountain Apache reservation. It was simply beautiful out there! Great hiking and camping country.

Anyway, I was trying to make myself put in some miles on Thursday and on Friday evening but my body was still tired from all the traveling. It felt like I wasn't fully recovered from ALL of the traveling because my body never really got a rest on the weekends. The weekends were always full of long running. I think I need something like a massage to get the effects of full relaxation or something.

Anyhow, I am about to put in a 4-mile run this morning on the treadmill.

I need to commit.

I will be starting a hard copy of my running journals. I think I feel more rewarded when I right down things on paper with pen. BUT, today - hopefully new shoes!

Hooray for Galloway!

Ok, so I didn't keep good on my word to keep y'all updated on my adventures.

I lived the life of a roaming inspector for 4 days. Lots of driving and bumpy roads. Lots of sun. Lots of eating gas station crap you shouldn't be eating. By the end of the week, you can guess that I was tired!

While I was in Window Rock, I worked out two or three days at the Wellness Center. I applied for membership there last year and never picked up my card so I stopped by on Monday to see if my card was still on file. The guy who helped me took out this huge log of a box stuffed with unclaimed cards. I gave him my last name and he scoured the 'C' section 3 times before declaring there was nothing.

He asked me about four times if I was sure I signed up at that particular branch.

Finally, we went to the computer and he did a query of my full name. Nothing came up. I was pretty sure that I signed up and did remember having issues once with my registered name but couldn't remember what the issue was. So I tell him to do a query of just my first name and voila! my name shows up.

Turns out I forgot that I registered with my husband's last name. haha I'm just so used to my maiden name and even now I consider the thought of never changing my last name since I'm going back to grad school and have dreams of a PhD someday. I've worked too hard to change it now.

Anyway, I kept the mileage low last week since I had a nagging pain on the innerside of my left calf. It's not necessarily a shin splint since it's not near the middle or outside of the calf. I don't know what it is but I think I may have to get some new shoes soon.

Yesterday, I employed the Galloway method when doing my long run because I wanted to make sure I was treating the leg nicely. I even walked a whole mile for my warm-up. I ran about 3:45 - 4:00 minutes and followed with walking for 1:00 min. I was surprised at how energetic I was still feeling after five miles and I was only adding 10-15 seconds to my projected marathon pace of 12:00 minutes. Near the end, I ran a full mile non-stop from the 5 to 6 mile interval at 10:59 pace. Nice! I felt I needed to push my body a bit near the end so it could start adjusting to fatigue.

I ended my loop at Tempe Town Lake with 7.3 miles under my belt.

This run was my relax break according to my marathon training schedule. Next week the long run is slated for 10 miles. Oh boy, it's been awhile since I've covered such a distance.

Hope all is well.

checking in.

hello running friends,

my life has been very busy lately. i was in DC on business all of last week and sadly, did not get any running in. shame, such a wonderful place to run.

i'm leaving in a bit for my old haunt - window rock, arizona. i'll be doing some field inspections with some folks from the pesticide program there at navajo. out again for the whole week but am aiming to get my miles in.

i did the valley of the sun 1/2 marathon relay this morning. i'm still damning this one hill because it jacked my left calf a little but it's fine now. a friend and i split 2 legs between us. I did the 6.9 mile portion and finished out 2.1 miles when i got home on the treadmill for a total of 9 miles.

i'll try to keep in touch.
hope all is well.

have a fantastic week.

Managing to Get Back on Track

I'm up at 2 in the morning. I awoke around 1 am from a bad dream (dreamed that I was stuck with owning a haunted house that was haunted by a 5 year old girl and it was my first night sleeping in the house!).

I decided to log onto the net to kill some time until I felt sleepy again. Checked myspace. Checked email. Caught up with some running blogs. By the way, the theme of the moment for most bloggers is FOOD! Makes it all the difficult to keep my weight in check! haha And finally decided to change up my blog's header.

My husband put all of my old running photos on a different hard drive and I don't know how to access them so I decided to work with a photo of my current running shoes that I took when I was waiting for my hotel shuttle to pull up at Portland International last fall. It adds something "official" to my blog. :)

I also wanted to log that I had run on Sunday evening.

I put in a short 3.1 miles as I knew that if I churned out anymore miles, I'd likely be really sore the next day. This was my first run since the 10k last Sunday. A whole week! Not good. I've been trying to get my garmin to locate satellites but it's not faring successful indoors. I don't want to go outside right now for fear of waking up the hubby. Guess I'll post my exact times later tomorrow. I do remember my mile splits though.

1 mile - 11:08
2 mile - 11:28
3 mile - 11:23

3.1 miles = 35:03

I realized I ran the first mile a little too fast so I tried to slow it down for the following miles. Still got a ways to go to get back to a 30 minute 5k. *sigh* But I know slow and steady wins the race!

I wanted to run last night (Monday) but I fell asleep while reading a book. I've been refreshing on my environmental science knowledge. Over the weekend, I got my butt in gear about the dreaded graduate school application process. I'm applying this coming winter. For most of this coming year, I will be married to my GRE study books. At least I have running to keep my sanity in check!

I'm going to go for a walk in the morning when I get up to warm up my sore muscles and do some stretching. I hope this alleviates some of the soreness. Tonight, I have a tentative dinner date with my two relay runners. We're going to iron out some of the race day details. Should be fun!

Back Into the Swing of Things

Today is the day I pick myself back up from the ditches of non-runnerdom. I can safely say that my cold is partially non-existent but this was not the reason I was held back from running this week. On Wednesday, I was admitted to the ER at St. Joe's Hospital for an acute, intense side abdominal pain. This pain feels like I have bad cramping right beneath my left ribcage and a couple inches further below that point. Doctors think it's some kind of colon problem but of course, they're not entirely sure. I have to start seeing a primary care physician. This pain has attacked me on four other occasions since last October so I know it's not just a fluke.

I feel fine right now though. I was able to catch the encore presentation of "Spirit of the Marathon" with my friend, Redladee. The inspiration was exactly what I needed to fit my head around the thought of me running 26.2 miles. At times, I got a little emotional when a runner would share how much running has impacted a positive change in her life and helped her to get through the bad times. Running is such a powerful catalyst and I'm sure glad that I became more serious about running in 2004. That summer was the first time I had ever had a thought of participating in a 5k. I bought my first RW magazine with Suzy Favor-Hamilton on the cover and after reading the issue, I wondered if it were possible for me to run 26.2. It felt like 100 miles to me at that time.

I thought about the distance on the reservation between my hometown of Kayenta and the nearest community called Dennehotso (where my mom's family is from). It is about 25 miles. As a kid, I thought it took forever to go from Kayenta to Dennehotso just to visit family. I wasn't sure if I could actually run the whole distance! But now here I am. I like how running makes me feel about myself. I may not be the ideal-celebrity-type size 2 body but my body kicks ass at what it can do and in longer distances I can run faster than girls 50 pounds lighter than me. It's so kick ass! haha

This is approximately mile 15 between Kayenta and Dennehotso.

Thanks for all the comments on my 10k. It truly was a beautiful course.

My next race is in two weeks. I'm running two legs of a 1/2 marathon relay (Valley of the Sun). These two legs add up to 6.9 miles. In the process, I was able to get a co-worker who is now a good friend to run a leg of this relay with me. She ran cross country in high school but yesterday she indicated to me that this was her first official race of any kind. I was so excited for her. Now she's thinking of 1/2 marathons we could do next. It's great. If that's the case, I think we'll be putting San Jose on our list this fall.

Pictures from Lost Dutchman 10k

I
I wanted to post a couple of pictures from the Lost Dutchman 10k that I ran in Apache Junction (Arizona) on Sunday. I was nervous to run because I was coming off the tail end of a cold and wasn't sure how I would hold up a mile or two into the run.

I forgot to charge the Garmin the night before so I only had enough juice in it for 1 mile and then it decided to kick the can. It was probably for the best because I was able to run at a very relaxed pace and wasn't worried about time...well, honestly, my goal was just to finish the 10k under 1:20:00 given that I was taking a bunch of walk breaks to cough and spit and blow my nose. I swear, I was probably the only 10ker using the lone bathroom because I had to restock up on my tissue. If you look at my picture crossing the finish line, you'll see that I have a tattered piece of tissue in my hand. haha

I met my time goal and came in at 1:16:05. This race did not use chips so I think I actually came in around 1:15: something because I was fiddling with my Garmin at the start and didn't take off until about a minute after the gun. But who's counting?

All in all, it was a very enjoyable run. I'll blog more later but for now, I have to go to bed.

Nice Finisher Medals! Worth my $30.

Finishing Strong at the End. Doesn't even look like me!

Realizing that my Garmin does not have enough juice as people are running by.

Hubby took this of me looking out at the scenery from the shuttle.

Shuttle Full of Runners and Spectators. Nicely organized operation.

More coughing.

When it comes to this blog, no news is apparently NOT good news.

I'm still nursing my cold. The coughing is a real drag. I hope I at least get a little better by Friday and into the weekend. I did do one good thing today though. I went by Performance Footwear and signed up for the Lost Dutchman 10k this Sunday.

It's official, yo!

At Least My Nose is Running...

No report from me recently. I caught a cold yesterday and since then all in my world has been miserable. I just got up from a 5-hour nap and I have blood shot eyes. My nasal passages are stinging, my nose running, and throat burning.

I have to remind myself to register for the Lost Dutchman 10k tomorrow. Registration can take place at Performance Footwear so this will give me a chance to look at their shoe selection. I'm in the market for new shoes.

tRIP

The best thing about my whole trip to Cali was stopping at the Charles M. Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa, California. I'm a Peanuts nut and I <3 LINUS!!

Week 3: The Long Run

I'm pissed! I just wrote this somewhat lengthy blog entry and it's lost! F*@k&% Blogger!!!

Week 3: The Long Run

Whew, I recovered this! Guess Blogger isn't that bad...

Technically, the title should read Week 4 since it's a Monday but since I wasn't able to get a chance to blog while I was in Cali I had nothing to report. It was mostly rainy and dark while I was there and I was only able to get in one 20-min jog before I was startled by some dogs barking off in the distance. I feel uneasy when I run in new and unfamiliar places so I decided to cut the run short and turn around.

The lodging at Big Valley Rancheria was also a bit disappointing because I couldn't get wireless in my hotel room. However, I can understand that if there is a casino next door, the last thing they want is some potential gambler to hole up in their room and attending to their Myspace page.

The great thing about being up in the Bay Area was being able to visit my 2nd grade teacher who now lives in Tracy. Not only was she instrumental in my desire to work for the environment but she also initiated that spark and wonder of long distance running. I remember a couple of times I rode her bike as she ran 3-4 miles. She is still a runner. All of the finisher medals and racing bibs hanging in her bathroom and closet area were indicative of this.

On Saturday, I put in 3.4 miles on the treadmill at around an 11:40 pace. I don't remember much from this run but I tried to keep it light and easy since I scheduled a long run for Sunday.

Oh yeah! The hubby surprised me with an awesome belated birthday gift upon my return from the airport on Friday. (Sky Harbor was crazy by the way! The hubby waited for me in baggage claim and saw Tom Arnold down there.) He bought me a Garmin 305!!!! I was way stoked!!

I was able to put it to use on my long run yesterday on Super Bowl Sunday. While everyone was on the other side of the valley in Glendale, little ole me was running a 6-mile loop around Tempe Town Lake w/ my shiny new Garmin. I love it! I loved knowing what pace I was running right at that moment. Running easy meant running a 11:30-11:40 pace for me, according to Garmin.

I need to name my new Garmin just like I named my ipod shuffle, whose name is Cornelius by the way.

Yesterday's 6 miles wore me out. I'll put it straight out there.
It scared me to think of the marathon I'll be running in three months.
Good news about that...I just figured out my taxes and I'm getting a chunky return so Eugene is a go in May! Yippeeeee!!!!!

Tonight, I'm going to do some ab and arm work. Some yoga and some elliptical.

BTW....I'm happy for the Giants!!

Week 2: 1/2 of a long run and marathon trip prep

It rained all day long here in Tempe. We are thankful for the moisture even if it did dampen my mood and affected my running for the day. When I was younger, I used to express my displeasure with bad weather frequently but was caught by my mother a couple of times--uttering my frustration. "I hate the wind" or "I hate the rain" was something I wasn't supposed to say. Mom taught me that the elements are to be respected because they are sacred. It took a couple more reminders from mother to not comment on bad weather anymore. I keep these things in mind and relent to the fact that I just gotta roll with the punches when unfavorable weather is present.

Rolling with the punches meant running on the treadmill today. I feel like a chump because I didn't do my 6 miles. I was only able to push out 3.25 miles before the portly security guy came in and rained on our parade. Neither my husband or I had a watch on us and the gym doesn't have a clock so I couldn't tell if he had arrived early or not. We found that the a-hole stormed in about 4-5 minutes early and started shutting down. I was peeved and now I have to go complain to the management about it. Usually, the gyms I used to go to gave me a couple minutes after closing time to get in my last couple of minutes to run and then take off.

I'm doing my packing for my trip right now. I was doing some searching online about the city of Lakeport. It seems runner-friendly and the scenery is spectacular. If I get in any runs, it will be early in the morning so my friend and I can do some tourist-y activities in the evening after the meetings.

Some things I did today:

• searched around the Eugene Marathon site for hotel discounts. Only discount was for the Hilton and that was fully booked.
• sought an awesome deal for 2 flight tickets and a rental car from Portland on Priceline.com. Hubby and I are going to buy the goods on Thursday when I get paid.
  
• finally cashed in the birthday gift card from Target and scored a beginner's yoga kit. Will take it on the trip with me.
• got really excited about getting close to making the Eugene trip a reality!!!

...now I'm thinking about whether I'll wake up early enough to get the rest of my long run mileage in at the gym before taking off for San Fran. We'll see.

Holy cow...I'm beginning Week 3 of training! I've definitely noticed that my legs have gotten stronger. I don't see any movement on the scale yet. I'm just happy I can hold out on the treadmill running 3+ miles non-stop. Yay Me!

Tonight's Numbers:
Running - 3.25 miles @ 11:50 pace (incline 0.5 - 1.0%)

Week 2: Coasting and Picking Up Speed

FAIL!

So maybe I didn't exactly wake up early this morning to do my run at the lake. Dammit. I ended up staying up until 1:30 am the night before and already knew that I was kidding myself when I set my alarm for 6:30 am. My cats kept me up right before dozing off. I swear, the choose the wrong times to be active.

I spent most of my morning watching a little TV, cleaning up, doing some laundry, and then went out to eat with the hubby for lunch. Then I drove out to Anthem just to get some clothes from the GAP outlet. Yes, I could have driven 10 minutes to the nearest mall but I always score bargains at this particular outlet store and I love GAP clothing for work. I've been meaning to get a new work wardrobe forever but finally had to get them this weekend because I'm traveling to a tribal EPA meeting this week in California.

A colleague (who happens to be my best friend) and I are flying out to San Francisco on Monday afternoon and then driving up to the Big Valley Rancheria near a town called Lakeport. We'll be there the whole week and flying back into Phoenix on Friday. It'll be my first time actually visiting SF other than just touching down between flights. My friend is a hardcore Metallica fan and wants to visit the Metallica Headquarters before we leave. I just want to see the Golden Gate Bridge.

Anyway, that's the big reason why I had to shop around for some new threads. To a lot of the older folks I think we're just a couple of punk kids. haha

I'm hoping that I will be successful at keeping up with my running schedule while I'm there. I'm usually horrible about this when I'm on travel. At the very least, I am crossing my fingers that the hotel we're staying at has a decent treadmill.

Back to running...I ran on the treadmill tonight and was glad that the asshole-y security dude who shuts down the gym early wasn't on duty tonight. We had a lax guy who let us have until 11 pm to do our thang. I picked up the pace tonight but had to remind myself several times that this was not intended to be a tempo run. I ranged between speeds of 5.0 - 5.4.

Tomorrow, I will have my long run scheduled. I'm pushing for 6.5 miles at the lake. I think it will have to be an evening run because some of the hubby's relatives are in town for a wedding and we said we'd have breakfast with them. I'm already looking forward to eating a boiled egg. Yummy.

Tonight's numbers:
Running - 3.65 miles @ 11:45 pace

Rest Day: Whew!

It's a Friday night and a relaxing night in for me and the hubby. We ate pizza at the local Nello's in Tempe and now we're spending the rest of the night playing Guitar Hero III on the PC. That game is so addicting!

I have to wake up early tomorrow. Well, 7 AM, on a Saturday morning is relatively early for me. I'm going to attempt a 5-mi jaunt around Tempe Town Lake. If I can muster, I'll push it to 6 miles.

I assembled a group of friends to run the Valley of the Sun 1/2 Marathon Relay with me on March 9th here in the valley. I just registered the team on the website and sent the gals the login info so they can register. It's my first time doing a relay and I'm glad that some friends were willing to step up to the challenge of running. One girl isn't so fond of running but thought she needed a kick in the butt to start working out so she joined on.

Our team name is "Running Off the Frybread." haha
Read here if you aren't familiar with Frybread.

Week 2: Born for Endurance

I read a while back about the study of the correlation between ring finger to index finger length ratio and exposure to prenatal testosterone. As I was logging into my email today, this story caught my eye and I just had to read it. The part I found most interesting is near the end of the article where it states,

But "the links with sports are the strongest I've found," Manning says. "They're particularly strong with endurance running." He theorizes that prenatal testosterone benefits the cardiovascular system.

I immediately examined my hands and found that my ring finger is longer than my index finger. The difference is more noticeable on my right hand. (Yeah, I have Pillsbury Doughboy hands. haha) I would say that endurance running is somewhat of a forte for me in terms of athletic ability. For someone my size and weight, I can hold out at a regular pace for a number of miles. Most of my slender counter parts find this a bit difficult even if they identify themselves as athletic or have an affinity for running. This is only what I've encountered with my friends though.

Interesting study, nonetheless.

In the past couple of days, I've switched from the Runner's World Ultimate Marathon Training Plan to one that I found in a more recent issue of RW. I don't have the issue on hand so I can't say what month it's from. It may be December or January. In it, there is a Rookie Plan and I find it easier to commit to especially since I haven't been running consistantly lately. My training plan is part Galloway---meaning, I'll use the walking break method if needed.

Tonight, I was supposed to do 3-4 miles but I got a late start at the gym which closes at 11 pm. This certain anal security dude likes to intrude about 5 minutes early and start shutting stuff down and turning off the lights. He pissed me off when I had about 2 minutes left and a quarter mile to go because he told me the gym was closed. I thought I'd bite my tongue this time but if he pulls me off the treadmill early again before closing time I'm going to tell him to back off and give me my extra minutes.

I ran at a faster pace tonight just because of the time constraint and I felt absolutely spectacular after finishing. I felt like I could go for another mile. I was ranging between a 5.1 - 5.5 pace although the last 15 minutes I kept at 5.4. It was about an 11:20 average pace.

Last night I ran 2 miles but forgot to document this.

Tonight's Numbers:
Running - 2.73 miles @ 11:40 pace

Choke Hold

Anxiety is a mutha******!!

I'm hella anxious about a number of things and they all ganged up on me this weekend but I felt it the most today. My throat tightened up really bad. I feel like I have a bad sore throat that has been scraped with an ice pick or something. Swallowing is difficult. I'm so miserable!

Before you say, "Go run!" Save your breath, doesn't work for me. I find that running compounds my anxiety so I'm better of trying to meditate although it hasn't been working today.

No running today because it's rest day but even if there was a run scheduled I wouldn't have put one in. Feel too much like crap. I think I'll just go to bed now.

Hope I feel better in the morning.

Hubby and I talked about me finding a licensed counselor to go to through my PPO. I thought seriously about it but never really made any calls. I think I'll start my search for a good therapist soon. Better safe than sorry and before I end up in a nut house!

P.S. I didn't do my 3.75 run yesterday evening. I did a 2 mile run but the left arch started stinging really bad and I had to force myself to cut it short and go to the gym. I finished 10 min on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the bike. Still adds up to something right?

Week 2: Every Cell Feels Good

Yesterday (Sunday) was my scheduled long run day. As soon as I woke up from sleep that morning, my lower back and my hammies were a little achy. The night before (Sat), after my 4-mile run I was already feeling that achy, tired feeling coming on and I knew I was going to be in for it the next day. I felt a little uneasy about pushing out another 6 miles, as scheduled.

The thing about me is that I'm pretty adaptable to most things. I like to adapt things so that they work for me. I'm not very structured and when someone gives me a plan to follow, I'll give and take here and there but not by very much. It's kind of like baking. When I was younger, I used to put painstaking effort into measuring perfect cups of flour and teaspoons of salt and vanilla extract when I was baking cookies. I thought every measurement had to be followed to a T or else the whole batch would flop. Now I know better and I usually guesstimate on how much of what ingredient to throw in. If I go a little over or under, oh well. All hope is not lost.

And that's how I feel with my training plans now. I don't follow 'em to a T but just enough so that I can feel the benefits of it. I've learned to listen to what my body is telling me.

Little Girl Carmen would have read the scheduled 6-mile run on my plan as running 6 miles straight, no break, and all at regular pace (5-10k pace). Thank goodness for all the Runners World magazines I've read over the years because now I know that it's okay to break your long runs in half. When I first learned about this, I thought it was a cop-out. Grown up Carmen likes adapting, as I said before. So my 6 miles waited until today. And I'm breaking it into 2 runs right now.

I just ran 2.25 on the treadmill @ 12:15 pace and 1.0 incline. This evening, I will be taking it outdoors, finally! My shoes haven't kissed asphalt in about two or three weeks so it's time to get them acclimated.

Best of all, I feel good. I've noticed improvement in how long I can run non-stop and not feeling like I'm breathing like some 300-lb monster. The aches are not intense nor are they bad type of aches. It's more like the feel good, barely there but noticeable aches.

So today is MLK day. I got the day off from work. The hubby and I did tons of rearranging inside our little apartment. We've lived like 3 years without a kitchen table and chairs. Yesterday, we finally bought a little set from Ikea. Hubby is assembling the last of the 2 chairs. It was funny when he set up the table and 2 chairs because he remarked, "Now we can actually eat in the dining room like normal human beings." haha I'll have to post a picture of my little decorating job this evening.

Today, I'm probably headed over to Target to cash in a gift card I got for my birthday a week ago. I've been thinking about buying a Yoga kit. I'm going to start doing yoga on my off-running days. It's going to be interesting to see how this helps my running.

Week 1: Deciding to be smart about it

Two nights ago when I was running my 3 miles, I came to the realization that I'm not running to break any world records, let alone a PR. I'm running because I want to. I'm running because nothing makes me feel better about myself than just getting out there and sweating the minutes away. Every single time I run, I feel like I accomplished something big for the day.

When I thought about the main reason why I wanted to run my marathon, the main thought that came to mind was that I just wanted to accomplish something even bigger. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do what I thought was unthinkable back in 2005. I think running 26.2 is a huge ass deal and completing such a distance would make me feel even more like a fabulous superwoman. I'm running, simply because I want to see how far I can push myself and how well I can do it. I love personal challenges.

I just want to run to finish. This is my first marathon and it's not going to be in my back yard. I actually have to save up some money to buy plane tickets, a car rental, a hotel, food, souvenirs...let alone my race ticket. Eugene is going to take tons of commitment and dedication. I'm going to ensure at all costs that I train smart and avoid injury.

Therefore, I'm doing my training runs as I should be doing them...at marathon-pace. Although, it feels super slow to me I know it's going to pay off in the end. I don't want what happened to me after the ARR 30k back in 2006 to happen to me again. I'll be damned if I get injured. It was the suckiest feeling in the world and even worse-- it could have been avoided if I were smart about my running.

It was a little different running tonight without the added self imposed pressure on myself. I ran at a 12:15-ish pace and thoroughly watched my running form in the mirror. I paid attention to my breathing. I straightened myself up when I noticed I was begin to slouch. I practiced running efficiently without an exaggerating movements. It was a good run.

My plan had me running 4 miles. I did it all on the treadmill at a 1.0 incline. My speed ranged from 4.9 - 5.1 mph. I ran non-stop for about 2.85 miles and then stopped to stretch out a bit and drink some water. I took some deep breaths to shake out some anxiety and then hopped back on the treaddie. Finished out my 1.2 miles at 4.9mph.

I stretched as well as I could and exited from the gym smiling. My body felt good and it was certainly a different feeling from last week when I felt tired. I am noticing improvement and it's downright sweet!

Tonight's Numbers:
Running - 4.1 miles @ 12:00 pace

Week 1: Advil Moments

My whole body feels like its mildly aching right now. I think my stupid mattress is partly to blame. In fact, I ended up sleeping on the bedroom floor just to feel comfortable last night! My back feels like it needs to be cracked back into shape by a chiropractor. My stupid office chair at work doesn't make matters any better as I have to sit awkwardly just to alleviate pressure from my lower back.

My best friend and I have this running joke that when one wants to come up with a lame excuse to excuse themselves from a situation or an obligation, one feigns having a really bad headache. So bad of a headache that one needs help from Advil to alleviate the pain. Let's say for example that I visited my friend at his work desk to chit chat but he really doesn't want me to be there at the moment, he'll pretend he has a really bad headache and then emphasis how bad it is by asking me if I have 2 Advils just so I'll go away and leave him in peace. haha So now we joke around with each other about having Advil moments.

My friend was just down here at my cubicle talking to me about the weekend and I kept squirming around in my chair to stretch out my muscles and allevite some body ache. I told him that I really needed to go to a chiropractor or at least some Advil. He just laughed and said something like, "An Advil moment, huh?" while making the quotations motion with his hands. haha

Seriously though, I need some Advil.

I don't think I'll do any exercise tonight. Besides, I'm following the Runner's World Ultimate Marathon Beginner's Plan and today I have a rest day anyway. Yesterday evening, I dragged myself to the gym. My numbers are as follows...

Thursday, Jan 17 Numbers:
Running - 2.25 miles @ 12:00 pace (treadmill range: 4.9-5.1, 28 minutes)
Stationary Bike - 10 minutes
Elliptical Trainer - 8 minutes

I just need to rest tonight. I am freakin' beat!

P.S. I spent some time today working on my racing calendar for the year. Check it out! Maybe we'll meet up some day at one of these races!

Week 1: Need to get an Early Start

I'm a slight zombie again at work. I'm thinking that I need to go back to doing my workouts in the early morning instead of the late evening jaunts I've been doing. I don't think it helped either that I drank a mug of green tea before bed. I knew it wasn't a good idea but down the chute it went anyway! I'll have to buy some chamomile tea this evening.

I've never been much of a morning person. My idea of a morning person is someone who can internally hear the Beatles as they rise ever so gracefully out of bed and everything living thing greats them with a smile and a "how do you do?". Kind of cartoon-ish like, huh? I'm thinking of the Bambi (Disney) atmosphere. haha

I read this article this morning about how to get a better night's sleep and how to feel more awake in the morning. Some of the things they mention is drinking chamomile before going to bed, putting dim lighting in your bedroom to create a calming atmosphere, and playing soft music to set the mood as you slide into slumber. Of course, it helps to go to bed early. They also said it was best to wake up to music instead of a fiesty, loud buzzing alarm clock because it's jostles the nerves and makes one anxious. You want to spend a couple minutes in bed just stretching your legs and your arms, your toes and hands...just like a cat does when it wakes up. Then slowly rise out of bed.

I think I'm going to employ the methods to see if they work for me. I'm determined to become an early riser so I won't be so grumpy as I'm fighting traffic to work and getting early morning tasks out of the way at my desk. Tonight, I'm going to go to bed early. Early for me is about 9:30 pm.

Since I ran 3 miles last night, this evening I get to do an easy workout on the elliptical and the bike. I'll probably throw in some leg strengthening exercises.

Today at lunch, the co-workers and I walked around the block for 30 min. The conversation was not as colorful as it usually is. I think we're all just either tired or feeling some kind of stress.

Week 1: Slowly but Surely Breaking 3 Miles

I'm slowly but surely making my way up to the 3 mile mark. It's been a while since I've run this distance non-stop so of course, I'm very proud of myself! I wanted to run outside on the road but it was getting late and since the hubby is always concerned for my safety, I decided to run on the treadmill again. I will run outside on Thursday evening. Until then, I'll be looking forward to it. :)

I've been running between the ranges of 4.9 - 5.3. It's a far cry from the 6.0 range I'm used to and the low numbers have taken some getting used to.

Before setting out this evening, I had a dinner of edamame and a Simply Asia Sesame Noodle Microwaveable Bowl. I didn't feel like cooking nor dining out so I dug around my pantry until I found something suitable to eat. I've been eating a lot of soy beans lately. I've always liked them but three weeks ago I had them again at Pei Wei and since then it's all that's on my stomach's wishlist. I buy these frozen bags from Target every chance I get. I find they help quell my hunger during the time period of getting off work and actually having dinner.

During the day, I've been trying to lay off the caffeine from coffee. A co-worker told me to drink more tea to get my little doses of caffeine and started me off with this delicious Yogi tea, Chai Green Tea. It totally revitalized my love for tea. In the morning I'll drink about 2 cups of green tea and 1-2 cups again in the afternoon. It sure beats getting coffee breath!

I think I'll go buy some tomorrow. :)

Today's Numbers:
Running - 3.0 miles @ 12:00 pace (didn't record the duration)
Walking - 1.6 miles @ 17:00 pace (30 min)

Week 1: Lunchtime Walks

I had a scheduled conference call with EPA and a tribal inspector today during my usual lunch time so I had to take lunch early with my co-worker. A group of us at work have been walking for half an hour during our lunch breaks. We work right next to this historic residential area in downtown Phoenix so the stroll is actually quite nice. I thought we wouldn't have time to do our walking break today until JC suggested we go to this healthy eatery nearby called 'Zoe's Kitchen'.

I looked at how far the distance was from our building and saw that it wasn't as far as I thought it was. We both concluded that we'd walk to Zoe's, eat lunch, and walk back. It was a nice "kill 2 birds with one stone" moment. I felt good that we were able to get some walking in. I also had the best greek chicken pita too!

The walk one-way was only 15 minutes so we were able to get our entire 30 minutes in. Sweet!

Tonight, I'm hoping to run a slow 3 miles. In the mean time, I've been spending time here and there looking for travel package deals for the trip to Eugene. If anyone has any suggestions on where to look or what to do, I'm all ears!

Week 1: Running Off the Mutton

I was proud of myself today because I was right on target with my intake of calories according to my SparkPeople Nutrition Tracker. That is, until we were invited to have dinner at my husband's uncle's house. The dinner had been scheduled during the weekend but it was not until this evening when I picked up the hubby from work that he told me we were going to have mutton for dinner.

Mutton(!high pitch girl scream here)!!

This is practically a holy word amongst Navajos. The feasting of mutton is a sacred rite itself for a city Indian. Boy, oh, boy were we stoked! I knew right then and there that my diet for the day was over. I couldn't say no to "more mutton, please!" I out ate my husband this morning with my share of juicy mutton ribs and meat. To top it off, the mutton was nestled inside warm frybread and grilled green chili peppers. Rez delicacy. Yum.

After I gobbled up my share, I knew immediately that I'd have to do some cardio to undo some of the damage. Earlier today at work, I briskly walked for about 26 minutes with my co-workers so at least part of my exercise quota was fulfilled.

An hour after I let my dinner settle, I went to the gym at our complex. I was only able to get in a good twenty minutes because the darn thing closes at 11pm. I've been doing great with my nutrition tracker and exercise since joining SparkPeople last week. Week one of marathon training is going smoothly. I'm taking this nice and slow.

Today's Numbers:
10 min - Recumbent bike
8 min - Running @ 12:45 pace
2 min - Elliptical Trainer

26 min - Walking @ 17:00 pace
______________________
Total = 46 min cardio

Rebirth

I declared in my old running blog, "This is the end."

It sounded like the end of my running as I know it. However, what I really meant what that it was the end of that era and whatever it was that constituted that era. Lackadaisical running, if you will.

I kept getting caught up in my own web and getting tangled over the fact that my last marathon effort failed and I agonized over how difficult it seemed to get myself back up and running. I tried...many times to start over but nothing ever manifested. I grew tired of my sporadic blogging, my blog template, etc. I wanted a new start.

So this is it.
My new start.

I began week one of marathon training.
I have my sights set on running my first at the Eugene Marathon in May.


This time I'm going to do it.
Come along with me on the journey.

I chose the address name after much deliberation. When I first discovered running in high school, I averaged nine-minute miles. I still remember how fab I felt racing through the Colorado Plateau scrubland at this pace. It was fantastic. I swore I could race jackrabbits! At some point over the course of the next couple of years, I'd like to be able to race at 9s again.

Thus the name of this blog -- gotta push for 9s.