Lake Chabot's Bad (B)Ass Trails

Yesterday's long run was done on the trails of Lake Chabot. We ran the course of the Bad Bass Half-Marathon that is run there on New Year's...there is race on the Eve and another on the Day. The scary-looking red line is what we did.

I ran with Aron who writes Runners Rambles and Tricia of Running, Life, Etc.

Sorry, ladies. We look pretty dorky, 

but the one-take wonder is more time-efficient and probably more honest ;-)

Tricia and I are training for the Eugene Marathon together, and Aron just entered an insane 50-miler that will take place April 7, 2012. Two things I must admit to: 1) we only ran 12...somewhere, my awesome map-reading skills combined with our shaking quads to leave out a side loop that was part of the official course and 2) we did walk parts of this trail that was more than a "beast"... we'll call this Grendel. (If you don't know who/what Grendel is, you'd better click that link).

Are you checking out Mile 3? Are you?

Here is what we saw as we made our way up...

It is always so disappointing to see pictures super hard hills...

they never look at all bad.

The reward when we got to the top was pretty amazing!

I LOVE this view... LOVE!

Such a gorgeous place to run... and none of us had ever been there before.

Here's Tricia running across a very cool bridge in the early going.

This would be a random part of the lovely trail...uphill, of course.

We had a great time tackling this trail. Lots of great conversation (which I probably monopolized :( sorry, ladies...I promise to let y'all get a word in edgewise next time...I'm just so thrilled when I have grown-ups to talk to that sometimes I can't shut my mouth off). The pace was as comfortable as it could be given the hills and the super slippy mud! I know I can't wait to do this crazy loop again :)

Maybe next time we'll do some fishing, too.

source

...not a bass...but those are there, too :)

**Many thanks to Aron for being our team photographer! **

Sick. Physical. Effort.

I have always been really good at math. In eighth grade, the teacher would correct everyone's tests off of my paper. I got in the 700's on my math SAT. I can add my groceries up as I shop and always come out within $5 on 6 to 8 bags of groceries. I'm not bragging. I'm just trying to show that math is one of my strong suits. 

So what happened?

Sunday's run... 12 miles. I picked an X-treeeeemely hilly run because ... because I like extremes.

I've done this run before... a million years ago. It's pieced together off of regional park trail maps. I added up all the parts once and came up with a tiny bit over 12 miles. Perfect. Or so I thought. I should've checked my math.

Here's the map of The Beast....

you can move the map around and zoom in and out to see the whole thing

View Larger Map

It looks so far when I see it on a map. It's an out-and-back with a loop on the end (point B). And 12 miles is far.


But 13.1 is farther.

One point one miles is not a huge difference. Except mentally. I realized when my Garmin beeped at 6 miles, and I had not arrived at the farthest point from the start, that I was in for more than I had planned. Throw in the fact that I was in the middle of The Widowmaker (aka Hill from Hell) and I can tell you I was a woman on the verge of something... and it wasn't pretty. (refer back to my f-bomb post...which was inspired partly by this run).

Elevation Profile of The Beast

This is a bonafide example of

sick.
physical.
effort.

I only wish the downhill had felt as noticeable as the uphill.

It was a gorgeous day and a gorgeous place... just hard to appreciate all that gorgeousness when in the middle of climbing hill after never-ending hill...

Here's the scene at 2.5 miles...beautiful rolling hills.

Naked trees at 3.5 miles.

Interestingly, when the going felt nearly insurmountably impossible, it was not the f-word that sprung to mind. My mind kept going to this amazing woman and her phrase... dream big. Thank you for that, Dorothy. 

8.7 miles in, I saw the funniest name for a bathroom door lock EVER.

And was so grateful for clean bathrooms and flushing toilets :)

My husband and I had set up for the family to meet me here, at what I thought would be the 8-mile mark. My math was off. And we had estimated my pace at 10-min miles. Ummm... a bit overly-optimistic. Even without the math screw-up, I knew after the first sllloooowwwww mile that they would be waiting.

I got to the meeting place later than we had planned. They went the flattering route and guessed that I had been running so fast that they had missed me... and they left. We missed each other by moments.

But....

Look what was waiting for me at the end!

Awesome kids greeting me at the finish!

and 

my super husband who let my sweaty self hug him :)

Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 2:22:18
Avg. Pace: 10:52

And for those of you who enjoy hearing my charming voice, I have prepared a video. My plan was to reward myself at each mile completed by shooting a tiny snippet of video so you could see my surroundings and hear me gasping for air. That lasted for the first 6 miles. It is boring, and it required more effort to stop and start than seemed rewarding, so I scrapped that plan... and just uttered the f-word a few times. Not on camera.

I will continue to dream big.

But I might also sometimes use the f-word.

Can I call this Manic Monday?

I have nothing planned all day. Knowing this, I rolled out of bed a little before 9 o'clock.

What?

What's that you say?

I have four kids?

Right you are. And they have no school this week. In fact, they are off until November 2nd. Insane, I know. Just thinking about it is making me twitchy. And that's why I want to call this Manic Monday.

My kids seem to have less school than any other kids I know. I wrote about it last fall, and you can read it here.

So back to Manic Monday...

I did wake up early... remember, you reminded me already of the fact that I have four kids... and they are loud. But after the initial cacophony of morningness with four young kids, they simmered down, and I crawled back into bed. I am tired. I ran 11+ miles of hills and trails with my friend Sarah yesterday... and I'm milking that effort for all I can :P

The kids were quietly busy little construction workers... they made a house...

So glad I slip-covered these chairs.

The house under the dining table...

they will be safe if we have another series of earthquakes today.

The only problem... once the house was completed (a little before 9 o'clock), the fighting and screaming commenced. Of course. That's why I finally rolled out of bed. Peace was temporarily restored (because nothing is forever), and my husband, who was working from home this morning, suggested that perhaps I might want to feed them.

So I did.

Lest you think I am a complete and utter slacker mom, I will have you know I made banana pancakes...

And because I'm hip and trendy, they are gluten-free ;-)

What will we do this week to amuse ourselves and hopefully not go completely nuts? I have no idea. We don't need to go Halloween costume shopping...we're covered, thanks to another of their school's quirks. The Halloween Parade was this past Friday. We are set...

Jango Fett

The Invisible Man

A glorious peacock

The peacock is a repeat from last year. I made it then (click the link to see how), but she didn't get to wear it because it was raining. Miss C is still not so into doing what everyone else is doing. She screams at us when we suggest she wear a costume.

I think we will decorate the house. We have 3 tombstones, 2 dozen rubber rats, and some random rubber body parts with bloody stumps. The kids like to make it look like the rats are gnawing on the body parts that are rising from the dead. Yuck.

Perhaps we will carve pumpkins, though the knives factor with my unruly children scares the crap outta me.

Right now, the boys are 'play-boxing' and have an 'understanding' that hurting might happen and is okay. I wonder how long that will last?

We might go to the zoo.

Or maybe I'll make them run with me. I wonder who would hate that more... them or me?

Water + Ice + Naked = AWESOME!

Well, not entirely naked...

Long-sleeved t-shirt rolled up and tucked in... kept me just warm enough to sit up to my waist in a cold-water-and-ice-cube-filled bathtub for 20 minutes. When was this a style? Wasn't it eight grade?

On my long run two weeks ago, SarahLouWou and ReneighRuns and I were discussing ice baths. One of them had engaged in a 'conversation' with someone who said that ice baths were inconsequential and a waste... having no benefit to the ice bather. All three of us vehemently disagreed with this point of view. I checked and there are just too many results in an "ice reducing inflammation" google search for me to pick one, but most indicate that ice will help. And our personal experiences support that claim. I'm thinking that guy just wanted to stir the pot.

My ice bath today came after my 11.1-mile run. It was rainy. It was hilly. It got muddy. But...

I did it :)

I wanted needed a 'no pressure' run. I needed to not think about pace and just make the miles happen. No Garmin. No iPod. Just a watch, and I only brought the watch because I needed to be home by a certain time and was prepared to turn around early if I needed to. Of course, I am compulsive, so I did keep track of my times... but I was also relaxed enough to not stress about being not fast :)

I returned to the scene of my post-Apocalyptic preparation run... brutal hills. Rolling, 'gentle' hills on a dirt trail with a net gain and lots of tree roots for the first 0.78-mi followed by The Widowmaker ... 0.75-mi up up up. 

It was overcast and misty when I started. By the time I was a mile and a half in and at the paved road at the top of the hilly dirt trail, it was truly raining. I did the 4-out-and-4-back, taking my first-ever caffeinated* GU somewhere along the return. HOLY CRAP! That thing sent me flying! Whoa! My pace uncontrollably quickened by about a minute per mile. I was really excited as I neared the end of the paved road because the last 1.56 miles is all downhill! 

What I wasn't banking on was the mud :P

This was not your 'slogging through the mud' kind of mud... it was 'stick to the bottom of your shoes and collect in a gigantic lump the size and shape of half a football' kind of mud! Stability was a real issue. I spent a few minutes trying to scrape it off and then another few trying to shuffle it off... and even though I have only taken two soil science classes and didn't have my sample test kit with me, I would venture the guess that it had a very high clay content because it kept balling up and sticking like mad. Sure signs of clay.

This is after the run and after I have walked some of it off.

Very camouflaged ... looks just like the muddy, gravelly ground.

It was seriously about 3X thicker than this at some points in the run.

But I made it without falling... even though I was laughing so hard at how awkward the mud was that I could hardly see! I finally hit a weird groove about a half mile from the end and felt like I was really motoring... but who knows? 

What did I learn today?

1. Mud and rain are absolutely not the enemy!
2. No-goal, pressure-less runs are useful and can be fun!
3. I really and truly LOVE ice baths!
4. Caffeine in my system is freaky stuff...remind me not to take it when I need to talk to people!

Second-to-last long run before Long Beach Half...

done and logged :)

*I can't normally do caffeine. It turns me into a freak. Like Hammy in Over the Hedge. I guess a long run/race is an okay time to be like a coked-up squirrel.

How do YOU feel about immersing your body in cold water? 

I am only in it for the therapeutic effects... my husband and my daughter like swimming in it!

What has been your experience with caffeine?

It is seriously like speed for me. It is scary stuff :P

*******************************

Remember to give some love to my friend Catey from Random Thoughts from the Zoo! She is the super gorgeous and amazingly nice mom of 8 kids :)

Not only will she be running her first marathon this coming weekend (St. George in Utah) but she needs your votes! She is a finalist in the Hapari swimwear contest and you can vote for her in her zebra swimsuit by going HERE and "liking" her picture. And she is looking to maintain a top 10 place in the Top 25 Big Family Blog Contest at Circle of Moms...vote for that one HERE! 

Boring vs. NOT boring...

Running 10.5 miles worth of 0.75-mile loops in the dark is boring. 

That's 14 laps. 

In the dark. 

I now know the sequencing of all the neighborhood sprinkler systems. 

And I know where the skunk lives.

10.5 miles in 1 hour 44 minutes... the middle 7.5 miles were at 9:20 pace. It was harder than I had hoped it would be. But I did it. And finished at 10:26 p.m.

Monopoly is NOT boring... especially when you're winning.

These guys were in cahoots trying to outfox me...which was totally unfair because I seriously spent 12 of my first 15 turns landing on Chance and Community Chest. They, conversely, landed on properties and bought everything. As I was biding my time, waiting for my ship to come in... waiting for that Big Roll...

Big G took control of the game, and Daddy knew his rolls were numbered.

When he couldn't pay a rent, he offered Big G a trade...

Yep, you see that correctly...

Daddy gave Big G Boardwalk in exchange for Mediterranean!

Look how happy he is!

He has a monopoly now!

And a smokin' wad o' cash...

just look at all those fives and ones ;-)

Big G felt like the cat's meow...

Boardwalk and Park Place, the reds, the utilities and...

Look at all that $$$$$$!!!!!

 He had so much he was throwing it around!

Meanwhile...

A few lucky rolls, and I had been able to amass my own little empire.

Once I started ringing the board with hotels...

BOOM!

With daddy out, it was up to Big G and me to finish the game. Has anyone ever actually finished a game of Monopoly in one sitting? Well, we did it...undeterred by Miss C's board-clearing skills even. She was super interested in all things Monopoly, from the little houses and hotels, to the neat-o tokens you move around the board, to the dice... not so much the money, interestingly. 

Big G hung in there until the bitter end. Offering trades when he was cash-poor, selling, mortgaging, doing all he could to stay in the game. I was blown away. I have never seen him work like this. Historically, he has gotten pissy and had a fit when things have not gone his way... there was none of that. I tell ya, it was definitely a proud mom moment. 

Was your Sunday boring or not boring? Did you play Monopoly? When you do, are you cutthroat? Did you exercise? If you did, what did you do?

How's the weather over there?

How AM I going to make a sub-2?

How in the heck should I know?

I am still not entirely convinced it's in the cards for me... I'm not really sure I deserve it. Guess we'll see come October 9 :P

For my non-running readers, I am referring to running a half-marathon (13.1 miles) in under 2 hours. This works out to just about 9 minutes 9 seconds per mile for the whole thing.

Being unprepared makes me nervous. I haven't followed a training program. I had a good one that was a composite of Run Less, Run Faster and Galloway's... with some tweaks from both awesome Jill and Patrick from The Road thrown in. It was going great until all those blasted monkey-wrenches.

Then my summer became a quest to just make it to the Hood to Coast Relay (ha! there! I said it!) with Team Nuun, healthy and in a good mental place. While I accomplished that, I was not ready for the post-relay feelings of depression and listlessness that were strangely accompanied by intense euphoria and a 'can-do' motivated desire to dive back into serious training. Weird...but not entirely out of character.

As a result, my running has been haphazard since Hood to Coast. What am I saying? It was pretty haphazard in the weeks immediately prior to Hood to Coast! Anyway... moving on....

When I am in the Long Beach Half Marathon on October 9, I want to look and feel like this...

Instead of like this...

After my post the other day stating my 'stretch' goal as being a sub-2, I received this super cool, encouraging tweet from one of my new running buddies...

@xlmic I believe that w/ a good taper, hydration, and careful pacing that you'll go sub 1:59 for the half.....

I love it when people believe in me! So I looked at this carefully.

• "good taper" – I kind of am living in a tapering place; I think this will work in my favor :)
• "hydration" – I am so well-stocked with Nuun for before the race and there are TEN water stations on the course... one nearly every mile... and I am not opposed to carrying my Amphipod handheld (though I'd rather not... suggestions or advice?)
• "careful pacing" – ut-oh. This is where I am concerned. I have trust issues... even trusting-myself-issues. While my new racing mentor Kim, Nuun staff runner from our Nuun Platuun team, told me she had her best times when she did it all by feel... no watch, ignoring mile markers, etc...I am not sure I have that faith in my body or racing brain... yet. Sure, I have my Garmin (which looks like a VW Beetle parked on my super-skinny wrist), but picking the numbers I want it to be showing... that's another story.

So I made a race plan.

When I made a plan and followed it for Bay to Breakers back in May, it worked for me perfectly. It was set up to be realistic but a push. I ended up a little ahead of schedule... which can't help but feel good, right? 

Presenting my Long Beach Sub-2 Plan... I hope think am fairly certain it's realistic :P

Mile                Pace                                               Elapsed Time

1                      9:15   (adrenaline boost)                     9.25 minutes
2 & 3                9:40   (settling in and warming up)    28.59 minutes
4, 5, 6 & 7       9:24   (solid base)                              66.19 minutes
8, 9 & 10         9:10   (pick it up to prep for push)       93.69 minutes
11 & 12            8:40   (the push starts...)                  111.09 minutes
13 - 13.1          8:06   (the digging down deep part)  119.89 minutes
                   
                                                                               = 1:59:55 ... which is sub-2!

On Sunday, I participated in a Run 11 on 9/11/11 memorial run. I lengthened it out to 12... because I felt so good. It was somewhat hilly, and my average pace was 10:05. The last two miles were both sub-9 minutes. And I felt GREAT when it was over. Maybe it had something to do with running for a greater purpose? And I was not sore the next day.

I think I'm ready to take this sucker on.

Any other advice or words of encouragement? Throw them my way... please!!!!!

**************************

And on the to-do list for today...

vote for Catey... awesome mom of 8 little kids who will be running in the St. George Marathon... her blog is entered in the Top 25 Big Family blog contest! Go to her personal voting page by clicking HERE.

Rapture Run II... the sequel

In theaters and in books, sequels are often not as entertaining as originals. Something might feel a little forced or stale. This sequel is no exception to that rule. If you missed my original Training for the Rapture, you might want to go back and check it out here. Maps, pictures, video, pants-crapping, dehydration... the whole nine yards... and a major self-destruct at the end, cutting the run short. Had it been truly a post-Apocalyptic incident, the zombies/aliens/Satan would have gotten me for sure.

Yesterday's sequel proved to be boring but successful. Will Smith would have been proud. No drama...no pictures... all business... just focused on finishing the run... no distractions.

I learned from last week's mistakes... the biggie was the water issue. I went out and got one of these...

I LOVE this thing. Amphipod handheld. It was not cheap, but the moment I slipped my hand into the little neoprene sleeve with fleecy-lined snack-and-key pocket, I knew it was a match made in heaven. Soooo comfortable... I hardly knew I was carrying it even when full.

I filled my new new (!) water bottle, stuffed a few pitted dates into the zippered pocket and drove to the site for my second attempt at 9 brutally hilly miles. I made a few changes to the plan... it made things mentally easier but physically harder. I opted to do 9.25 miles... three laps plus once up the spur and then out and back 0.25 each way... instead of two laps of hills plus a longer out and back. My pace would be slow and steady... just finish... just survive.

Some things working in my favor this time:

1. it was 10 degrees cooler, 
2. there was no up-in-the-air about when I could do it so I was well-fed at the right times and properly hydrated prior to leaving the house... and 
3. I was able to take care of some evacuatory biz before leaving as well.

I tried out the new Seven Wonders of the boob world running bra in this challenging setting, too ... it seemed to work out well and was quite comfortable, but it's possible that I was just too focused on survival to notice any glitches in comfort or performance. At least none of the hikers or bikers headed toward me made weird, ogling faces so that was a good sign that bounce-control was happening.

Some things I learned:

1. Water is a good thing. I will now always bring water on runs where I am unsure of water supply. 
2. Steep hills are really hard and you run slower going up them. They are difficult to go down, too, but you can go a little faster. 
3. I hate those shoes... or maybe it was just the pitted and slanted trail :/

The best parts of the run were:

• got a tan line on my legs that you can actually see. It was still there after my shower, so I know it wasn't just dirt.
• my awesome ice bath when it was all over.
• I DID IT!  it was a huge confidence-builder after last week's disappointment. While I didn't crush it, I feel great about how I did. I tried to keep it off the clock, but well.... Suffice it to say that the numbers really didn't matter, I just used them for a gauge to keep myself honest about both effort and hydration.

Feels good to have it done :)

Weekend run: what worked... and what didn't.

It has been a rough road getting back on track. Paris was such a great diversion. I walked about a million kilometers in those two weeks but didn't run a lick. Then I returned all refreshed and reinvigorated and ready to ... take it on!  lol  get it?

I had those two awesome runs that week after we returned. I was all lined up to get my longie on ... but family scheduling and my DIY nose job put if off by a day. And then my personal middle-of-the-night maiming really did me in. The bruise finally did turn a very gross and visible green... you can kind of make it out in one of the pictures below ;-)

Over a week went by between runs again. You know, I have this thing... this race thing coming up next week? I probably should try running again before that happens... don'tcha think? Yeah, me, too.

In my new running shoes and some of my husband's running shorts (because it was kind of hot out for a change... it being the afternoon and all and not the darkness of night), I set off to run 7 miles. I had no time in mind. I had no need for speed. I seriously just wanted to finish it in one piece. What I really wanted was a Perrier with lemon and a burger and fries... but that was not amongst the choices.

I'd like to start with what worked... because there's less of that and we can get it over with fast.

1.  Little pink iPod.

LOVE.

About two miles in to it, I wanted to puke. A half a mile later, I almost did puke. I stopped at a bathroom... I found a clean, serviceable, FLUSH toilet public bathroom with toilet paper (!) on my regular route... and I never knew about it before!

Getting going again after my little pee-break made me want to puke more. 

Right when I really and truly did think I was going to vomit, Sheryl Crow told me that all I wanna do is have some fun...

I sang that song out loud like I was on freakin' Broadway! What a dork!

And I sing like crap.

But the iPod kept me from hearing myself :P

2.  New shoes.

They are different from my last ones, which were discontinued... of course.
Feel a little flatter and roomier and sort of like they make me over-pronate.... which I don't normally do. But my feet and legs felt pretty okay even after the 7-mile shock to their systems, so I'm thinking they're working.

Moving on now to what didn't work...

1.  The poodle-skirt-like shorts.

WTH? Whose size-small-shorts-wearing legs need this much fullness in their running shorts?

Though the liner was super comfy, the silky, slinky, voluminous fabric kept wedging up in my crotch.

I will not be wearing these shorts again.

2.  The hair.

I thought the hair was working.

I thought this because when I saw my shadow, I kept thinking

"WOW! That is some serious Einstein hair!"

and laughing.

It kind of took my mind off of how totally and utterly miserable I was.

This first picture is me thinking that the hair was working...

And this close-up is after I've realized how it soooo isn't.

Everyone on the trail and in our development who saw me (all 10 total) probably thought I was some sort of escaped lunatic ... or Einstein's granddaughter.

3. The underarm vagina thing.

Not working.

My sweet husband pointed this out to me...

"Hey, babe... want me to take a picture of that?"

Sure, honey. Go for it.

How do I get rid of this without losing so much weight that I look like a strung-out junkie chick?

I don't think it's possible. Did you see how skinny my legs are already?

Now it's your turn:

Did you exercise this weekend? Did you lounge in bed? Did you do something else? What? And most importantly, was it fun?

****************************

If you enjoyed this post, please remember to head on over to Free Fringes' Lovelinks on October 6 to vote for my blog to win ad space on The Bloggess sidebar for a month. It's quick and painless, requires no joining or info-sharing, just click the link and then click my star... mere seconds :) Thursday's the day! Thirteen other truly talented bloggers are all vying for the spot... check them out, too! Thanks so so so much for all of your support in getting this far :)

The Tenner.

I did the double-digit madness.

Ten miles.

It happened. In the daylight. I needed sunscreen. I haven't run with sunscreen on in about a million years... well, at least not since 2001.

The "talk" happened.  The one where you try to talk yourself out of it in various ways.

"I didn't eat enough."
"I ate too much."
"I just ate... I am going to puke."
"I ate so long ago... I am going to bonk."
"My hip is kinda hurting."
"I can't find my lucky shirt."
"Where is the iPod? I cannot run without the iPod! Is it charged? I'll bet it isn't charged."
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"I only have one hour now. I can't possibly run 10 miles in one hour. That's crazy. Oh, you can make the kids dinner and get them ready for bed? Oh, right... you've been doing that for 31 years."
"The seam on the toe of these socks is hurting. I need new socks. Do you know where the socks are?"
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"I can't do this. This is nuts. 10 miles is really, really far."
"My legs are still tired from my last run."
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"What if the sunscreen starts dripping in my eyes?"
"I need to go to the bathroom."

Finally I had the right socks, the right sunscreen, the right shirt, the iPod... charged, a snack, some sunglasses and went to the bathroom... then I had to go make it happen. Out the door. Ten miles.

I always forget that in the daylight, people can see me. I exited through The Gate and entered the general population...in my ratty running clothes, with my weird hairdo, singing out loud to my weird songs that no one else can hear. I guess it's kind of embarrassing. Fortunately, I am not easily embarrassed :)

It was a flat out-and-back with one mediumish hill at the turn-around. About a mile into it, the "talk" started again. "I think my hip hurts. It probably isn't a good idea to do this if I think my hip hurts." This, for me, is like saying "I think I'm in labor." When it happens for me, I know. No thinking involved. I was fine, and I knew it. Forging onward.

I ran past 3 bathrooms and two water fountains. I used them all and was very, very grateful for their presence at those precise moments. Of course, there were incidents. Not accidents... incidents. I'll share this one... because it showcases my resourcefulness ;-)

It occurred at Bathroom #2. I had to pee. I understand now that I have to pee about 4-5 miles into a run. Remember that downhill pee-fest last Sunday? That was about 4.5 miles into the run. I had the same thing happen in this run. It's .... A PATTERN. But I didn't pee in my pants this time... today was not a race, and I was running OFF THE CLOCK (yes, believe it. you can do it, too. trust me. it's good for you). So I used the handy-dandy, public, step-up-from-a-portapotty. I made the mistake of sitting down... and the mistake of not checking the toilet paper status before sitting down (in reality, I rather fell down onto the seat... or collapsed down). There was no toilet paper. But.... there were two cardboard rolls that had once held toilet paper! I shredded the cardboard and crumpled it up in my fist to make it soft... voilà. I am just like MacGyver ;-)

Another incident I'll share happened right at the end. Surprisingly, it began right where I raced the Drunken Bum. Another impromptu race took place. This time I was up against a 6' tall, 125 lb. man who was wearing what looked like his 16-year old daughter's pajama pants, a striped hoodie (with the hood ON) and Converse hi-tops. I was not interested in racing, but he was slower than I was going... so I passed him.

Since I was listening to a really great song very loudly on my iPod, I had no idea that he had started drafting off of me, inches away. If I had stopped he would have crashed right into me instantly. If I had slowed down, he would have given me a flat-tire. He was that close. I didn't notice this for about a mile and a half as I kept hitting  'repeat' on the iPod 'cuz I was so into the song. I think I need to not listen to the music quite so loud. What if he were something more dangerous than just a bad dresser?

As I peeled off the main drag, I saw him fall over. Just kidding. But he did stop. And he turned around and walked back in the other direction. I kept running... I had another 1/2 mile to go. But the song was over, and I was a little bit sick of it at that point, after listening to it 8 times in a row. That last 1/2 mile was turtle-style. Not quite super slo-mo... but almost. An ice bath was necessary. I sat in it for at least 20 minutes.

My first tenner in I think 15 years... there you have it an a rather large nutshell.

How was your weekend?

Burn, Baby! Burn!

What's cookin', kids?

So the other day when I was in the garage finding all the photos for my awesome collection of Big G's first year as a traveling man, I was simultaneously starting to cook my lunch.

Based on my pies... whether turkey pot or mixed berry... and my awesome gadget collection, you'd think I was some kinda somethin' in the kitchen. But I have been very honest with you about my lack of culinary prowess... or is it simply a case of "CRS"... can't remember s***?... so let's drop all expectations.

I was so distracted engrossed in my trip down memory lane research project and recovery mission in the name of The Blog, that I did it again...

And this time the toxic crap from the melted plastic of the steamer ruined the best 50-year old, popcorn-making Revereware pan in the universe. I am in so much trouble :(

Both the pot and the steamer were goners.

Also cookin'...

This kid on the track... she LOVES to run! If you don't remember her indoor workout from a few weeks ago, you can see it here. And now that the weather is super nice, she got a chance to stretch her legs outside...

That is not a load in her pants... I promise. The pants and diaper just look like it is. Really.

The last item on our menu of what's cookin'... or not cookin'...

I have been so slow and struggling with my running all week. My legs still feel thrashed from that hilly leg of the Oakland Marathon Relay last Sunday :(  On Tuesday, I squeezed out a tempo run that felt okay enough to feel good about, but Thursday night... whoa...

Just an easy 5 miles was slated. I headed out at 8:40 PM. Yes, PM. And I really wanted to be out there running... really, I did. But my legs didn't :(

But I made them :) 

We went around the loopy-doos 6 times for 4.5 miles and then they just said, "uncle... no mas." And I obeyed. I have a tenner on the docket for this weekend, and I want to be able to do it. I was going to do it today, but my husband just now told me he has to work all day, and I have to work tonight (yes, people, I kind of have a .... yob .... steering clear of the "J" word... can't quite bring myself to use it). Looks like the big 1-0 will have to happen tomorrow. I'm scared ... wish me luck!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! see the sidebar! 
remember it is all for YOU if we win :) ... if you have 'liked' the Taking It On Facebook page which you can access by clicking on the badge also in the sidebar  
>>  >>  >>

And enter to win that Williams-Sonoma gift card, too!

And if you want a postcard from a cool place, go play the guessing game :)

A Nail.

This is the third exercise-related post in a row!

Holy frijoles!  You'd think I was training for something ;-)  Bay to Breakers, here I come!

Last night, I extended my distance beyond.  Beyond what?  welp... I'll tell ya...

I ran 8 miles back in November of 2001, when I was 5 months pregnant with my second child.  It was a really hot day and a really hilly run, and we had gone out with no water.  I was toast by the end of it.  No more running for me for that pregnancy.

What I didn't know was that it would be over 8 years before I would be able to run again at all.  And over 9 years until I would be able to run 8 miles again...which I did last month...*applause*.

Last night I ran 8.25 miles.

The workout called for 8 to 9, and I really wanted to do the 9 super badly. I knew, though, that I had taken nearly 2 weeks off of all exercise and that it would be tough.  And I started at 8:55 p.m.  And I was doing it inside The Gate.  Not as dreary as a treadmill, but 12 figure-eightyeights (take ∞ and ∞ and then overlap them) of 0.75 miles apiece in the dark would be a migh-tee tall order.  And it was.

The first half was smokin'... in a not-overdoing-it kind of way.  The first 4.5 miles were finished in 44 minutes and wee bit o' change.  I thought, "that was good. I should just go inside now and eat dinner." Then I smacked myself (figuratively) and kept running.  My pace plummeted.  That's okay. Even though it bottomed out. Really, I don't have a problem with it.  Even though my grandmother could crawl backwards faster. But I focused on form and on finishing with a contorted grimace smile on my face :)

I ran between 8 and 9 miles ... and that's what I was supposed to do.

I am a nail.

As in "tough as."

I get the job done.

And then I came home, took an ice bath :) and made my Granny's Gadgets video.  Did you know we've done a dozen of those things?

I am a nail.

Are you a nail?

mommy goed RUNNING!

yeah...

that's cuz mommy goed poop!

lol... do you like how I made that brown? click on it if you missed the background story.

In my last running update, I mentioned that I would be trying to run on Tuesday.  Well, that didn't happen.  It was slated to be a tempo run... which I usually like.  But I just wasn't in the mood.  Not like I always have to be in the mood to go running when I go running, but on Tuesday .... "oh, excuses, excuses, XL. you just suck and are lame and have no biz being on this planet"..."oh, shut up, you." yes, I talk to myself. I can't remember what happened.


I went on Thursday.  Just a mellow 5.25.  I ran 7 of my little 0.75-mile loopy-doos inside The Gate.  It was all that... but we're skipping the side of chips ;-)  Very consistent laps... only a 6-second spread between the fastest and the slowest not counting the one lap where I was messing with the iPod... gotta stop doing that... never again in a run for time like my 5K two weeks ago... but it is hard to run to anything by Flight of the Conchords and not bust up laughing, and it is hard to run to In My Father's Eyes without crying, and the seminar on How to Listen to and Appreciate Great Music just wasn't working for me, nor were the little French pronunciation mp3 downloads from the kids' school... you see?  I had to search!  It still was a very relaxed and relaxing pace right around 9:40 per mile.

Next up... 8 to 9 miles tomorrow.  I'll be shooting for the 9 but knowing that, after nearly 2 weeks off, the 8 is probably more realistic.  I am a realist.  My husband is the optimist.

I know all you running readers doubt that I really run.  And those pics from my last 5K were in the dark and I run at night when no one is looking so there is really no proof... I know that is what you're thinking.  So here are some pictures of me running in the day a few long runs ago... maybe a month or so ago...

My biggest fans giving me the ol' high-five as I speed past...

Big G in typical fashion pissing me off trying to show me some "new" way to high-five... 

that he invented as part of some mythological alien body language based on the last 40 bazillion books he has read

LOVE THAT KID!

Approaching the halfway/turnaround...

this is near that portapotty I was telling you about ;-)

And there's my sweet Q!

I have to stop for hugs!

how can I not?

Tomorrow I am hoping to share the new core workout of the century.  I started it last week... in my own way... still waiting to see the results.  But this routine... if you can do it... guaranteed to give you the core strength of... of.... the guy who is in the video!

I'll let y'all know how that big run tomorrow goes... now that I'm 'going' there shouldn't be any problems ;-)
************************************

And don't forget to vote for my picture in the sidebar
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
so WE can win the prize!
did you miss my post about the contest?
Here... click here.