It's Never Too Late to Start Running

Here's an inspirational article I read in the New York Times this morning about, well what do you think, running of course. It's never too late to start and reach your personal best. All you need is time, training, patience and faith in yourself.

Happy reading!

Back on Track

I just came back from a two miler from my local track and I ran it in 20 minutes! Not too shabby. I should have ran another mile but I went to the track a little too late and I didn't want to stay up later. At least I made it out there.

My husband joined me this time around and he managed to jog two and half laps! That a half lap more than the last week. I'm so happy for him. Next time he'll be able to do three laps.

Today I had another PT session and I was given a few more exercises to perform at home. Wall squats with a ball, front leg lifts, quickly stepping up and down a step alternating feet, and one where I lift my leg behind me and lean forward with my arms raised. They're fun to do and it shows me that my left leg is still weaker than my right. I need to do more sets on my left side. Ugh. I'm slowly getting stronger and making my way back.

My goal for Thursday is to run three miles!

At the Campbell Track

I ran two and half miles in 24 minutes yesterday! Whoo-hoo! I'm feeling great! I'm just a little sore but that's OK. A little soreness doesn't hurt.

More running and PT later this week.

Running around town

I have errands that need to get done so I'm taking a day off of work tomorrow. I need to submit a few documents for my application to SJSU, get fingerprinted, prep for the Technology Exam on Saturday, take my mother to my husbands' family furniture store to pick out a couch, and go for a run. Hmm, I wonder if anyone is up for lunch tomorrow.

Tiptoeing in the puddles

Well...it was more like running and splashing in the puddles with delight! That is until it starting raining heavily. I did manage to run 1.25 miles in the rain at the track and my husband came along to boot. He managed to jog half a mile and walked a lap. It's super for the both of us!

Wait a minute there Gabby, I thought you were suppose to go to go to the gym tonight? Technically we did go, but my husband did not have a guest pass he thought he had and neither of us carried a credit card to pay for my membership. So the next best thing was to run for free in the rain on an empty track. It was great!

Now I'm sitting at home nice and dry icing my knee. Yay!

Let the excuses roll

I did not go running. Yes, I'm really psyched to be given the thumbs up to run up to three miles if I was feeling well and when it came time for it my left knee started to hurt. Was it psychosomatic? No. Excuse number one, physical therapy. Debbie left my knees pretty bruised Tuesday, a pain I can handle, but on top of that I banged my knee into my filing cabinet at work late Wednesday afternoon. I was distracted and running a tad late to catch my bus home and wham! By Thursday my knee was not feeling well. Walking up the stairs hurt.

Excuse number two, rain. It's been raining a lot. Rain the bay area desperately needs and rain that prohibits me from running. I've been sick several times this winter with a few colds and a three day fever so I definitely do not want to get sick again. If my memory serves me correctly there were two days in there when it did not rain.

My darling husband, I love him and he is excuse number three. He promised to go to the track with me so I can run, run to my heart's content he said. When the time came for him to take me to the track he was too tired and too cold to go outside. Plus staying in bed and getting a little more shut eye was very important to him Saturday morning. Being female I am not allowed to go to the track by myself so I pulled the covers over my head and dreamed away the morning.

My real excuse is exhaustion, number four. Lack of sleep, improper diet of too much oatmeal, cooking and eating too late, holding and helping a friend with a fundraiser at CPK in the middle of the week, and a two day seminar at work and playing catch, thinking about and studying for my two impending exams (the technology and CSET exams are coming up soon) took their toll. As much as I wanted to go running I physically and mentally was worn out.

I knew I was in bad shape when co-workers I normally don't chitchat with asked if everything was OK and if I had a bad cold. Ugh, that was not a great feeling. I may not have gone out and run three miles but I am running around doing a lot of other things. Those are my excuses and I'm sticking to them.

PS
I just received an e-mail from my husband asking if I want to go to the gym today. I replied YES! I won't get to run but at least I'll be on the elliptical. It's close enough...for now.

Two Thumbs up!

Debbie gave me the green light to run three miles this Thursday! She inspected my running and said everything looked good. Whoo-hoo!

Before she inspected my gait she performed the Graston Technique around my knee, led me through some dynamic stretches and a few exercises to warm me up. Instead of using the Alter-G she took me to a normal treadmill. I'm embarrassed to say I did not do very well on it.

I am afraid of treadmills. It truly freaks me out. I'm afraid that the machine will go out of control and it will throw me off. Nevertheless I tried it only to regret it. No, I did not fall off or crash but I shuffled, I tripped over my own feet, I weaved and held on to the bar like an old woman clutching on to her walker scared of falling. All Debbie could do was say it's Ok and laugh when I begged to get off. It was pretty hilarious. How I managed to run on the Alter-G without freaking out surprised us both.

Needless to say Debbie couldn't inspect my stride on the treadmill so I ran from one end of the hallway to the other several times. After a couple of minutes Debbie said everything looked good and gave me two thumbs up. Yay!

Calling all Mermaids

The Mermaid Series is building a welcoming community that inspires women from all backgrounds to uncover and realize their full potential. The Mermaid Run offers a 5K, 10K, and a half marathon. (That's 3.1 miles, 6.2 miles, and 13.1 miles.) I know there is a distance in there that you can run.

TNTers, I know you call all run this. Think of it as a short recovery run after Napa or in my case, a run to restart my running. The run will take place in Mt. View at Shoreline Park on March 22nd.

Besides being women friendly it's also a very eco friendly run. From a shoe donating program, medals made from recycled metals, biodegradable water bottles, to a goal of recycling 100% of the plastic water bottles used during the race, it's racing to promote a healthy lifestyle from all fronts.

And there's one more thing, there's no time limit! Sounds like a great race for first time runners and experienced runners to go out there and find your happy pace!

What's best in life?

"People ask why I run. I say, "If you have to ask, you will never understand". It is something only those select few know. Those who put themselves through pain, but know, deep down, how good it really feels."
-Erin Leonard

A musician walked up to our water station and looked about our little stand situated underneath beautiful monterey pines. He nodded and smiled and sucked on a cigarette looking at our table. A cluttered table with water, gatorade, pumpking bread, pretzels and oatmeal cookies. The sun shone brightly down on him forcing him to squint. Unlike other passer byers asking what the set up was for or making small talk he stood there stoically watching the waves crash behind us at Lover's Point; the wind carrying his cigarette smoke behind him.

We stood there looking at this man waiting for him to say something. Kendra shifted in her shoes growing increasingly uncomfortable with our visitor. Janine continued to sit in her chair with her foot and leg raised. To look at the stranger she would be looking into the sun. The stranger stood by me and asked me what's up while I noticed his soft guitar case on his back.

The stranger then asked me, "What's best in life?" That's easy, running. He smiled and was a little stunned. "Janine, what's best in life," I asked. She smiled up at me and gave the same reply, running.

"Running. Hmm...endorphines and..."

"The trill of running, runner's high, crossing that finish line, there's nothing like it in the world," I said. "What's best in life for you?" I guess no one had asked that before so he pondered for a while looking down at the ground. "Human release," he says with a sly smile.

The conversation goes on for a while (asking for some gatorade, giving Jesse a donation, and find out his name is Jason) until he found out Janine's injury, Jesse's knees, and my injury, the gimp squad at the water-aid station. "Running doesn't like it's best in life for me. You're all injured. Can I play a little something for you all?"

Before he finished playing I walked away to snap photos of our returning runners. All were tired and in need of water from the beating sun. "Almost done, you're almost there! The water station is around the corner!" Words of comfort to some but not all; nevertheless they all smile at the water station.

Photos

1.) Jason the stranger playing a tune for us as he watches the surfers.

2.) A view from Lover's Point.

3.) Tonirose happily running her last three miles.

Twenty miles in Monterey

The Napa runners are gearing up for their longest training run of the season-20 miles! I will be out there, rain or shine, cheering my teammates on and providing them with plenty of water, gatorade, and snacks. Besides the normal little cups filled with pretzels, gummy bears, and Skittles, I'll be bringing my delicious homemade oatmeal cookies-bite size oatmeal raisin and oatmeal chocolate chip. I'll also be selling them for my fundraiser after the run. Three big cookies for $5. They're so worth it.

Janine (teammate), Kendra (Coach Tim's daughter), and me and my husband will be stationed out at Lover's Point. It's going to be fun hanging out with these two great ladies. Pumpkin bread from Janine and music from Kendra's iPod. I think out of all three water stations ours will be the best.

Janine on the right stretching.

Kendra and Coach Tim on the left.

Sunshine is delicious,
Rain is refreshing,
Wind braces us up,
Snow is exhilarating,
There's really no such thing as bad weather,
Only different kinds of good weather.
-Unknown

New Milestone

"Top results are reached only through pain. But eventually you like this pain. You'll find the more difficulties you have on the way, the more you enjoy your success."
-Juha Vaatainen

I ran 1. 5 miles at 80% body weight in 16 minutes and 30 something seconds-without any knee pain! A little plantar fasciitis but no knee pain! It's great! Both knees are doing a whole lot better. Yay!

Again, plantar fasciitis is the inflammation of the band of tissue that runs from the heel along the arch of the foot. To relieve the pain I have to rub the arch to break up the scar tissue and continue with my exercises twice a day.

My next physical therapy session is next Tuesday and I hope I'll be able to run 1.5 to 1.75 miles. I can't wait!

Congratulations Kaiser runners!

Before the sun rose Sunday morning when the morning sky was still black and littered with stars crazy runners were turning off their alarm clocks at 4:30. Laid out on their chairs their running wears waiting to be worn. Oatmeal, toast, bananas, bagels with peanut butter are consumed at five in the morning; much needed fuel that will quickly burn later that morning.

Laughing and yawning at the fact that we're ready to drive up the peninsula ready to welcome the day in San Francisco.

Waiting for the sun to rise rows of buses line the Great Pacific Highway waiting for their passengers to arrive. The sun rose and the crowds grew shivering in line for their ride to the start.

Runners donned in garbage bags, a way to keep warm in their thin tops and running shorts, smile knowing how silly they look and shiver in their shoes. Stretching and jogging in place help warm up the body too.

The clamor of the crowd grew restless when 8 am came and pass and the gun had not gone off yet. The anthem was sung and the count down began and then they were off. Let the stampede begin!

Walking through the Golden Gate Park half way to the finish line 3o minutes went by when I saw the 5K runners go by quickly followed by the elite runners that were running the half marathon.

Snapping photos of my teammates and cheering them on I didn't feel envious all at but was thrilled and happy for all the runners in the race. Congratulations to all who ran!!!


Photos:
1) Victoria (mentor and friend) and her boyfriend Scott sitting and relaxing in Victoria's living at 5 in the morning.
2) View of Ocean Beach from the Cliff House before sunrise.
3) Runners waiting in line to be shuttled to the start line.
4) Teammate Brian wearing his best garbage bag and enjoying it!
5) The middle of the start line before the gun. Can you spot Victoria?
6) Teammates halfway through the race.
7) Captain Rich approaching the finish line several yards away.

Playing with my camera

I celebrated my father's birthday with my family recently by going to dinner at Minato, a Japanese restaurant in Japan Town. Of course I took my camera with me as if I ever leave my camera at home. I snapped away throughout dinner, slightly rude, yes, but a lot of fun. I played around with black and white, sepia tone, and the ISO, not for the first time, no, but just figuring it out; just playing with it. I sent the photos to my family but liked them so much I decided to share them with you.

The photo above is my brother's and husband's favorite photo from the set. Tempura. Mmm. Click on the photo to view the others.