2009 Running

I'm posting this so that you can all hold me accountable!  I did it....I registered for my first 26.2 mile marathon!  I hope you will all keep me in your prayers.  I registered once before in 2007 - then suffered from 2 injuries during my training (pulled my hamstring and then had IT Band issues).  I spent a lot of time in prayer last night after booking my travel - praying for God's hand upon me as I venture out on the road this year!  And, a year of running it will be!  I am scheduled to run 13.1 in March in my hometown of Agoura.  Then I am scheduled to run the 10k Mud Run at Camp Pendelton in June and then the training begins and I will spend the summer training for my marathon in September!  I've chosen a trail run that has a net elevation loss of 3000 feet (basically I'm running downhill for 26.2 miles).  It's a beautiful run and I'm hoping the soft earth trail will keep me from having any running issues and act as cushion for my body! I am super excited and a little nervous!  I can't wait to run this race and see God's wonder all around me!

So, there you have it!  I've committed myself and I am going to do it!  I've got my husbands blessing and support!  Please keep me accountable and check on me every so often!

Here's to a great year of running!!!!!

Weekend in Boston

Last Friday J and I headed to Boston to cheer on one of my best friends (see earlier post) in her debut run in the Boston Marathon.  We had a fabulous weekend alone but with our good friends.  We did a lot of walking and a lot eating!  It was a blast.  The highlight of my trip...running 5 miles on the marathon route with Alison. 



We arrived Friday and had a seafood dinner at Legals Seafood.  We enjoyed catching up and planning our weekend in Boston.



Saturday morning we went with Alison to the Expo to pick up her race packet and had fun checking out all the vendors and then we headed to Harvard for the afternoon.



On the Harvard Campus



Beautiful trees in bloom all over the campus



The Steeple to the chapel



Across the street at the Bookstore and Bakery



Harvard's Library



Down the Charles River



I was on a mission to find a cupcake....found this one at Finale Bakery near Harvard..it was okay, not the best I've had!

Saturday Night after we rushed back to the Hotel and changed, we went out to eat some Italian, so that Alison (and let's not kid ourselves, the rest of us too) could do some carb loading.  We ate at Monica's in Little Italy and it was Fantastic.



We rushed from Dinner over to Fenway Park to watch the Boston Red Sox defeat the Texas Rangers in a great game at a really cool ballfield (I haven't had enough baseball at home with two boys playing ball this Spring, I had to get some baseball in on vacation.  Boy, was it worth it).  Fenway Park is amazing and the history you can clearly see in the park is so cool.





 

Sunday Morning we decided to do the Freedom Walk - follow the red trail all through out the city...it's pretty cool.  We saw lots of historic sights (the old State Building where the Boston Massacre occured, Kings Chapel, The home of Paul Revere, you get the idea).



At the End of our walk, we decided that we wanted to try Mike's World Famous Pastry shop and have a cappucino in Little Italy - both were great and tasty..check it out:





Check out the old espresso machine behind me....so cool how much heritage there is in the city.

After our afternoon cappucino, we headed to the 112th Boston Marathon Finish Line to get some pictures in front of the official finish since we wouldn't be able to do this on Monday. (This was taken by a kind person who didn't know how to use my SLR so it is a bit blurry)



Then we headed to Pizzaria Regina for dinner and boy was that a blast!  It has been in Boston's Little Italy for 4 generations and the pizza was amazing.  Here we are with our waitress/hostess/family owner. She was a hoot and we had a blast.



Monday morning was race day for Alison and it was amazing for me to see my friend run such an amazing race. I was so proud of her accomplishment!  She did amazing and it was a blast running with her! She qualified herself to run again next year if she wishes to.  It was so amazing and I would love to qualify for this race someday...maybe when I'm 35-40 and if I can run a 3:45 marathon....



Hey, who says I can't set a goal for myself!!!! All in all, J and I had a FANTASTIC weekend, we really enjoyed our time alone with out the kids and enjoyed hanging out with Bryan and Alison who we have known for 10 years this September.  It was a weekend I will always remember and treasure!

What a Saturday.....

This weekend I headed home to my Alma Mater to run my 5th Half Marathon.  I woke up Saturday morning and ran The Great Race of Agoura's Chesebro Half Marathon.  It was the most amazing race I have run thus far!  13.1 miles of absolute beauty.  Basically the first 8 1/2 miles were climbing approx. 800 feet in elevation....so, you can imagine this wasn't my best time, but by far one of the most beautiful courses I have ever run.  I felt great too....I came out of the canyon at approx. 10 1/4 miles and I didn't feel the least bit beat up!  I think the soft dirt made it a lot less painful on the body!  The hills were crazy, but I loved the challenge, it pushed me to do things that I don't usually do!  And, the beauty of it all was amazing!

    

Here are my times:

Chip time:  2:14:47 (rank:  675/1264 total racers and age group 30-34: 46/105 women).  I am really proud of myself for running this race alone - it can get lonely on a half marathon course, but it was so worth it and I would definitely run this again!

I got home saturday and took a nap before J and I headed to see Bon Jovi at the Honda Center!  Wow, was it awesome as usual.



It was so fun to hear music that has spanned the 15 or so years we have been together.  Yes, we are fan club members, so we were in the 18th row, center and it was amazing! They played all their new hits and all the old ones you know you love!  It was awesome!

Here is a photo we took from the concert....click on the link to see the entire slideshow of our photos:



Click here to view the slideshow. 

What an Amazing Saturday I had.....

Surf City Half Marathon

I should've known it was doomed on Thursday!  I woke up Thurs. morning feeling like garbage!  I had a really bad headach and felt super dizzy.  I went to see Dr. Sharma and he gave me some strong antibiotics and told me lots of rest before Sunday, since I was registered to run the HB Half Marathon.  I followed the doc's orders and rested.  I woke up at 5 am today and got ready for my race, peeked out the window to see the rain coming down.  I forgot my bar (which is the only thing I can eat on race day) and ran on an empty stomach!  As the gun went off, I noticed that my chest was feeling a little tight, I think my body is still fighting this cold!  The rain never let up and I felt queasy at mile 9 (thanks to the race coordinators - there was no food on the course - usually there is an orange or a banana - nothing!).  I had to slow down my pace and drink lots of water.  I finally came to the 12 1/2 mile and Alison met me and we sprinted to the finish line!  My time is nothing to really brag about except that I did it!  I did it with the rain and wind!  I did it on an empty stomach (which I never reccomend doing)!  I did it with a cold!  I did it!  Here are my splits:

 3 mile:  26:34 (8:52 pace), 7 mile 1:13:06 (9:26 pace) and drumroll please- FINISH TIME: 2:09:07 (9:51 pace)

What was the best part of my race today.....Coming home and having my boys welcome me with their metals - they ran the kids race and got a mini-size of my metal!  They did great...they each ran 1 mile in the rain and said they had fun!  I am so proud of my boys!

 



 Okay, so I'm editing this because as the day has gone on...I have felt like any of you reading might think this was a horrible race!  It wasn't as bad as it sounds!  I ran with Jenni for the first 9 miles - Thanks, Jenni - I loved hearing Jenni laugh everytime a new song came on her mp3 player (her hubby made her a surprise mix and it kept me smiling hearing what was next).  The smell of the ocean was amazing as I ran up PCH!  It was nice to be out on the road pushing myself beyond my limits- it wasn't easy running on sponges (that's what my shoes felt like).  I love that I don't have 1 blister on my feet - thanks to Jodi who warned me to put glide all over my heels and toes to keep this from happening!  I love that Alison met me at the end and pushed me through the pain in my hips and knees to sprint across the finishline - Thanks, Alison for the great adventure!

 I love running so much and this was a great race - I think the whole food issue kind of spoiled it for me (along with the cold - as in sinus and ear infections, leading to lungs feeling like a smoker)!  But, I am looking forward to doing it again - pushing myself and trying my best to attain my goal of 13.1 in under 2 hours (I've done it once, I know I can do it again).  Thanks, Jenni - your blog post made me realize how much fun yesterday was and although it was pouring rain and windy...it was an adventure I am proud of!  You were a great running partner and I hope we can do it again!

P.S.  I missed my running partner, E, so much!  I can't wait to run Agoura's Great Race 13.1 with her in April!

Weekend in San Francisco

This past weekend, J and I went to San Francisco for a race weekend! The weather was beautiful, crisp and cool. We arrived on Friday afternoon. We ate lots of carbs to get me ready for my race, we walked around a lot and rested quite a bit. Sunday morning rolled around and I was up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready to run my Half Marathon to benefit The Yolie Snyder Memorial Fund. Despite a few physical issues, I had a great race (you can read more details on my race blog http:\\runningforyolie.blogspot.com). We came home Sunday evening to chaotic weather and fires everwhere! The kids stayed with friends - The Beasley's, The Lidd's & The Stice's - they were awesome to take our kids for the entire weekend for us!

Orange County 1/2 Marathon 1/07/07

I completed the Orange County Half Marathon on Sunday January 7, 2007. I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 6 minutes. Then I met up with my girlfriend who was running the full marathon and ran with her from mile 23 to 25. I have never run 15 miles in one day before, but it felt great! I was really happy to be able to at least run theHalf Marathon since I wasn't able to train and complete the full marathon. I enjoyed the run and I am looking forward to completing a full marathon someday!