January 29th, 2013 – 7.32 Mile Run

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

I got a note from Coach Dion. He said to log more miles because I would be running distance this year and whether I PR’d or not, I needed to FINISH.

As it often happens, Coach was right. I’ve been focusing on hills and speed lately, which tend to be shorter runs but this 10-Miler I have coming up is flat…… AND IT’S TEN MILES!!!! And sprinting up hills isn’t going to make it any shorter!

All the hills and speed drills in the world won’t help if I can’t actually cover the distance!

So getting in some focused distance was the goal tonight.

It was great. It was after dark, which is a bummer, but Daylight Savings starts on March 10th, so evening runs are going to be much brighter soon. Can’t wait!!!

This was the first longer run I’d run alone in quite a while. I’d do little 3 mile sprints on my own but I’d been saving my longer runs for Race Pace meetings.

I gotta say, I really enjoyed this time. When I’m running with others, I tend to be more focused on just finishing without bonking. In so doing, I discovered that I actually push harder when I’m by myself.

That’s odd. Most people push harder when they run with others.

After much cogitation, I realized that when I run alone, I am constantly doing internal diagnostics and daring myself to push harder. I think it’s because I know that if I push too hard and have to stop, I can… And for as long as I want. But I tend to take it easier when I’m running with a group. I would be devastated if I was on a team run, or running with Andree and I had to stop.

This is probably why I’m always alone when I hurt myself. When I strained my calf, I was alone. The time I bruised my Achilles tendon, I was alone. When I messed up my shoulder? You guessed it! Alone.

I’m not quite sure what to do about this, other than to be sure to mix up my workouts with team and solo runs. But it’s good to get a better idea of how my runner-self ticks.


ANYWAY….. I felt great afterward. Tight, but great. I had to get in a good session of stretches, I replaced my protein and sodium as soon as I got home and I got a really good night’s sleep.

This is a pic of me feeling good the next day. Wow! I gotta lotta Michael Jackson and running stuff at the office! Ah, well….. It makes my day.

See ya on the next run!

January 22nd thru 27th - 8 Miles Total

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

These were short little runs. As promised, they were hill runs. Well, the first two were. The last one was just a fluke. I walked Jordan to a friend’s house and sprinted back home.

Lately, I have been having some shoulder impingement issues. I have been waiting patiently for it to go away but it has stayed with me for much longer than I’d like.

I’m fairly certain I should see a doctor about it but why go see a doctor when there’s FaceBook?


I put the question out there, pondering whether or not my salt intake could be part of the problem. I *love* these things!!

I could eat ‘em everyday. It’s probably the most undignified thing I do. Popping and spitting is one of my favorite past times and I’ll admit it without shame….. Largely because I am rarely caught at it. I never eat them in public and only my husband & children know of my secret shame. Well …. them and now you.

Anyway, one of my FaceBook buddies suggested that grains might be the culprit. Not that grains caused the problem, I know where and how I hurt myself, but that they may exacerbate the problem. Hmmm….

This is a potential problem and more than a little unfair, in my opinion. I already eat like a geriatric patient with congestive heart failure.

I tend to stick to a Heart Healthy diet, full of lean meats, veggies and whole grains. And I almost never overeat. Not that I don’t splurge from time to time. Chickens line up from miles around for the privilege of giving their lives to be my fried chicken!! I am better than average at baked goods and I recently procured a FANTASTIC recipe for truffles. Other than those few slip ups from time to time, I eat pretty cleanly.

I even started drinking red wine for the health benefits. Really, I did! I ended up liking it quite a bit but still, the original intention was for medicinal reasons. This is me being medicinal.

I didn’t want to believe that alleviating grains… All grains, could be the fix to this problem. But the suggestion came from a respected source, so I forwent (yes, that is the past tense of forgo) my usual breakfast of whole wheat toast with Earth Balance spread, Strawberry Simply Fruit jam and a mug of Green Tea and replaced it with boiled eggs and fresh orange wedges, further pigeon-holing myself amongst the blue hairs and red hat ladies.

I couldn’t give up my Green Tea in my Michael Jackson mug. Who could? He rocks and therefore Green Tea rocks.

It may have been a fluke but the pain was noticeably diminished that day.

Then I wondered if it was a grains issue or a gluten issue. So I had Rice Krispies for dinner that night. I looked at the Nutritional information on the box and it has whole grains but didn’t list gluten, so I went for it.

The pain was back that night.

I’m still not convinced that giving up all grains is the solution but I am trying all manner of devices. Consistently getting a good night’s rest is something I’m trying to work into my program too. This is me before bed.

Good night. Zzzzzz………

Now, on to the Run

January 22nd – 3.27 Mile Run (Hilly. 60 sec @ 9:30 min/mi and 30 sec walk breaks)
January 24th – 3.03 Mile Run (Hilly. 60 sec @ 10:00 min/mi and 30 sec walk breaks)
January 27th – 1.70 Mile Run (Flat. First half, stroll w/Jordan. Last Half 9:45 min/mi Sprint)


These were short but peppered with speed drills on hills (except the last one. I was nursing a fever). I got a note from Coach Dion. He said to keep up the hill work and work speed in once a week. When Coach says move your ass, you don’t ask questions. You just move your ass.

December 3rd thru January 21st, 63.17 Miles Total

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

It has been quite a while since I’ve made an entry and that is bad bad bad. I have been plenty busy and while my running schedule has taken a serious beating, I have been running fairly regularly.

At the moment, I have two races scheduled and I am also seriously considering the Pacific Half in March. I’ve done that one every year since I’ve known about it and while I have never PR’d on it, it remains one of my favorites.

I know there are many people out there who love to run trails and don’t bother lacing up for less than a 1000 ft climb, but I am not one of those people. I hate hills. Hate ‘em like pebbles in my running shoes. Another thing I really loathe is the New Year’s Resolution.

With that said, I have decided that 2013 is going to the Year of the Hills!! I hate the idea of course but I do believe that hill work is speed work in disguise.

Regular readers know that I am no fan of speed work. Focusing on speed robs me of the joy of running but becoming a stronger runner is ideal and, as far as I’m concerned, always the goal.

This brings me back to the Pacific Half Marathon and why I’ve never PR’d on it. It’s hilly. Very hilly. Almost all of it. Sure, there are hillier Halfs but for me, the Pacific Half is where I beat my body down every year.

Normally, I would register without a second thought and just do my best on it but this year, I have a 10-miler scheduled three weeks before. Do I think I can fully recover from a 10-miler in three weeks? Of course…. As long as I don’t injure myself.

But that’s exactly what happened between the RAD 10k and the Marla Runyan Half last year. I clocked one of my worst Halfs ever because I ran it injured and I may not have gotten injured if I had taken it easier during the two week period between those races. That had never happened to me before and I don’t care to repeat the experience.



There are many other first-time experiences since my last entry that I would *love* to repeat like:

Learning to shoot a high powered rifle.

Attending a Quincenera.

Finding funny, slightly passive aggressive signs posted in my neighborhood.

Finally cleaning out my workout bag.

Finally getting to see the suit MJ was laid to rest in < sniff! >

Doing a race with my super hot brother-in-law.

Getting completely hammered at a Masquerade Ball with some hot runner chicks.

Taking the fam to the aquarium in Long Beach.

And channeling Forest Gump, the most beloved Ultra Marathoner of all time, outside The Bubba Gump Shrimp, Co.

I’ll keep you posted on the hill running and let you know what I decide about the Pacific Half.
And now, On to the Run

December 3rd, 2012 – 3.16 Mile Run
December 4th, 2012 – 2.76 Mile Run
December 9th, 2012 – 6.26 Mile Run – Race Pace Jingle Bell Rock n Run 10k
December 11th, 2012 – 2.18 Mile Run
December 17th, 2012 – 3.82 Mile Run
December 23rd 2012 – 3.18 Mile Run – Reindeer Run 5k w/Uncle Ryan
December 28th, 2012 – 3.49 Mile Run
December 29th, 2012 – 4.02 Mile Run
December 31st, 2012 – 1.40 Mile Walk
December 31st, 2012 –7.42 Mile Run
January 1st, 2013 – 7.42 Mile Run – New Year’s Run w/Race Pace
January 12th, 2013 – 3.54 Mile Run
January 13th, 2013 – 5.06 Mile Run – w/Lisa from Race Pace
January 17th, 2013 – 1.11 Mile Run
January 20th, 2013 – 5.33 Mile Run – W/Race Pace
January 21st, 2013 –3.02 Mile Run