Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and Stuff

Ah, I'm so behind in my blogging because of classes and tutoring and marathon training! So, here's an update of it all.

SJSU

• Number of classes-4.
• Number of units-14.
• Days I tutor-2, from 8am to 2pm.
• Number of papers written-14.
  
• Number of demos for science class-1. Conductivity of solutions. How neat is that?!
  

Training

• Total mileage-255.8 miles!
• Blisters-lost count after 20. :-(
• Bloody ankles-2.
• Races-2. SF Half and San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon.
• Best quote heard on a race to racers in front of me-"Remember, this is your hobby not your job-smile!"
  
• Ice baths-8. That's 80 minutes of sitting in ice water!
• Days until Nike Women's Marathon-6! That's next Sunday, October 18th!
• Total raised-$1,735! Thanks to all who've donated.

I completed the Rock 'n' Roll half in 2:11:33. Not my fastest time (2:04:07 in SF Half) but a great run regardless. Live music played around every mile keeps us all smiling, laughing, singing and clapping. Some tunes had a nice running cadence beat to them, too. The best part aside from running my my favorite running buddy Victoria, running into several TNT captains and Coach Tim, having a TNT cheering section, seeing my family support me in front of my brother's apartment along the race path, a great chorizo breakfast at my brother's apartment, the ice bath afterward the run, is the fact that I was not sore at all. I didn't hurt at all after the 20 miles the weekend before and the race. How awesome is that?!

Because of my awesomeness there is something I have developed, a nervous-stress-not enough sleep-eye twitch. Thankfully I'm going to have a short break from school after the race for a little R & R. My next stop, Yosemite! Now I just have to plan the trip. Any tips of where in Yosemite to hike or stay? Let me know. It's my first time visiting.

Photos:

1. Conductivity of solutions. Practicing at home
2. Me in my bath tub immersed in icy water. Eight times people.
3. Me and Victoria running at the San Jose Rock 'n' Roll half at mile 5. Photo taken by Jennifer Ibarra, TNT mentor and runner.
   

Running and Eating

I know, I know. It's been a while since I last posted anything here. I didn't go anywhere, really, I just haven't had time to blog or snap photos. Here's why: reading, writing, class, tutoring, class, reading, writing, tutoring, class, some more of the same and running when I can fit it in. Well, I'm back to write and post a few photos.

If you look above this blog you'll see a slide show of the 18 mile training run in San Francisco on Sept. 12th. This was a run to remember because there was rain, thunder, lightning and in some parts hail! The rain washed away some of the chalk marking showing up where to run in Golden Gate Park but my group and I managed to find a way out back down the Great Highway and around Lake Merced.

The team ran 20 miles this pass weekend along the beautiful Monterrey coast. Was I there? Nooo. I was a good girl and attended my Mainstreaming (Special Education) class from 9 am to 4 pm that day. I did run 20 miles yesterday, though. Captain Mike Z. lead the make-up run for four TNTers along the Los Gatos Creek Trail starting from Campbell Park. When I arrived at the park at 6:15 am a small TNT cheer team showed up. Coach Tim, Captain Steve S., and mentor Ilya showed up to send us off. Coach Tim ran with Monica, Latoya, and Lindsay part of the way, too! How awesome is that?! And Captain Rich H. was there to run us in at the end while Cap. Mike rode his bike up and down the trail supplying us with water. What a great team! Thanks for all your support guys!

The run was lonely at first but once I broke up the run into four parts and got into the rhythm and pace I did well. I find that breaking up a long run into manageable portions make the run go by faster and doesn't wear me out mentally. But lets get down to a very important aspect of running, something Mentor Jen loves, eating. Everyone runner knows the sooner you're done with a long training run the sooner you can eat, you know, for recovery purposes, and eat I did.

My husband has had a hankering for dim sum lately and his cravings were finally satisfied after my run.

From the top left hand corner going clockwise are the first items we chose off the dim sum carts. Tender marinated chicken feet, so delicious; bean curd, a.k.a tofu, stuffed with vegetables; tripe marinated in ginger, garlic, and dressed with jalapenos, has a great snap to it and a tremendous flavor; steamed pork dumplings; steamed BBQ pork buns; and shrimp stuffed eggplants. But wait, there's more.

Okay, not that much more but two extra dishes. A plate of Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce and a large bowl of rice porridge with 1,000 year old eggs, a fermented black egg. It was all washed down with hot Jasmine Tea and as Alton Brown would say, it's good eats. Now I regret not ordering honey walnut prawns and a sweet beans for dessert.

As every long distance runner knows, your stomach is like an endless pit after a training run. I hate to admit this but I actually ate two Taco Bell tacos two hours later and ate a bowl of seafood pasta from Frankie, Johnnies, and Luigi's for dinner. Not including the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, oranges, and banana I ate directly after the run. Or the bowl of oatmeal and banana I ate before the run, and the great deal of water and other fruits I consumed throughout the remainder of the day. I feel gross just thinking about the amount I ate but it was so worth it.

Now back to reading and homework.

Runners Brain + Math = Doh!

The results of this equation are at the end of this entry via photos.

The alarm goes off when the whole world is snoring in a deep state of slumber way before the sun rises, and here I am getting out of bed. As soon as I'm standing my husband of four and half years whose back was towards me rolls to my side and clasps onto my pillow. I need to get ready to make up the Team In Training Coach led run I missed yesterday due to class.

Fully dressed to run 16 miles, I eat my instant oatmeal and banana. My fuel belt it fully loaded with my favorite GU, Outrageous Chocolate and Tri-Berry, along with Lemon Gatorade. Out the door and at Campbell Park before 7 am. Ten minutes worth of stretching and I'm off.

Along the trail I run to Willow Glen and back to Campbell. Five miles done, great, 11 miles to go. Here is where things become a little tricky, by mile six on my way to Los Gatos the back of my foot above the heel is being scratched and burns. The top of the sock falls below my ankles leaving my bare skin exposed the high back of my shoe. Now to run ten miles while my shoes rub the skin off the back of my feet. Ugh. Ignore the pain. It's not there. Listen to the whistle, is what I tell myself.

The whistle is new to my running regimen. It's an ordinary whistle with a ball inside that I hope to never use to ward off attackers. But the ball, is bounces inside the whistle with every stride. It sounds like I'm running with a rattle. There's no way I'm sneaking up behind anyone. Dogs in the surrounding neighborhoods bark as I approach and pass their homes. You can hear them barking several yards away. People walking or running their dogs look behind them to see where the rattle is coming from. A couple of dogs whimper and a few lunge for me. Some passersby leer and seem annoyed. You try running so many miles listening to this.

I'm tired and need to use a restroom bad when I reach mile ten. Luckily I know a little league field is quickly coming up complete with restrooms. I rejoice and smile with the little sign points to the field. I stop my watch and go. Hmm, mile 10.48, I'll need to turn around soon. This is where the Doh! part of the title comes in.

The math here is simple. I ran five miles, two and half miles out and two and half miles back is five, subtract from 16 and you're left with 11 miles left. Divide 11 by two and you have five and half. From Campbell to Los Gatos I need to run out five and half miles and turn around. Easy, add five to five and half to get ten and half. I need to turn around at mile 10.5, at the little league field, but that's not what I do.

No, I continue south bound deeper into Los Gatos. Pass the little league field, crossing Highway 17 on a bridge painted with murals from the local children, pass Los Gatos High School and towards the Lexington Dam. Why did I do this? Because I added 5.5 to 6 rather than 5. Why? Runners brain. There's a point when a runner is tired and stops thinking other than running and finishing. That was me. I ran an extra mile after my turn around point. Of course I realize this when I turn around. Now I'm in for 18 miles. Wah!

I cut corners where ever I can which is hardly anywhere. I stop at mile 16 and walk the remainder two miles. I am not going to run 18. My bleeding heels, back of my feet, whatever you want to call that part of the body hurts. My legs are sore and my knee is bothering me. And the heat? It's climbing. Yesterday it was in the 90s by 10 am, today it's a lot cooler but still warm. I'm tired and just want to go home.

After completing my 16 mile run and two mile walk I immediately call my husband. I was suppose to call him when I was done but told him to call me if he didn't hear from me by 9:30 am. I left my mobile phone in the car. By the time I call it's nearly 10:30, an hour late.

I go home and before I prepare myself for an ice bath I show him my boo-boos. Take a look for yourself.

Yep, it hurts.

How was I able to run 10 miles and walk 2 miles like this?

As of today these shoes are retired. They are blood stained and surpassed 300 miles.

Not looking forward to this...

because it hurts! My husband heard me howl at the other end of our apartment.
I've retired these socks too!

Missing My Team

Today was my first of three Saturday classes. A Special Education class that runs from 9 am to 4 pm. Because of this class I've missed a coach led run this morning, a 16 miler! After receiving and ready the syllabus for the class I noticed that our next meeting will be on September 26th, my last coach led run for Team In Training. The last run is our 20 miler!

I cannot skip this class and I cannot join the second section because it's taught by another instructor. The only thing I can do is go to class and run 20 miles by myself on Sunday. No one to run with, no water stops and no one to greet and applaud my efforts. I really do miss my Team.

My class did save me from running in 90 to 100 degree heat this morning. Another plus is a forecast of an 80 degree high tomorrow meaning a sweet cool Sunday morning. I think I'll start my run at 6 am just to make sure to avoid the sun and the heat.

Kudos to all my teammates that did run in the blazing sun and heat today and ran between 16 to 18 miles. You guys rock!

Coaches' Order

Running without my running buddy is hard sometimes. There's no one there to joke with, no one to rant and rave with, to keep our spirits up, and to help pull each other at the end of a long run. Yep, it's hard. Running by myself is even harder when a coach pulls you aside and gives you a very slow pace and forgets to tell you're running buddy.

"Gabby, you're pace should be 10:30 but I'm going to have to start off at 12 minutes a mile."

"What?! Are you sure?" I question back in disbelief.

"Yes, this is for your own good. Every mile decrease the pace by 15 seconds until you hit 10:30 minutes a mile. Trust me, you won't be tired at the end of your 14 miles," my coach says with a smile.

I snap a few photos of my running group and head out with the fast runners only to be left behind in the dust, literally. None of them are following the coaches pace he gave them and he forgot to give most of them their paces! Here I was, the last one in my running group, basically walking the first few miles in the heat, by the drying stinky sulfurous marshes of the Baylands Park. (An entire region of the Baylands are used to produce salt. When the water evaporates the only living creature/bacteria that lives in the saline water dries up and stinks the whole place up.)

I don't know what was harder, running slowly by myself or seeing my group run by me and finish before me. I did though, I stuck with the pace Coach Hao gave me and I wasn't happy at all. When I finished both Coach Tim and Coach Kris asked what was wrong with me. "You didn't smile once out there. Are you OK?"Coach Kris asked with a concerned look on her face.

I explained what Coach Hao had said and the only thing she kept saying is, "that's too slow for you."

Word got out to Coach Hao and he promised to pick up my pace. He was just being conservative with my time. He then told Victoria what had happened and told her that we must run together and maintain our pace. There's an order that made me happy.

Trail Running!

Running and preparing for my quickly upcoming classes and a tutoring gig at my old high school I've neglected to update my blog!

Saturday I ran with my Team In Training group at Waddell Beach/Rancho Del Oso/Big Basin. It sounds like I ran everywhere that morning but it's one huge interconnected California State Park that stretches from the coast inland towards the Santa Cruz Mountains all the way to Saratoga, California. It's huge, it's beautiful and in my backyard. It's only an hour drive to the beach and well worth it. Beaches, rivers, wild blackberries, waterfalls, and enormous redwoods filled with critters, hikers, runners, and a couple of cyclist-as you can read there's something for everyone here. As an amatuer photographer it's a rich with all kinds of materials but tired me forgot to charge my camera! I did manage to take a few photos, though.

The day started off early and was plesantly surprised to see how most of the morning fog burned off before 8 in the morning with the sun quickly climbing into the sky. To our surprise the beach was balmy, too. The typical summer pattern for northern California at the coast and bay is cool and foggy. The temperature ranges in the early 60s to low 50s with a lingering fog. Warm and balmy means beautiful beach day, too hot to run in. Thankfully we were trail running along a creek and between the redwoods. The shade and cool temperatures made it perfect for running.

In spite of the beautiful surroundings, or maybe despite of it, many runners looked up to view it and tumbled over roots, rocks, and little dips in the trail. In fact two women I ran with fell, including my running buddy Victoria and Marnie. To top it off another woman sprained her ankle seven miles into our 12 mile run! Poor Pim, luckly she was able to walk to the water stop three miles away. No, the group didn't leave her alone to walk by herself. I walked Pim to the water stop where she was driven the rest of the way back while I ran the last two miles in. I have to say it was hard for me to start running again. I was running at a great pace, stopped and walked several miles and started running after emerging out of the shady woods into the dry dusty trail leading back to the beach, but I did it. Yay for me!

Click here or view the slideshow at the top of the page for photos. I can't seem to post photos on my blog for some reason. :-(

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

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.

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.

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!
   

I'm Famous! Well, Sort Of

I met my friend Jen last summer during my first season with Team In Training. She's ran with TNT for several season's now and has raised a over $7000 since she started back in 2005! She has been writing a short series of articles for the San Jose Fitness Examiner and recently wrote about our recent Thursday morning buddy run-my birthday run. Click here to read it.

Hill Repeats!

Marathon training is not just building up endurance and running long miles, nuh-huh. Runners need a strong core to keep them stable, they need strong arms to pump them through when fatigue sets in, and runners need to do interval training along with speed workouts. Interestingly enough hill repeats are a form of interval training.

Adam leading the pack down the hill. This photo does not give the hill justice. It's steep.

So, here's was today's track workout consisted of:

• 12 minute run warm-up, one mile
• Dynamic stretching
• Run out to the hill two miles away
• Run up a steep hill at 80% intensity with a slow recovery run to the bottom and repeat for a total of five times, totaling one mile
  
• Run back to the track, another two miles
• A total of six miles followed by a 20 minute core workout!

Personally, I think we should increase the core workout to 45 minutes, but it was still a great workout.

Some of the tough women and one of the many men I ran hill repeats with.
Left to right: Sara, me, Heather, Corina and Steve.

I love running with my Team In Training group. I receive top notch training, raise money to find a cure to blood cancer and run with a phenomenal group of people. I'm never alone during a run and have people to commiserate with at the end of a run. Not to mention great company to hang out and eat out with. The perks of running. :-)

Happy Birthday To ME!

It's Thursday and that means waking up at 5:20 am for my morning Buddy Run in Campbell Park, yes even on my birthday. There is nothing better than waking up and meeting an enthusiastic group of people with several common goals; raising funds to find a cure for blood cancer, running, training for marathons, and . I, and the rest of the group, did miss several faces: Steve, John, Ryan, Lisa and Emily. Steve and John are on vacation whereas the others did not show up.

Thanks Coach Hao for snapping this photograph.

Top ten reasons why this was my best Buddy Run ever! In chronological order.

1. It's my birthday! Everyone wished me a happy birthday! They really do like me!
2. Victoria dressing up like me.
3. Toni and Mike Z. made it out this morning. Yay!
   
4. They let me led the group out.
5. Ran with the fast kids!
6. Ran four miles in 35:41! That's a personal record!
7. Janine surprised us with coffee and Jen with home baked banana bread.
   
8. A birthday card and gift from Victoria.
   
9. Being sung Happy Birthday at 6 something in the morning!
10. Spent the morning with the most phenomenal, inspiring, dedicated, and coolest group of I people I have the pleasure of befriending through Team In Training.
    

Thanks everyone, you're all great! Thanks for making my birthday a happy and memorable one! GO TEAM!

Now if I can only figure out how to use my Garmin Forerunner correctly.

It's Sizzling!

Sizzling heat struck us on our eight miler this pass Saturday. It was 85 degrees Fahrenheit at 8 am! Not only that but I ran in with wave five and six, the fast running group of our team, which meant we ran out later at 8:40ish. Arg, it was hot! Luckily we had Honoree Carlos and his father, Honoree Mike H., Honoree Jack A. and Honoree Ichi at three different water stops serving us ice cold water, Gatorade and snacks to keep us cool and happy.

When the heat cranks up new peeps quickly learned the importance of a fuel belt and proper hydration. They also learn the usefulness of the run-walk method. I met Becky half-way through the run and talked about the many benefits of the run-walk and converted her by the end of the run. Both Becky and her hip flexor thanked me for asking her to join my 5:1 pace.

After the run we had a yummy potluck with tons of strawberries, blueberries, bananas, salads, water, and various breakfast foods. The best breakfast item were the mini breakfast burritos that Amy Condos prepared! Egg's a little cheese and peppers, what a great post run meal.

All in all it was a hot hard run and I'm looking forward to more.

Theme Thursday-Summer

Theme Thursday

Swimming in the backyard, picnic's underneath the peach tree, swinging on my swing-set, my birthday, my sister's birthday, my mother's birthday and countless cousin's birthday parties occurring every weekend. The sweet aroma of sweet roses and honeysuckle intermingling with the smell of sun block; hot dogs wrapped in crescent roll dough, mac and cheese and lemonade my favorite meal after playing in the pool-this was my childhood summer.

Bus rides at 7:30 am across town, making new friends, sitting in a junior college class room for six hours a day listening to lecture after lecture after lecture for eight weeks straight. Algebra homework, exams, and studying in a hot bedroom during heat wave after heat wave-my summer as a young student.

As a college student moping around the house, going out with friends to the mall and to the cinema was great but did not take precedence. Archery, general psychology, logic, and other evenings classes filled my summer. Homework, exams and studying in a big air-conditioned library; making the grade and slowly crossing off general education classes.

No more classes and no more summer breaks, I sure miss school now.

Now I run and train with TNT raising funds to find a cure for leukemia and lymphoma and other blood-related cancers. Waking up at 5:20 am to meet a group of dedicated people every Thursday morning to train for a marathon knowing full well that I am making a difference as I work out to stay physically fit. Being an adult isn't all that bad.

Training and running, a layoff notice from work and an acceptance letter from San Jose State University for the Fall of 2009into the Single Subject Credential Program is what this summer has brought forth! My last day of work is July 31st, my first day of class is August 24th, my marathon is October 18th and I'm all smiles. Standing in front of a class lecturing instead of taking notes, handing out and grading exams, summer breaks filled with swimming and picnics and running, future summers here I come.

Running, Baking, Fund-Raising and Running Some More

The training and fund-raising never ends. Saturday was our first not so On Your Own run. Team In Training mentors and captains chose different parks and times and led OYO runs for participants to join. Of course they can run on their own but it's always more fun to run with new and old friends.

The photo below is the group Victoria and I led the four mile run at Campbell Park at 8 am Saturday. I hope I have all the names right from left to right: Sparsha, Sandy, Nicole, Jessica, Jennifer, Katie, Victoria and Sara. Mike B. is somewhere in the background stretching after his six mile run.

Considering that Victoria and I are going to be running the SF half marathon in a month we met up earlier to get a quick two miles in. We ran the two miles in under 20 minutes! I'm hoping to get more speed training and run the half in two hours. It'd be great to run it under two hours and in order to do that I'll have to train really hard.

Six miles and lot's of laughs later I picked my parent's up for a little wine tasting at Janine's home, her outstanding fundraiser. My husband's friend Charles came up for the weekend from LA and came along with us. Charles came over to our place dressed up. In the meantime I was fixing my hair wearing my very pretty dress. My husband looked at his friend, looked at me, and back at his friend and frowned. He hung his head down looking at his feet in flip flops and walked to the bedroom saying, "I guess I have to get dressed, huh?"

Peer pressure at it's best. I don't remember the last time my husband dressed up. Thanks Charles, it wouldn't have happened without you. My husband on the left and Charles on the right.

A couple of wines, plenty of great cheeses, fruits, nuts, crackers, great northern California summer weather in a beautifully groomed backyard with wonderful people raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, it was a perfect Saturday afternoon.

More cookies and more banana bread a baking. Selling baked cookies and banana bread does not sell as quickly or gets the huge returns as $25 a glass for a wine tasting event. So I'll have to come up with another fundraising tool. Hang with the gangs are also a way to fundraise if done properly.

I hosted Track Tuesday's "Hang With The Gang" and made a small profit for my fundraiser. I could have made more if I bought less food but a profit is still a profit and now I have plenty of left overs to eat for a week. That's not bad, right? Beef broccoli, lots of white rice and eggrolls to feed 20 people isn't bad. Oh, it's going to be a long week or week and a half.

Besides hosting HWTG I ran three miles at 28:57. Not the time I wanted but it was hot and I didn't have a proper snack to sustain me for track so I'll take that time for now. Next time we do a timed 3 mile run I'll I want to be able to finish in 25 minutes. I'm going to work hard and I will do it.

I have a fundraising dinner coming up at California Pizza Kitchen in early July. Click here to find out more details. If you have any fundraising ideas please leave me a comment. Thanks, Gabby.

Circuits!

Welcome to our second track workout session of the summer season! After a mile warm-up and dynamic stretching we did a circuit workout. What are circuits? Read below.

• 15 bicycle kicks
• 1 minute plank
• 20 lunges
• 20 second side planks, both sides
• 25 real push ups (not the fake girly kind)
• 20 crab lunges, both sides
• 1 minute bridges
• 50 sit ups
• 20 clams, both sides
• running one full lap (400 meters) between each work out session
• equals one fit, happy, sore Gabby :-)

Running To Eradicate Cancer

Today we had our second coach led run at Hellyer Park, an old picnic stomping ground for my family, lot's of great bbirthday parties, walks and training wheel rides around the pond, feeding the ducks and geese and their young ones, a lot of good memories, and now I get to add one more! This is the first time I ran-walked under 101 overpass. It was so cool! I only heard my uncles and aunt talk about it as a kid but I never walked under it!

Ah, the memories.

Coach Tim and former TNT Coach Ed held their valuable Beginner' s Clinic. Running over 40 marathons combined these guys are full of useful running advice-advice from proper running shoes, hydration, fueling up before, during, and after a race, stretching and the infamous ice bath. Brrr.

Eating prior to your long run is important!

An important topic that they discussed is Jeff Galloway's run-walk interval training. It works wonders by reducing muscle fatigue and helps prevent injuries. As a nice introduction to the run-walk I ran a 4:1 new participants.

Under US Route 101!

I ran five miles with my peeps Brandy, Katie, and Lisa. Lisa and Emily in the photo above are taking a short walking break.

After the run everyone sat down in the lush green grass to hear Honoree Ellen Cirigliano's life altering and poignant story about living with cancer and her fight to find a cure. Read her story here. The money we raise really does help save lives and touch many peoples lives. Anyone can train for a marathon but we TNTers run for a cause-to eradicate blood caner! Donate today and keep in mind that no amount is too small.

Ellen Cirigliano in the Honoree shirt.

It would not be a proper run without eating. Our Captain Steve invited the whole Team over to his house for the traditional Waffle-Fest. It was waffles, pancakes, and berries galore, bananas, sausages, orange juice, banana bread and some of my banana-nut muffins. Yum. It also gave us a chance to meet new people and learn more about our Honorees.

Me, Honoree Mike, and my peep Katie.