February 15th, 2012 – 4.01 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.”

This was a great run, which is tremendous, considering it was on the treadmill. Generally, I don’t enjoy the treadmill workout.

But I had to get this run in… for two reasons: (1) Because it was on the schedule and (2) Because Coach Dion says March is right around the corner so I have to up the training. Damn it, Coach!

Of course, he’s right. If I don’t want to forgo my tapering, I really need to pick it up. Tapering is more important than I tend to give it credit for.

Having a treadmill at home was supposed to be my saving grace, but it turns out that it means I get interrupted quite a lot. My family figure since I’m just in the garage, I’m still at home and available to fetch, wipe, referee and counsel. This gets very frustrating.

Even after staying at the office very late to get to the bottom of some figures that just refused to balance, I was determined to get a 3 mile run in with sprint intervals. I figured this workout was no match for me. I wasn't bested by corporate financials and I wouldn't be bested by a little 3-mile sprint!

However!!! The minute I got home, the boy was beside himself. He had to make a run to Target and everyone in the house was starving. I’m still not clear on why Chris couldn’t take care of this, as he had been home for at least an hour and was watching TV. But I digress. Clearly, these are tasks that require my singular abilities.

So I made a deal with Jordan. I told him to finish his homework while I got in a one-mile sprint. Then we could go and I would get something on the table.

After the trip to Target and a failed attempt to find something healthy on the menu at Burger King, Jordan was satisfied and everyone was fed and watered. After dinner, I was back on the treadmill.

I had completely cooled down, of course, so I still had another 3 miles to push through. By this time, everyone in the house seemed to understand that I was a ticking time-bomb about to blow. If I didn’t get this run in, I would be EXTREMELY grumpy. It’s never good when mom is trippin’, so everybody backed off long enough for me to get this run in.

What made this run great was a steady pace, with sprints at the .75 mark to cap off the miles. At the beginning of each mile I would start at 4 mph, until I hit the .50 mark, then it was 5 mph. After I hit the .75 mark, I would push it to 6 mph to finish out the mile. All of this at a 6% incline while watching old episodes of Community. I love that show.

After I hit the 4 mile mark, I turned on “The Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston (God rest her soul) and cooled down with a .25 walk.

Juggling work, home, family and fitness is no joke but getting it all done feels good.

After all was ran and done, I stretched, iced, showered, shampooed, poured myself a snifter of chocolate-flavored Port and watched John Stewart with Chris.

Good stuff.

January 24th, 2012 thru February 14th, 2014 – 17.19 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.”

Jeez! I am really dropping the ball on blogging and I am really suffering for it. Fortunately my readership is slim at best, so I am letting no one down but myself.

So much has gone on since I last wrote. Let’s see:

1) Jordan’s first eye doctor appointment.
This is a big deal, as Chris and I are both blind as the proverbial bat (should be a mole actually. I dunno how bats got this bum rap. They see very well). Turned out the boy has astigmatism. Guh! Not serious enough for correction yet. But even the doctor said, “It’s about time. With you and Chris as parents, he’s got a lot to worry about”. Really! He said that! Rude! But so true.



2) Glee does MJ!
This is also a huge big deal. I never watch the show but it was Michael!!! They were very respectful to his work and did a fine job. I bought the soundtrack and have been running to it ever since. Love it!



3) Michael Jackson - The Immortal Tour by Cirque du Soleil
Opening Night!!! Yeah, Baby! It’s OK to wish you were me. The show was great. Very talented dancers. Not as good as Michael but what can you expect? It’s Michael!!!



4) Met Claudia for Lunch!
I love Miss Claudia. She is a beautiful young woman who worked for me many moons ago. She was one of my absolute favorites. She was newly married back then and now she has a baby of her own and made the commitment to make motherhood her new career. I am so proud of her! And jealous! My hat is off to the homemaking moms! You are better women than I.


5) Super Bowl XLVI (46)
We went to a party at a friend’s house and had a great time. The “Star Spangled Banner” is my favorite song of all time and Kelly Clarkson did a WONDERFUL job! Not as well as Whitney, but who can expect that? I think the Giants won? I dunno, all I saw was David Beckham.



6) Got our Quarterly Bonus at Work!!!
While I do wish I didn’t have to work so much, I am so grateful to be working for a GREAT company! A company that shares the wealth when they can. Not to mention the fact that Chris works there too! Working with your hubby everyday is AWESOME!!! I highly recommend it.




7) Jordan had his first sleepover
This ran well. This was the first time he had ever hosted a sleep over. All I did was dispersed food and drink and kept the batteries in the X-Box controllers fresh. Easy Peasy.


8) Whitney Houston Dies!!
I couldn’t believe it! Every little Black girl in the late 80’s and early 90’s wanted to be Whitney! I wasn’t ashamed to admit, I was shaken by this one. I know she destroyed herself, but I think it’s a bit ironic that the likes of Bobby Brown and Charlie Sheen get to go on living. Goodbye, Whitney! Say “Hi” to Michael for me. < sad >



9) I invited Sherri to Bunco!!
I’ve been a part of a Bunco group for about 10 years and I love it!!! I’d never invited a friend, though. If you’ve never played, you gotta find a group! Bunco is the most fun you can have with your clothes on!



10) Bought a bottle of Nivole and a nice Chocolate Port
I’m not a drinker by any means, but I do enjoy a nice sipper of California Sherry every once in a while and my absolute favorite table wine is Nivole. If you can find it in your area, I highly recommend it for people who don’t really drink. So sweet. So smooth. Yum! I’ve had the Port in the ‘fridge for days and haven’t tried it yet, but I’ll letcha know how it goes!




11) The Grammy’s!
I have it recorded. Haven’t watched it yet. But I understand it was a Whitney Love-fest and Adele rocked the house. I may have already heard and seen all there is to know about it. So I may just delete it and search the InterNets for the highlights.



12) Valentine’s Day!
Chris got me new radial tires and I got him a new chair for his desk at home. What’dja get? Flowers? < snort! > Seriously, though. I get treated pretty well all year. Valentine’s Day holds no magic for me. The love of a good man makes Valentine’s Day just another day.



Now, on to the run!

January 24th, 2012 – 3.57 Mile Run
January 31st, 2012 – 1.07 Mile Sprint
February 2nd, 2012 – 2.31 Mile Run
February 6th, 2012 – 3.19 Mile Run
February 7th, 2012 – Weight Training (Kettle Bells)
February 8th, 2012 – 2.90 Mile Run
February 13th, 2012 – 4.15 Mile Run

January 21st, 2012 – 8.10 Mile Run/Walk

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.”

This run really should have been great but the only good thing about it is that I did get it done.

It was supposed to be the glorious distance run that caps off my week. But alas, the whole house was down with this terrible cold.

First Jayda got it. High temperature, achy body, fatigue, coughing, stuffy nose… the whole nine. Of course, I can’t keep my hands off her so I got it too, then Jordan and finally, Chris. *sigh*

There were days off work and missed school days. The entire week was spent with the entire household in varying stages of blaaahhh.

I dragged myself through work on Friday then crashed.

Saturday morning dawned shiny and bright. Still exhausted and sporting a slightly elevated temperature, I geared up, grabbed a leash and set out with Sarah for what was supposed to be a 10-miler.

I knew almost immediately that this run was not going to be a success and almost turned around before I left my neighborhood. Not only did I feel like I was moving through molasses, but Sarah was completely out of control.

It had been so long since she’d been out for a run, she completely forgot how to do it. She bolted after every dog she saw and just would NOT obey commands.

I spent the entire “run” trying to get her to behave. I ended up walking at least half of it.

The chilly breeze felt great against my burning skin, though. By the time I got home, my temperature was back in full force.

Needless to say, I was extremely grumpy by the time I finished this run. It took far too long to finish and I cut it short to 8 miles.

Aw, well…. We shall have to try that one again. See ya on the next run…..

December 13th, 2011 thru January 16th, 2012 – 34.66 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.”






Much has gone on since my last post.

1) I acquired a treadmill. What?!
2) Christmas. Merry Christmas!!
3) New Year’s Day. Happy New Year!!!!
4) I registered for the Pacific Half Marathon. Woot!
5) A horrible ordeal where the friend of a friend was abducted while out for her morning run. It looks like she didn’t survive the incident. So sad. Prayers to Sherry’s family & friends. Read about it HERE!
6) Our 15th Wedding Anniversary. Yippee!!
7) Our trip to Disneyland to celebrate said Anniversary. Sweet!
8) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Still living The Dream!

For quite some time I have been trying to work out a regular schedule for my running.

After much cogitation, I told my husband that with his new schedule and the inclement weather, my running schedule has taken a terrible beating and the best way to rectify the situation was to get me a treadmill. He groaned and so did I. Treadmills are expensive and we still had, Property Taxes, Christmas, New Year’s and our 15th Anniversary looming before us.

I asked him if I could get one if I could find one for under $100. He said sure! Cuz that’s the kinda guy he is. After combing Craig’s List for many long minutes, I found one for $60. SCORE!!

So the deal was made and the contraption was paid for, picked up and set up in my garage.

It’s an old model but the display works and the motor is strong. Most of these miles are done on this little baby.

I am grateful. I really am… But I gotta say I really do hate running on treadmills. It’s great to get the miles in when there is no other option but OMG! It is mind-numbingly boring.

The machine itself is stuck on a 6% uphill grade and I can’t make it go down. You’re supposed to use this handy crank (told you it was old), but crank as I might, I can’t seem to get it down to a level run.




So when I would normally burn about 100 calories per mile, I tend to burn 150, even when I’m moving at a snail’s pace.

I’m not exactly sure if that is a plus or a minus. Running at an incline will certainly make me a stronger runner (plus) but I would be more likely to enjoy it more if I could get a flat run in, especially when I’m working on speed (minus).

Either way, these are Upper Class problems, like when our iPads run out of juice, so I shant complain. I will use it until the motor gives out. Also, Sherry remains very heavily on my mind and I am less likely to run after dark or very early in the morning when I am alone. The treadmill is ideal for that.

Prayers and prayers and prayers to Sherry’s family. I’m having trouble letting it go.

Now, on to the run!

December 13th, 2011 – 3.30 Miles
December 16th, 2011 – 2.50 Miles
December 17th, 2011 – 0.25 Miles
December 22nd, 2011 – 3.04 Miles
December 26th, 2011 – 3.14 Miles
January 2nd, 2012 – 4.13 Miles
January 3rd, 2012 – 1.01 Miles
January 4th, 2012 – 2.30 Miles
January 7th, 2012 – 6.08 Mile (Outside… And the day Sherry was lost )
January 9th, 2012 – 2.41 Miles
January 14th, 2012 – 3.00 Miles (Walk with Chris)
January 16th, 2012 - 1.50 Miles

Friday 9th, 2011 – 3.12 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.”

This was an interesting run. I didn’t expect to enjoy it so much. I also didn’t expect to run 3 miles.

Because I was with the kids, I could only run in my neighborhood. This meant that I had to run laps… back and forth from cul-de-sac to cul-de-sac and yes, it’s typically as boring as it sounds.

But I had to get this run in. Not because I particularly wanted to but because in my last post, I got a reprimand from Coach Dion.

Don’t get me wrong, Coach Dion is super cool, but he keeps me grounded and he calls me on it when I’m settling for mediocrity.

In my last post, I mentioned that I hadn’t run in several days because it had been so cold. Coach, in his wonderfully diplomatic way, told me I needed to get myself some winter running gear, something I would be excited to wear so I would be motivated to get out in inclement weather to see how well it works.

Reading between the lines, what I read was: You’re in Southern California!!! Get off of your ass, Girl and get it MOVING!!!!

Well, he’s not just “Dion”, he’s COACH Dion! And when Coach tells me to get off my ass, I usually do. Even though he is literally half a world away, he still kinda scares me a little bit.

So I put a leash on the dog and decided to run some speed intervals. Because one thing I’ve learned after 2 years of running is that a boring route becomes an awesome route with two things: hills or speed intervals.

So I power-walked Sarah from my house at the tip of one cul-de-sac, all the way to the tip of the other cul-de-sac (approximately a .35 mile distance) and ran back home (same distance) at my 5k pace. Sarah’s pretty fast, so I was essentially racing her back home.

It was really awesome. I was only going to do one lap but it was such a great run, I did it four times. I pushed pretty hard and it felt good. Another reason why I always listen to Coach Dion, He’s always right.

When I got home Sarah was exhausted. Poor little lady. But she hung in there and I’m sure she’d be up for going again with very little persuasion.

I got out the door a little later than I’d like and when I run so close to bedtime, I usually have a hard time sleeping. I will frequently allow a late run on a Friday because I don’t usually have an early rise on Saturdays so a restless night is a far less serious thing.

Usually when I have a hard time sleeping, I just deal with it. I spend the entire night staring at the ceiling and trying to get as much rest as I can even if I don’t get much actual sleep.

On the rarest of occasions, I’ll have a tiny glass of sherry before I go to bed. Now, I’m not a drinker by any means so a tiny glass of sherry is enough to make me drowsy. And when I say, “tiny”, I mean TINY. I have it in a proper sherry glass, which is essentially a tiny wine glass that only holds 2oz of liquid. It’s cute, isn’t it?



I really enjoy a good California Cream Sherry. Mmmmm……
It’s smooth and nutty. Goes down very nicely. But it does make me thirsty hours later so I typically have restless sleep, even when I do have sherry.

A friend introduced me to Melatonin. It’s a hormone that your body produces naturally to induce sleep. Melatonin increases naturally when the sun goes down and teaches your body to feel sleepy when it’s dark and decreases when the sun rises so your body knows to be awake during the day.



This is an artificial hormone and it is used to treat insomnia. The blind are often prescribed Melatonin to train their bodies to recognize regular sleep cycles.

Melatonin can be had OTC and is safe to take over short periods, although I know people who take it everyday. It really helps bring on a good night’s sleep when I run too late and I wake up feeling refreshed.

After my run, I had some pasta for energy, 2 prunes for… you know, and Naked Juice brand Coconut water. Coconut water promotes rapid hydration and has high levels of potassium which guards against the cramps that I sometimes get in my feet after a run.



This one also contains Lychee juice. I have no idea what a Lychee is but I wanted to try it because the Naked Juice brand is considerably cheaper than the Zico brand. This one was fine but it wasn’t great. Largely because coconut water is kinda hard to take if you’re not ready for it. I drink it gladly and it keeps my cramps at bay.

I still have a mango-peach flavor to try, so I’ll do that one with my next run.

All in all, a good day and a GREAT run. Thanks again, Coach!!!

December 7th, 2011 – 2.31 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 have to admit, this run was not the greatest. I hadn’t been out since the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The truth is I just didn’t want to get out there. I allowed my schedule and the Arctic temperatures to get to me.

Now, I am very aware that there are people across the country who think nothing of going out for a run in sub-zero weather but I live in Southern California! And in Southern California, anything below 50 degrees is cause for MAJOR concern.

Granted, I’d think nothing of running during an earthquake and would only cut my run short if a major brush fire broke out but temperatures below 50 degrees give me pause. If you add winds over 10 mph, I’m done!

I was not built for cold weather. I am a Weather Wimp and I admit it without shame.

I say that to say, we have been having some pretty severe weather lately. By that, I mean, after dark, you can sometimes see your breath when you talk…. And for that, I hung up my running shoes for a bit.

However, after it had been 10 days since my last run, I couldn’t stand it any longer. My body was starting to rebel against this lack of activity.

Still, my schedule was working against me. My baby girl was turning 4 and this was a very BIG deal. I did the Mommy thing. I baked the cupcakes for her class, bought her a new outfit to wear to school and got her exactly what she asked for. When she told me she wanted “a baby” for her birthday, I immediately ran to the American Girl Doll website and ordered one, for nothing is too good for Lady Jay!

She got to decide what we’d have for dinner and of course any pre-schooler with impeccable taste wants the best McDonald’s has to offer, so it was Happy Meals all around!

It was still cold, but after dinner, I made sure everyone was settled with their favorite pre-bedtime vice, strapped on my high visibility gear, gloves and performance vest and hit the road. I knew it was going to be a short run, just in my neighborhood.

This is my least favorite route because I am literally running laps from one cul-de-sac to the other. I really do hate running laps but again, it had been too long and I was afraid that if I let this opportunity slip, I would never get back out there. I am so proud to be a RUNNER that I can’t imagine going back to being a regular citizen.

When Jayda, in her cute little footed PJs, pretty face and fluffy afro-puffs caught me at the door holding her new baby doll and said, “Mommy, please stay with me…”, it almost completely wrecked my resolve. But I kissed her sweet mouth and said, “I’ll be right back, Baby” and hit the road.

Was it worth it? Probably not….. But I’m glad I got it in. And I was back in time for prayers. So I’m calling it a win.

Happy Birthday, Pretty Girl!!!!

Running on Empty: An Ultamarathoner’s Story of Love, Loss and a Record-Setting Run Across America (REVIEW)

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 bought this book because I love reading about other runners’ experiences. It got rave reviews, was reasonably priced and readily available in Kindle format. All pluses in my book.

This story is mostly about Marshall Ulrich’s run across America. He runs from City Hall in San Francisco to City Hall in Manhattan.

I liked this book for several reasons. First of all, getting the first-hand account of how a person could push himself to that extent just boggles my mind. Secondly, he was very “human” about it. The story about how Dean Karnazes ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days and gets to the end of that without even the slightest soft tissue damage is not inspiring to me. He’s Superman, for sure. But I can’t relate to Superman. I can relate to everyday Human Man.

Sure, Mr. Ulrich is an amazing character but he was very open about the fact that the joint pain started on Day 1. Heat exhaustion met him on Day 2. Muscle cramps and Tendonitis came on Day 3 and so on. He was seriously uncomfortable by Day 5… But he kept moving forward. He moved forward through some serious medical issues and mind-numbing pain.

He was open about the days the he woke up in tears because he didn’t want to keep going. There were days when he was very tempted to throw in the towel as his partner in this venture did. Their friendship was ruined forever over this run.

He was also very open about the fact that all running does is make you a runner. It doesn’t make you a better person. He confesses that his life is littered with broken relationships and he is largely at fault for it. To come to terms with those kinds of shortcomings and put it out there for the whole world to see is a ballsy thing to do.

Finally, he ends the book with several Appendices with information of his route and running schedule, what he ate, his sponsorship, what he wore, who he visited, what the RV crew were doing, medications, injuries and treatments and his recovery. He also told of injuries that, as of this writing, were still unresolved.

This run aged him in ways that cannot be reversed. It injured him in ways in which he may never recover. Still he’s a hero to many. Having done the quadruple Badwater Ultra and many 24-hour and 100-mile runs, he is definitely not your average Joe but his book made him seem very accessible to me.

I can’t say that this book made me want to get out and run like ”Born to Run” by Chris McDougall did, but it did inspire me and reminded me that everyday people can do extraordinary things. It also showed me that there is a limit. There is the proverbial “Line” where I can and should say “Enough!” And I respect him for admitting that while he was proud to have finished this amazing feat, he’d overdone it and would likely not do anymore like it.

Still, his “taking it easy” running schedule is amazing me. I think he said something like 100 miles a week. AMAZING!!!!

That’s all I can say.