Buttons of Home

I love taking photographs of anything and everything! Button is this weeks' Theme Thursday and it allowed me to experiment with reflections and angles of everyday items. I hope you all like it.

Da-da-ding! A text. Ba-bing. An e-mail. My husband never leaves home without it.

You don't know how to drink. Your whole generation, you drink for the wrong reasons. My generation, we drink because it's good, because it feels better than unbuttoning your collar, because we deserve it. We drink because it's what men do. ~Roger Sterling from AMC Mad Men

Beep beep beep. Come and get it!

Good music comes out of people playing together, knowing what they want to do and going for it. You have to sweat over it and bug it to death. You can't do it by pushing buttons and watching a TV screen. ~Keith Richards

She lacks confidence, she craves admiration insatiably. She lives on the reflections of herself in the eyes of others. She does not care to be herself. ~Anais Nin

When I free my body from its clothes, from all their buttons, belts, and laces, it seems to me that my soul takes a deeper, freer breath. ~August Strindberg

Small gems that catch my eye every morning.

1. My husband's Blackberry on the console table, a photograph of him in the background being reflected on the screen.
2. An eye level view of my husband.
3. Our microwave.
4. My husband playing some great tunes on Guitar Hero.
5. My favorite vintage inspired high-waisted buttoned up skirt. I love that I can see myself in all five buttons. Sadly the quote is true for most young adolescent girls and young women. Some take years to over come it.
   
6. There are more buttons on the other side.
   
7. The beautiful buttons that sit on top of my dresser waiting to be sewn back onto their garments.
   

Since June I've...

Ran: 115.1 miles!
Blisters: 1 :-(
Races: 1, the SF Half Marathon (13.1 miles) July 26, 2009. That was yesterday!
Personal records: 2 - 6 miles in 54 minutes and SF Half in 2:04:07!
Ice baths taken: 2 Brr!
Days until Nike Marathon: 81
Total amount fund-raised for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: $1,180 (a little shy of my goal of $1,500)
One person diagnosed with a blood caner: Every 4 minutes!*
Estimated number of people diagnosed with a blood cancer by the end of this year in the USA: 139,860!*
Survival rate: Always climbing thanks to donations from people like you!

Donations help fund research for new therapies and medicines that help my friends like Keith Newman, Jack Aiello, Patti Rodriguez, and many others live longer active lives. Keith is celebrating his daughter's engagement, Jack is a brand new grandfather, and Patti ran a half marathon in under 2 hours last weekend! (Their photos are in the margin.) Please help them and many others live longer lives, donate today.

Many thanks to those of you who have donated, you are making a huge difference in this world!

*Learn more about blood cancers here at http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1247234696.pdf

Race Day!

I ran my fifth race today and I PR'ed! I ran the SF Half Marathon (13.1 miles ) in 2:04:07! Here's my story through photos. Enjoy.

My running buddy Victoria and I pose in front of the lit Bay Bridge at 5:45 am!

A view of the Bay Bridge from Embarcadero.

Running along the Aquatic Park near Van Ness.

Crissy Field Park with the Golden Gate Bridge engulfed in the bay fog. Typical summer weather pattern.

The Golden Gate Bridge in it's foggy glory. Running across this bridge is the main reason why I signed up and ran this race.

This is my favorite photo of the entire race. I finished running across the bridge the first time and here I'm running back to the city.

After the bridge came the rolling hills San Francisco is known for. I was too winded to snap photos and managed to take one after the last hill headed towards Golden Gate Park to the finish line.

Here's the finish line I crossed at 2:04:07, a new personal record (PR)!

After eating several bananas and salty potato chips I joined up with Victoria and our old running buddy Kristy. We sure rocked this cold wet drizzly race!

In The Summertime

It's that time of year when my wonderful husband begins to smell like a vampire repellent. It's on his breath, it's in his skin, it pours out of him everywhere for days. He ate it with fries, he ate it with mushrooms and escargot, it was in his sausage sandwich, in his ice cream, and with the calamari and shrimp scampi and no piece of bread was spared. It was the 31st Annual Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Eating a great reason to go to the Garlic Festival but we also went to volunteer for the Marrow Donor Registry. I lost count at 60 new registrants! I don't know the total number of new as our shift ended at 3 pm. I do know that 84 people registered on Friday. Yes, I'm registered.

My husband and I have gone to this festival on and off for the past six years. The food is always great, the arts and crafts are fun to look at and the weather is always hot and were a little disappointed this year. Yes the economy is bad and yes the prices went up, but did they have to downgrade the food? The mushrooms and escargot vendors are now cooking without salt and seasoning! Sure you can get seasoning and salt on the side but it's just not the same. And $7 for a small bowl of calamari in garlicy marinara sauce and a slice of garlic bread? You pay too much for too little overcooked rubbery calamari. In spite of price increase on everything we still ate and ate and ate.

And the fun continues because I'm running the San Francisco Marathon tomorrow! Well, I'm running the first half of the marathon which goes over the Golden Gate Bridge! I'm so excited that I can't sleep. I'll post the photos up tomorrow.

Walking Art: Shoes!

My first Theme Thursday was shoes so I was a little stumped this week. I certainly don't want to reuse my old theme but if you want to you can see it here. You'll see ten photos of my favorite pairs of shoes. To keep with the theme of favorite pairs of shoes I have two new pairs that I've recently purchased.

I absolutely love heels. I'm vain and I'm short (5'2") and these make me tall, leggy, and sexy. I love wearing this pair with white chinos, a royal blue knee length dress, and with a black or gray pair of slacks for a pop of color.

Now these are my second pair of walking pieces of art. With no arch support these shoes are a little hard to wear but look fabulous with a pair of jeans or a beautiful summer skirt.

Shoes have the power to transform people. They can make us feel pretty or sexy, comfy and cozy, professional, casual, athletic, grungy, convenient or laid back. Like clothing shoes can make fantasies come true. Children often believe their shoes are a gateway to fulfilling their dreams.

Whenever my mother took us shopping for new shoes my brother would run towards the sneakers. He looked at the coolest and fastest looking shoes he could find. He would put on the first pair and run up and down the aisle claiming that each subsequent cooler looking pair is making him run faster and faster. My sister on the other hand would try on anything sparkly pink and pretty. She'd slowly walk down the aisle on her toes gazing with her big dark brown eyes over the little girls shoes. Humming to herself prancing around in her shoes she would get lost in her own head. Was she pretending to be a princess? A ballerina? Both? I still don't know to this day.

I secretly liked looking at the heels. Little girls don't wear heels but some shoes do have a small block which in the mind of a little girl are heels. I was always fascinated with the click-clack that womens' heels made as they walked up and down the malls, church, the kitchen during parties. I could not wait to grow up and wear real heels.

As adults we still transform ourselves with shoes. Women stand taller and strut when they wear heels and a nice outfit. Men, too, stand taller in their nice dress shoes, or as my baby brother once put it, "old man shoes." (Don't you just love how children think?) Walk into a dance studio and you'll see the pep and swivel in the dancers steps. Ballet dancers stand gracefully as they sharply point their toes in their slippers. Athletes, such as runners, lace up their shoes with a sense of pride knowing they're doing something healthy and good for their bodies. Cockyness come out in some runners too as they begin to chase and race each other proving to themselves and everyone around how fast they are. (That one's for you Jesi.)

Learning how to walk and dance in heels is a great feat and an art form in itself. Just watch an episode of Dancing with the Stars or watch a runway fashion show to see for yourself. I'm sure you have already. Go ahead and give it a go and see how hard it is to pull off while looking steady and graceful. (I miss dancing and really need to go back to ballet.)

Funny, I've taken my both my brother's dreams of running fast, my sister's ballet dream, and my fascination with heels and made them come true for myself. Donning on a pair of dancing shoes transforms me into a dancer, my running shoes into a runner, and my heels into a grown woman click-clacking and strutting away.

What's My Pace Again?

According to my little pace card, in order to run a marathon in four hours or under I should be running at a pace of nine miles an hour. This counts out to 3:55:58 for a full and 1:58:04 for a half at a pace of 9:00 a mile.

Last Thursday I ran my six mile buddy run in 54 minutes which comes out to a 9:00 a mile pace. Technically this means I can run a marathon in four hours, right? Uh-uh. It means that I can run six miles at that pace and will have to work extremely hard to maintain it for 26.2 miles. So I put my time into my pace chart calculator and this is what it told me.

	1600 m	10K (6 miles)	Comfortably hard	1/2 Marathon	Maintenance	Full Marathon
(400m)	1:57	2:15	2:16	2:23	2:30	2:30
(800m)	3:55	4:31	4:33	4:47	5:01	5:00
(1600m)	7:50	9:02	9:07	9:34	10:02	10:01

Half marathon estimated time 2:06:18.
Full marathon estimated time 4:24:25.

This pace chart gives me various running speeds or paces for different distances or interval lengths. Based on my fitness level and six mile time I should slow down for my longer runs. If I start out running at a nine minute pace I will quickly tire out and eventually slow down at the end. By starting out at a slow pace and maintaining it through out the long run I'll be able to achieve a great time.

For kicks and giggles I decided to find out how fast my average six miles should be in order to run a full marathon in four hours. Drum roll please! My average pace for six miles should be at a pace of 8:18. A half marathon at a pace of 8:47 and a full at 9:06. That'll lead to a half in 1:55:51 and a full in 4:00:20! I have a lot of work ahead of me if I want to run a full marathon in four hours. That 4:24:25 is looking realistic right now but I'm going to push for a faster time than that. Wish me luck.

Roses For My Friends

Hello Everyone-

Occasionally, I love to buy myself flowers because I deserve them. Other times I buy roses and personally hand them out to my friends. Considering that my friends are everywhere I'd love to send them to you via my blog. I hope you all like them.

Happy Friday!

The Great Stages Of My Life

Every philosophy is the philosophy of some stage in life.
~Friedrich Nietzsche

It's Thursday again and this week's Theme Thursday is stage. (To learn more about Theme Thursday just click on the link.) Here are some of life's greatest stages I've had the honor of walking across-starting with high school!

Following the footsteps of several uncles and aunt I attended Independence High School with 4,000 other students! Yes, there are three zeros behind that four. Here I graduate from high school with my high school sweetheart, Hugh, and 800 something other seniors! Go Sixers!

I went onto San Jose State University where I met the greatest bunch of people in the chemistry department. Here I stand with my Hugh, my high school sweetheart turned fiance, Tom and his fiance Stefanie whom I met through the chemistry club. (They are now married and living in Ohio while Tom attends medical school.) I am the first in my family to graduate from a four year university and earned a bachelors of science in chemistry! Go Spartans!

Ok, you know what stage in my life comes next after college-getting married! Here are merely two photos of the 700 something that were taken overall. I was wed at St. Joseph's Cathedral Basilica.

My husband and I decided to get married here for two reasons, the first being that my parents were married here long before the renovation and the second reason is it was directly across the street from our reception hall the San Jose Museum of Art.

I can't help it, I have to share two more photos and these are from the reception. Uh-huh, those are Chihuly glass chandeliers. They are absolutely spectacular. (I had a chance to see a full Chihuly exhibit at de Young Museum in San Fransico last year and recommend anyone to see it if it's near you. It's positively amazing what this man can do with glass.)

Now the next stage in my life was not about me. This stage belongs to my husband and all the hard work he put into law school. I merely got in the way of his readings and studying, but helped out in the ways that a loving new wife could-cooking and cleaning.

After three grueling years he graduated from McGeorge School of Law. As you can see he was very happy.

I'm not going to lie and say it was easy being married to a law student, in fact it wasn't easy. There were times where we both thought we wouldn't make it to his graduation but we toughed it out and hoped that things would become easier. Having faith in each other, faith in God, and learning how to communicate with each other without hurting one another and sharing the same dreams really pulled us through. It was the greatest challenge we have ever faced together and we passed it. Unfortunately there is no stage or diploma at the end of such a challenge but if there was we would have walked across that stage proudly.

The latest stage I had the chance to cross was the finish line of my first marathon-the San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon in 2008! I didn't stand on a podium but I did earn a free Tiffany necklace for completing the race, 26.2 miles!

I ran it in 4:45! This is the very same marathon I am training for with Team In Training this summer. TNT is an awesome endurance training program that raises funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Last year I raised $2647. You can help me reach my goal of $1500 by clicking here or on the TNT badge on the upper left hand corner of this blog. Thank you in advance.

So my goal is to run this year's marathon in 4 hours, but will be happy with any time under 4:45. You can read more about my training by reading my other posts. Check out what I go through after running double digits (anything ten miles or above), an ice bath.

My next stage in life is being laid off for the first time and going back to SJSU to earn a teaching credential to teach high school chemistry/science. I start classes in late August and I'm so excited. I can't wait to buy my books and start reading through the materials!

I can't post photos of a wedding without one of the bride and groom kissing now can I? Here it is.

Now comes the next stage in our life-the soft pitter patter of feet. God willing, of course, after my second marathon. ;-) As any mother will tell you, there is no stage to walk across here either, but what a great stage of life it is, the stage of motherhood I hope to enter soon.

Happy Theme Thursday everyone!

If life were a stage, then we're all running around ad-libbing, with absolutely no clue what the plot is. Maybe that's why we don't know whether it's a comedy or a tragedy.
~Bill Watterson

You are in charge of your life. God gives you the freedom of choice to do what you will. Make your life what you want it to be.

Running Yasso 800s

In 100 degree heat, am I crazy?! Yeah, a little. The things we TNTers do to fight cancer.

To prepare running in the heat I made sure to drink plenty of water and electrolytes all day and the day before. I froze some gel ice packs in the freezer overnight and packed it away in a little ice chest along with a bottle of water and Gatorade for my track workout. I also made sure to eat some Luna Moons an hour before my workout to give me some energy.

You want to know how hot it was outside besides looking at my car's outside temperature? When I start sweating while standing in the shade! Not to mention how much I was sweating over a 12 minute mile warm-up, yuck! Next, Yasso's.

So what is a Yasso 800? Here is Bart Yasso, yes this is his real name and this workout is named after him, in his own words:

"I've been doing this particular workout for about 15 years, and it always seems to work for me. If I can get my 800s down to 2 minutes 50 seconds, I'm in 2:50 marathon shape. If I can get down to 2:40 (minuses), I can run a 2:40 marathon. I'm shooting for a 2:37 marathon right now, so I'm running my 800s in 2:37."

The same goes for someone training to run a marathon in three hours, four hours and five hours, and everything in between. Isn't that cool? The goal is to work up to run ten 800 meters. That's two full laps nonstop that equal half a mile. Today's goal was to run eight Yasso 800s in 4:00 minutes-in the 100 degree heat!

How did I do? Well, I had to stop twice in the middle of two Yasso's. Not only that but I skipped the second to the last run. Ugh, I was not feeling well. I was overheating, gulping down sweet Gatorade way too fast and started to get stomach cramps. The urge to vomit hit me several times, the reason why I stopped. During my recovery time I took my gel ice packs and placed them around my neck to help cool me down. Ah, the relief that came with it! I wish I had two more packs with me to put on my arms. And to share, too. I shared them with my fellow runners that had to stop to take a breather with me. As my Coach Meghan stated later at track, "You don't get gold stars for bad choices, you'll just screw up your training."

So how did I do with the full 800s I did run? My marathon goal of four hours-I ran them in four minutes! I'm so excited!!! (I still need to plug in my Garmin Forerunner to see the total results.) Now to build that up to ten Yasso's. But running Yasso's is only a supplementary training technique. Endurance, stamina, and long distance training are still required in order to run and complete a marathon.

Click here for tips to beat the heat while you run, as well as advice for running in the heat by RunnerDude's Blog.

The Iceman Cometh

I can hear the car pull up and park. The hot engine roars and is promptly turned off. I can hear the driver open his door and lug something heavy out of his truck. The man accidentally drops his cargo as he slams the trunk shut. I hear a large crash on the pavement. He grunts.

How much time do I have before he reaches the door? Locking them won't keep him out. His heavy footsteps slowly ascend the staircase. I hide in the kitchen.

I hear him at the top of the stairs followed by a slushy noise as he sets his package on the floor. The enters the lock and a loud resonant clicked throughout the entire apartment. He's here. He's in!

With a loud booming voice he directs me,

Come out, come out wherever you are...

No, no, can't we postpone this?
Get in. Start the water.
Must I?

With a scary grin,

This is for your own good. Now get in. Now.

I do as directed. I climb into the tub clothes and all. He drops the large 2o pound bag of ice next to the tub and leaves the bathroom.

I don't hear the water running.

When he returns he's glad to see that I have obeyed him. My legs are nearly submerged in cold water and rising. His creepy grin is now stretched from ear to ear. And with a baby voice he softly asks,
Are we ready for the ice now?

No.

Well too bad. Here is comes.

The man instructs me to shut the water off. As soon as I sit back the ice has landed on my lap. The cold water splashes everywhere. The large shards of ice slowly brush up against my bare legs. The man finishes pouring the entire bag in the tub and disperses the ice all around my legs.
We don't want the ice to concentrate on one area, now don't we? We want it everywhere.

Before he leaves the bathroom he sets a timer for ten minutes and says,
Remember, this is for your own good. You want this, I'm only here to help.

I shiver and shake uncontrollably. I can see every hair on my legs stand on end. My toes are freezing despite wearing wool socks. At least the man lends me a heavy sweatshirt to wear while in the tub.

He comes in with a individual carton of soy chocolate milk and tosses it into the bath.

Drink up.

How much longer do I have? When will this end?

As I slowly drink my chocolate soy milk the ice has melted but the water remains cold. The timer goes off and the man walks in with a goofy grin.

Oh, it's OK now. You can stand up. Wasn't that good? Don't frown like that, this was your idea, remember? It's good for you! You're going to thank me when your legs aren't sore tomorrow. Good job on running ten miles, Sweetie. Here's a bag for your wet clothes. Now go ahead and take a nice warm shower. I'll prepare your lunch.

Yes, it was my idea. Everything time I run any double digit amounts I take a ten minute ice bath. When I get out the blood rushes to my legs and removes all the lactic acid build up that cause soreness. My husband "helps me" in a very loving I'm getting you back kind of way.

After running 10 miles and taking the cold soak my legs were not sore the next day. Thank you, Sweetheart.

The Fruits of Summer, or Vegetables Rather

My hubby and I love eating and sharing food with friends and family. The great thing about summer is all the fresh fruits and vegetables. Our favorite summer treat is grilled vegetables-grilled zucchini, yellow squash, eggplants, green and red onions in particular.

Hungry and with bags full of fresh produce we head over to my parents home where my parents, siblings, and uncle are happy to see my hubby enter the yard with a bag of charcoal and lighter fluid.

"What are you going to cook for us today," they ask with huge smiles across their faces.

"Vegetables!"

"Why are you being so cheap?" They're a grateful bunch, aren't they?

As my husband prepares the grill my mother and uncle decide that they'll buy marinated carne asada, some chicken drum sticks, and fixings for salsa. In the meantime I cook up some Spanish rice and prepare some refried beans. Warm up some corn tortillas and we're ready to eat!

As soon as we're done cooking and grilling everything an aunt and cousins show up like clock work. No worries though, when we cook we cook enough for us and any expected unexpected guests that might happen to find their way here.

This is an ordinary summer weekend at the Carlon residency, impromtu "party" with plenty of food to go around.

Sorry there aren't any photos. Hands quickly grab everything in site before allowing me any time to snap a few. That's a good thing. :-)

Double Digits!

At Columbus Park, underneath the whooshing of incoming 747s, the early morning sun quickly burns off the last of inland fog. A small group of TNT runners meet dressed for the heat. Novice runners are delighted to see that the low hanging clouds are around exclaiming that the run won't be hot. "Oh, just you wait. The fog quickly burns off and the sun will be out in full force before we start our run," I tell them braking their spirit as I spray on my sunscreen.

"Can I borrow some of that?"

"Sure, I come prepared. Did you bring your water bottle or fuel belt?" I question them as I hand over the spray.

Coach Tim flails his arms around in the air and yells for running waves. He debriefs the group on the twisty running route we're about to embark on, where the water/aid stations are located and the turnaround spots. Despite his careful and intricate details of the run it is perhaps the reason why a couple of runners did take a wrong a turn here and there making their runs a tad longer, and in some instants shorter.

Running through the Guadalupe Heritage Rose Garden we were greeted with the sweet scent of roses intermingling with lavender in the rapidly growing warmth of the sun. Running through Guadalupe River Trail up along the trail by San Jose International Airport. The first turnaround leads the group back towards the start line and into downtown, a more shady part of the park.

Following the river's path carved through the cities heart, under freeway overpasses, by the HP Pavilion aka the Shark Tank, through the Children's Discovery Museums' meadow and back to the start at the Heritage Rose Garden.

The run ended with excellent Spanish tapas prepared by our Spaniard Sandra Cifo. Along with our great food Honoree Mike H. shared his story with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chemotherapy, being in remission and his recent marriage! His treatments were all possible from research funded by many generous donations.

Training for either a half or full marathon, the runners are ran between five to ten miles. Many running the furthest they have ever run before!

By the way, I ran 10 miles in 1:36:48! I'm improving.

Photos:

1. Coach Tim gives confusing the first run wave with the twists and turns of the run.
2. Victoria running with a participant across from the San Jose International Airport.
3. Entering downtown San Jose from the Guadalupe River Trail.
4. The view of downtown from the Children's Discovery Museum.
5. My mentees Katie, Sparsha, and Brandy after completing their first nine miles!