20 Year Reunion Pics

I had so much fun lastnight. I laughed so, so, so hard all night long, and didn't even have more than one drink! My throat is sore today and my voice is shot. I never knew how much I missed my childhood friends until I saw them. My heart just welled with emotion for all of them. We all agreed to touch base at least once a month, even if just by email. Life is too short to not keep contact with dear, old friends!

Dominic, Derrick, Tricia and Shannon


Me, Leslie, Dominic, Steve, Sarah, Sara and Eric. I've known most of them since 3rd grade.


Me and Dom (he reminds me of my younger brother, Lee). He says I remind him of his sister, Dina. Yea, right. The man in the picture on Dom's chest is MARIO.


Danny is also a distance runner with a Boston under his belt as well as a 50-miler. His goal is a 100-miler soon! His marathon PR is 3:09 set at the gnarly Big Sur Marathon.


Jason and Crissy


John, Nick, Nick's wife Sara and me


With Leah and Robin, two of my friends from when I was 8.


With Pat, my neighbor from when I was 7. He and I roamed the neighborhood on a daily basis. In fact, one of my first races was against him around the block. He won!


More dear friends, Robin, Steven, Kerry and Todd


Janet, Michelle, Jason, Nick and me. Two among us in this picture are DOCTORS! (I'm not one).


Eric, Janet, Michelle, Nick and Dave


This is sweet Gretchen. She and I played soccer together for a travelling youth soccer team when we were in grade school.


My partner in crime in highschool, Ryan. He's a new dad and has another one on the way.


And this is a picture of the girls. Lots of memories with them. I love every one of them. They were like my sisters.

A Whole Lot of Stuff

I haven't posted since Tuesday. What a slacker!

On Wednesday I did an easy 6.3 miles, but it felt like a bad run. That was the last of my run down and "burned out" days this week. I followed the advice of Jen, JWU, Deck Ape, OCRunnergirl, Jojit, and all those that said it was okay for me to take it easy. THANK YOU! It was just a little break, but a refreshing one, and I needed it.
Because of that advice I decided on Thursday to do something different. Instead of running the planned 8 miles, I swam for 20 minutes, biked for 20 minutes and then ran for 20 minutes. I did my own mini tri for fun at the gym. The transition time between the pool and the bike was 5 minutes, but otherwise the workout felt great! Thanks everybody!

On Friday I ran 8 miles, and felt so fresh. Not tired, not sluggish. I actually ran The Geetah race series at the track. 800 meters in 3:09 followed by 1000 meters in 4:00. I threw in another 800 for good measure (still a 3:09) and then 1 mile at a 7:37 pace. The rest of the miles were "easy".

Today I will run 6 miles easy at the gym around noon when the baby is down for his nap. Tonight is my reunion. Lastnight was my friend Mario's actual funeral service, although he passed on June 13. It was a sad night yet also a happy one full of memories exchanged about Mario, and time to spend with close friends I've known since grade school.


Here's a picture of Dave, Sarah, Travis, Dominic (kneeling) Leslie, Gary, Julie and me at the reception after Mario's funeral.

And here's one of me and the baby taken yesterday after my root canal. If you look closely, you can see the right side of my face was still completely numb!

Here's the dress I'm wearing to the reunion tonight. It should be a fun evening. I know I will laugh a lot!

Have a great weekend!

Sore and sore again

I think I'm on the verge of feeling a burnout. I ran this morning with the baby in his jogging stroller. We went for 7 miles and the entire time I just felt tired. The thought of walking was so, so appealing. In fact, I completely relished the several seconds here and there that I got to walk to drink water.

I think I'm overdoing it with the mileage build up AND the CrossFit. I don't officially start marathon training until the week of August 5, so I'm not quite sure why I'm pushing myself so hard. Stress? Boredom? My 20 year reunion? haha.

Anyway, I ran 8.7 miles yesterday by myself and I felt tired then too. Maybe I should just swim tomorrow for something different. I also feel my IT Bands tightening up more and more, and my knees are more stiff than ever, even though I've been faithfully taking Glucosamine w/ Chondroitin tablets. Is it that I'm just getting too old for this?

Yesterday morning the kids and I played outside until the baby started to have his "I want my nap" meltdown.

Here they are on the swings...


My daughter shooting hoops...


The baby's meltdown begins...

After lunch, my older ones and I went to see Ratatouille while my hubby and the baby ran errands. My kids loved it and I LOVED IT! I can't wait to buy the DVD.

Time to stop procrastinating and start scrubbing the bathrooms.

Total miles for 7/10-7/16: 45.5
Total miles for 7/17-7/23: 40

Sunday's CrossFit

On the CF website, today is a rest day. Since I haven't done an in depth CF workout since last Sunday I wanted to do one today. Througout the week I've only done sit ups and push ups. This one was from earlier in the week. Everybody give it a go!

Here's what I did.
20 rounds for time of:
5 pull ups (can be assisted)
10 push ups (if you have to modify, that's ok!)
15 squats (no weight, just your body).

It took me 40 minutes. Ugh, slow. By the end I was as drenched as I am after I run a race. And once again, the callouses on my hands are back! After doing the math, that's 100 pull ups, 200 push ups and 300 squats. No wonder I was drenched!
Have fun with it.

Tonight before bed: 75 sit ups

Training Schedule Shifts

I think I mentioned before that my training weeks sometimes end on Mondays because of my husband's work schedule. Today is an unscheduled rest day, but will do some core strengthening (via CrossFit), and tomorrow will be my last run of the training week before starting anew on Tuesday.

Yesterday I ran the "long" run of my cutback week. It was 11.3 miles at an overall avg. pace of 8:31/mile. After the first 2 miles at an easy pace, I ran the next 9 at an avg. pace of 8:21/mile, my last mile being 8:05. I cooled down with a .3 mile jog. I just felt good yesterday, didn't want to push it too hard, but didn't feel like running too easy.

Tomorrow will be an "easy" 8.

Side note: my 20 year reunion is Saturday. Yikes! 20 years. It just doesn't seem possible.

The Geetah Race Series 5K

My hamstrings were feeling much better today after an easy 6.5 mile run yesterday, and stretching and rolling later in the evening. This morning I headed out for 8 miles, and I decided after the first two that I felt good enough to do the Geetah 5K race against myself at the track.

I did not use the lap feature on my Garmin at the track, I only used the timer/chrono.
My results after running 12.5 laps: 21:45.
That's about a 7:00/mile pace. Not as fast as my recent 10K or 8K, but that's okay because I ran those in the midst of hard marathon training and right now I'm just base building. It gives me hope that I'll be faster this fall.

I finished with a 5 lap jog around the track and then a 3 mile run home. In all about 8.5 miles. Feeling good but tired. More stretching and rolling tonight.

I will do CrossFit tomorrow along with a recovery 6 mile run.

Checking In

Just wanted to quickly log yesterday's long run.
15.5 miles at average pace of 9:13.
I'll tell ya, my legs were dead. Felt like lead. It was a hard, hard run between miles 8 and 15.5. Seriously, I struggled to finish.

I plan on swimming tonight for about 45 minutes or so, but I might just take a full rest day.

The lesson I learned after yesterday's run:
Don't do deadlifts and squats the day before a scheduled long, steady distance run. My legs were just not strong enough to handle it. I'm glad it's over and time to look ahead to this week of training. It'll be a cut back week for me. I need it!

CrossFit Sunday

Got up and after breakfast, the kids and I went to church (hubby had to work again today), and while the baby went down for his nap and the kids played outside, I did the CrossFit workout of the day, "Diane."

After the standard CrossFit warm up of 3 rounds of 10-15 of Samson Stretch, Overhead Squats, Sit ups, Back Extensions, Pull Ups and Dips, I did the workout.
For time, 21-15-9 sets of Dead Lifts and Hand Stand Push Ups.
I completed the 3 rounds in 8 minutes, kind of slow but I'll take it. I only used 30 lbs. for the deadlifts because that's all I have at home. That's okay because I want my legs to feel fresh for tomorrow's 15-16 miler.

Here's the Samson Stretch, photo courtesy of my daughter. :-)
Have a sweet Sunday!

Saturday Self-Race

There are a bunch of us forumites on Runner's World Online that are doing a virtual race series. It's all on the honor system and each week we have to run a certain distance at the track by ourselves. Bill, aka The Geetah, is the virtual race director and he figures everything out for us, including our handicaps for fairness.

I did the "Geetah 3200" at the track today at 10:30 a.m. (close to 80 degrees at the start). I ran a little over 2 miles to the track and then did 4 x 100 strides to loosen up. After the race against myself, I jogged a little over 2 laps, then ran 3 miles home. All in all, 8 miles at an average 8:49 pace.

I actually felt very good throughout the "race." And I did NOT look at my Garmin AT ALL during the entire 3200 meters!

1:37
1:40
1:43
1:46
1:46
1:47
1:43
1:40

Actual Time: 13:42
Handicap provided by Geetah: 122 seconds (2:02)
Final: 11:40

I hope I added correctly, my brain is fried. Tomorrow is a rest day, but will probably do CrossFit of some kind, then my long run on Monday. I usually do them on Sundays, but my hubby has to work 3 Sundays in a row, so Mondays it is.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Hard Effort

A FREE run it was not! I paid for this one.

Did 2 miles warm up with 4 x 100 strides in there.
Then I did 2 x 3 miles at Tempo with a 2 minute recovery job between each 3 miler.
Splits:
7:21
7:31
7:22
2 minute recovery jog
7:19
7:31
7:30
Average Tempo pace for the 6 miles was 7:25 (I shoulda done it at 7:22, but oh well).
1 mile cool down.
The 9 miles averaged an 8:10 pace.
I must've been tired toward the end because as hard as I was trying, I did not get a negative split.

I was also about 6-9 seconds slower per mile than my last tempo run of 5 miles. It was about 1-1/2 weeks ago, and I did the 5 at an average pace between 7:16-7:19/mile. Maybe I need to cover the Garmin when I run so I don't look at it.

Yes friends, I AM ONCE AGAIN OBSESSED WITH PACE. The weird thing is I felt like I was giving a much harder effort than the clock said I was. It could be that I'm just not in prime shape yet, but hopefully I'll get there during marathon training. One month to go before I start.

FREE Running Day

Quick recap before getting into today's post. Yesterday I ran 7 miles at the butt crack of dawn. Took it easy after the 15 miler the day before.

Today was my "free" run day. The day when I don't wear a watch or Garmin when I run. It was just me, the baby in his stroller, the morning breeze and the birds singing (okay, and the morning commute traffic). I LOVE these runs when I'm not a slave to pace. I get to look around and smile at everybody, I get to talk to the baby as he hangs loose in the jogging stroller, I get to check out the trees and the flowers. All these great things I seem to ignore when I'm constantly looking at the pace feature on my Garmin. My "free" running days are so great because they remind me of the other side of running, the non-racing, non-training, non-competitive side. I think we could all use a "free" day.

I did 6 miles today followed by a hodgepodge of core work:
3 sets of 15 pull ups (I did 5 kipped ones ON MY OWN)! I'm so excited!
3 sets of 15 dips with my feet propped up in front of me
3 sets of squats with 30 pounds on my shoulders
Tonight I'll do 75 situps and 3 sets of 15 back extensions.

Tomorrow is a tempo run day. I'll be resting and stretching as I do laundry later. Enjoy the day!

Long Run Monday

What a doozy! I ran 15 miles at an overall average pace of 8:55. The first 9 miles fluctuated between 9:22 and 8:52/mile (slowest to fastest). The last 6 miles were like this: 8:36, 8:25, 8:23, 8:43, 8:07, 8:45. It was high 80s - low 90s out and I don't like running in that heat. I was happy with the run and jumped into the pool with the kids afterward. Time to relax and I'm having some beer later! Newcastle Brown Ale.

WEEKLY TOTAL: 42
Mon 7/2: off
Tue 7/3: 7 hill program on TM
Wed 7/4: 6 easy
Thu 7/5: 8 with goal pace, tempo and goal pace
Fri 7/6: off
Sat 7/7: 6 with the 1.5 race against self
Sun 7/8: unscheduled rest day due to hubby's work schedule
Mon 7/9: 15 (first 9 @ easy pace, last 6 at avg. 8:35 pace

New week starts tomorrow. :-)

Sunday

Let's catch up on yesterday's run. Did 6 miles at easy pace, except for 1.5 in the middle that I "raced" against myself at the track. So it went like this:
1.65 mile warm up jog to track
Stretched a few minutes
4 x 100 meter strides (or .25 miles)
1-1/2 miles (or 2400 meters) race against self
Half mile loosen up jog
2.1 miles jog home.

Here are my splits for each of the 6 laps of the 2400 meters:
1:35 (too fast, I knew I'd burn out later)
1:41
1:39
1:41 (starting to hurt)
1:43 (really hurting)
1:41 (ready to puke)

My Garmin said 6:03 at the mile split, but when I downloaded the workout to the program, it said 6:10. Oh well, still happy with the overall "race" portion, even though I finished with a positive split instead of the coveted negative split.

Today I rested from running, played in the back yard this morning w/ the kids and we all swam for about an hour. When the baby went down for his nap, the kids played their video games as I did the quick CrossFit WOD "Cindy."
As many rounds possible in 20 minutes of 5 pull ups, 10 push ups and 15 squats. I got 10 full rounds + another set of pull ups and push ups before the timer went off. I'm pretty wiped out now.

Gotta shower and later it's off to church.
Have a great Sunday! Tomorrow is my long run of 14-15 miles. Couldn't do it today because my hubby is working an overtime shift. :( We miss him!

Calling 911

We had a scare today. The baby was holding his 3 Cheezits and had one in his mouth, unchewed. As he tried to shove another whole one in his mouth, I swiped it away and he immediately went into a fit of crying which, in turn, lodged the Cheezit into his throat. As he made the gagging face over and over, I proceeded to give his back some hard blows as I faced him toward the ground with his head lower than his butt. He continued to gag and turn red so I dialed 911 and kept pounding his back. Nothing. The 911 call taker immediately connected me to the fire/ambulance dispatcher and as she dispatched the ambulance, he finally responded to my pounding and barfed then coughed and cried! I interrupted the dispatcher and told her he finally got it out and was breathing. I told them to cancel the response. Phew! What a frightening thing to see your child choke. His eyes even looked red. :-(

Anyway, I'm glad he's okay, thank God! My older kids were here with us and they were freaking out!!! I felt bad they had to see that, but they are okay too.

On a better note, we swam today to stay cool and the pool felt incredible. Like the ocean water in Hawaii! Here are a couple of pics:

Look at him do that front flip into the water!!! Crazy kid!


Me and the boys.

Hope You Had a Nice Independence Day!

My 4th was very nice. The kids were at their dad's but the baby and I went over there to spend time with them while my husband worked. We also went to my hubby's Uncle's house for a nice gathering. But alas, I ended up watching fireworks by myself from our balcomy. That's okay, I got to talk to my husband on the phone through most of the show, and I know he wished he could've been with me.

He's home now so that's good! And tonight we are actually going out with friends without any kids in tow. The first time in 19 months.

Yesterday morning before it got too hot, the baby and I did 6 miles recovery. My legs felt soooo heavy and tired. I think they'll be okay today.

I'll be heading to the gym to run 1 mile warm up, 2 miles marathon goal pace, 2 miles tempo, 2 mile goal pace, 1 mile cool down. It's already close to 100 out, and it's supposed to be about 104 today.

Have a great Thursday!

AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Back from the run at the gym. I ran the 8 miles in 1:02:46 (7:50 pace). The miles looked like this:
1 mile warm up (don't know the split)
Mile 2 @ slower than goal pace 7:47
Mile 3 @ goal pace 7:41
Mile 4 @ tempo 7:13
Mile 5 @ tempo 7:13
Mile 6 @ goal pace 7:41
Mile 7 @ goal pace 7:35
1 mile cool down (don't know the split).

The middle 6 miles were at an overall pace of 7:31.

Turning Blues In To Miles

I was feeling very sad today when my older kids went back to their dad's house. They're only there half the week, but whenever they leave it's like there is a huge, black hole in my heart. People might think, "You did it to yourself when you and your ex divorced," and they might be right but it doesn't take away the fact that my heart absolutely aches when they aren't here. Thank God I have my loving hubby and sweet little baby to help take away some of that heart ache.

So I decided to run semi-hard today to shake off the sadness a bit. I ran 7 miles on the treadmill on the hill program. I alternated hills w/ varying inclines from 4.5% up to 7.8%. Average overall pace of 8:50/mile, w/ the last 4 miles at about an 8:20-8:25 pace.

Now I need to rest and have lunch. Spend time with my hubby and baby.

Have a nice Tuesday! Stay outta the heat.

New Garmin & 13 Miles

I'm so excited! I woke up at 0430 hours today and was out the door on my 13.5 mile run by 0530. According to my new toy, aka Garmin 305, I ran the 13.5 at an avg pace of 8:58/mile. My last 3.5 miles averaged an 8:35 pace. I'm fine with that because today was supposed to be a long, steady run at "easy" pace. It felt great! NO traffic at all at that hour in the morning. I'm going to have to do that more often.

We finished off the morning at church, and now it's time to enjoy our Sunday together. We'll be heading out the door again, but for a day trip this time. It's so nice that the kids are out of school for summer!

Have a great Sunday.

WEEKLY TOTAL: 38
Mon: 4
Tue: off
Wed: 6
Thu: 7
Fri: 7.5
Sat: off
Sun: 13.5