Weekend Update

The picture above is from North Beach area of San Francisco where I spent Saturday Morning at the 54th annual North Beach Festival. A juried craft fair with lots of jewelry, pictures, paintings, clothes and food. I made a small purchase, but had fun walking around and checking out the goods. Hopped on the cable car back to Union Square for my first "standing" cable car ride -- at times it was a bit scary, but overall FUN.

Spent the rest of the weekend in San Jose and Mountain View catching up with Karen, Sheila and Ann.

5.8K for Pat

Thanks to a note from Pat that said she was stuck on June 8th due to no posting, I got off the couch and put in 3.6miles tonight while watching Who's Line is it Anyway. A big shout out to Naples for getting me back in the game this week, when I was a slacker.

I've started a 10 week program today following one of Oprah's Book Club's books entitled, "A New Earth ~ Awakening to Your Life's Purpose." The first chapter and lesson was very philosphical but gave me a good bit to think about -- biggest takeaway was to be in every moment versus planning for the next.

The weather here in San Francisco is a bit like Maine -- cool in the morning and mid 70's during the day. A girl could get to like that a bit.

Rock the House 8K with Kates

Humidity is overwhelming. In the high heat of June here in Fairfax County, Kates and I kept a 16:10 pace to finish at 1:20 an 8K (5 Miles) called Rock the House. It was wonderful to have Kate along to keep me company. There was a young man (around 10) who had come out too quickly so we called him our "pacer" and when stuck with him. (His uncle came back to walk him in with a mile left). When Kates and I went to jog in the last .25, he blasted out and came across the finish line :)

I checked the race results and we were officially numbers 153 and 154 out of 155 women. Kate was 36 of 37 for first time racers. There were 16 women aged 45-49 and I was #16. The fastest completed at 32:06 (WOW!)

Pretty good crowd, and I'd do it again if I'm here this time next year. Thinking about formats, I've now done an 8K, 10K, 12K and 1/2 marathon. I'm scheduled for a 5K in San Francisco in August (Plate to Plate).

3 Miles in Fairfax, VA

Returned to my old haunts here in Fairfax Village this morning. Started out the exercise trip accompanying Dad on his way to pick up the paper and then headed out for a 3 miler (in prep for the 5 with Kate on Sunday). Whew! The humidity and ~70 degree temperature really made it more difficult than the cool humidity free Marin trips.

Big shout out to the Johnson's of Siesta Key who "tipped the cap" to take me over my $3,500 goal for Team in Training yesterday. And speedy recovery to Joan who is up and walking as of yesterday.

Back on the East Coast

Arrived back here in Fairfax late last night. The smell of rain (and probably humidity) was refreshing and wonderful. Will be a busy week, hopefully will find some time to workout before Saturday.

2 Miles -- 35 Minutes the Day After

Well so much for what I thought this morning! Once I got home my quads were still kinda sore so I decided before dinner to do a quick workout to "warm 'em up" hoping that will alleviate some of the dull pain. So far its working....I may have caught a bit of a bug with this training as I signed up for the "Rock the House" 8K on Sunday in Fairfax VA and my niece Kate has agreed to accompany me on the trip.

Big shout out to the Benton family who weighed in again to settle a bet on my finish. They have a challenge this week that we all should add an extra prayer for.

Recovery Day

Since 8 is my lucky number, thought I show an in progress shot as well. I was a couple of minutes behind the official start due to all the runners, so I'd like to call this at 2:00 or 15 minutes per mile.

So I am able to walk today, thanks to Aleve and the ice bath yesterday. While I was having breakfast in the hotel this morning, I heard one of the coaches say "I ran 6 miles this morning" and I almost didn't want to eat any more breakfast! I can't quite imagine 6 miles today, but could think about doing something tomorrow.

The calls and e-mails yesterday of support were great! We had a nice Victory Party last night at the Convention Center where everyone was a "HERO!" Overall this race in its 11 year history has raised $134M in the fight against blood cancer which is awesome.

So far, my only reflection is that this is my 100th post on the blog and if you think that most posts were on an exercise day with at least 3 miles, that would say it took me almost 300 miles of preparation for the successful 13.1 yesterday!

On the flight back up to San Francisco I met a woman from the NYC team who trained for the 1/2 and ended up running the full (Oh My!). Also talked to an Army gentleman who also ran the 1/2 as part of his army training (with little or no preparation).

Its Done! 3:38:26 (16:40 per Mile)

Around 10:30AM PDT, thanks to the help of Casey (mentor picture on bottom righ pane) and Jackie ( a woman just walking along the course) I made it across the 1/2 marathon finish line. I'm very proud of the accomplishment, and thankful for all the family and friends that supported my journey.

The statistics: 3:38:26 duration, or 16 min 40 seconds per mile. Within the 1/2 marathon, I was #716 of 808 finishers, 41 of 49 for my female age group and 596 out of 684 women. There is room for improvement, but I was really pleased to be under my personal best of 16:55!

San Diego -- I'm Here

7AM Flight with about 40 of the 123 seats for Team in Training members and we were at the hotel by 9AM. It was overcast and chilly (60) in the morning, but this afternoon has turned into a beautiful San Diego Day.

I took the SD Trolley over to the Convention Center for the "Expo" and bought some Marathon Memorabilia -- as did everyone else, it was flying off the racks.

There are 4,000 members from the LLS, and an expected crowd of 22,000 people running the full and or 1/2 marathon tomorrow morning at 6:30AM. I'm number 23038 in corrall #22. I think you can see real time results from the rock and roll website (link on the right pane).

I've met some more people,and am just getting ready to head out to the pasta party after a quiet afternoon (including a nap). I woke up to find out that Michigan got 50% of their delegates. I say a "Card layed is a card played" and they should have gotten 0.

2 Days -- Checked in

Today i picked up my purple run shirt (we all wear them to contribute to the "cult" effect) and checked in for my flight to San Diego. Cross your fingers the hotel doesn't make us wait till 4PM to check in when we will probably be at the hotel by 10AM!

Today is a scheduled rest day - so I will take it easy and have some more angel hair pasta for dinner. I've got this visual image that the wind of support will push me through the 13.1 miles!

Big shout out to Peggy & Family who weighed in big time with their support to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society today :) I still say the posting from Tim about Oakie the Acorn back in January has been the best one by far on this blog to date!

3 Days || 3 Miles

Morning workout to provide some time for a trip to Los Altos this afternoon to see Aunt Sheila. Spent a good bit of time thinking about the upcoming race and my plan of attack, which is slow and steady. Yesterday got the coaches e-mail about getting ready and he said to start carbo loading now, so spaghetti for dinner.

4 Days YOYO

Returned to the workout room at the Beacon tonight and really reflected on how "easy" 3 miles is now compared to January of this year. 13.1 still seems like quite a challenge, but I'm getting excited and lots of data is coming in about what to do and how to get prepared. I got my number today :). Looking at the weather for San Diego - its looking like it will be a good day - with highs in the 70s.

5 Days to Go back in San Francisco

So today I received the "what to bring" list from my TNT Mentor Gayle for the trip. Lots of things, I never would have thought of, including a trash bag to lay down on the wet grass to stretch out on after the race. All looks achievable, and I'll work through my last workouts in prep for the big race on Sunday.

I recorded a podcast for IBM that was posted on the "Jobs in Pods" website today - check out the link on the right pane if you want to hear something about IBM and the talent we are looking for.

6 Days to go From Ojai, Ca

Spent a great weekend thanks to the hospitality of Teddy, Karen & Dick down in Oak View(Ojai), CA. (they are in the picture above)

Saturday I was a slug from a TNT perspective, but we were able to go up to Solvang, CA (a small danish community) as well as Santa Barbara for sightseeing. The weather was chilly, and both towns were full of tourists, but we had good times and good food.

Sunday morning I got up early and did 6 miles on the Ojai Trail which goes over 20 miles down to the beach at Ventura. Later in the day we went to Ventura and the Navy base there. Afternoon highlight was trying to get the bluetooth to work with the voice recognition software in Teddy's new car. (It definitely is a location joke, but it sure took us a long time to execute a very simple task!)

Sunday night Karen, Teddy & I relearned Cribbage and I lost $5 due to some luck and strategy on Karen's part as she beat me to 120 points.

Monday morning after a great fruit breakfast, I put in another 3 miles on the trail and then we visited with Teddy's family over a great dinner made by Teddy & Dick. Took me about 6.5 hours of driving to get back to San Francisco by 10:15PM.

Its a Legal Day!

Big shout out to two of my favorite attorneys -- one a cousin the other a lifelong friend who both made a great contribution to help fight blood cancers through the LLSociety. Makes a girl want to get right out there and run 13.1 miles!

Kevin's note had the email I sent out in January asking for donations - pretty interesting to read it now and hear all the trepidations in my typing.

Tuesday Workout

Big Shoutout to the second Ms. Perry to support the cause! Thanks for adding to the fight against blood cancers!

Bay to Breakers 12K! What a Show!

So Julie, Jeff and I paraded with thousands of others under the floating tortillas at the start of the race. At this point, Jeff deserted us to "run" the race, and we stuck with the parade. And true to form there were naked people (coded NP) and floats and other such stuff that I just can't explain. (Ask us about Swingy!) We didn't see the "Elvis" group but Jeff reported they were at the front. It was a complete blast.

We crossed the finish line jogging at 2:34:04 for 7.5 Miles (I was 1840 out of the females aged 40-49), and then they made us walk another 3/4 of a mile up to the "party." We stayed for a bit, but the fog rolled in and it was very cold.

I'm really glad Julie made us get hats -- as most everyone was in costume -- she was a Maryland Crab and I was a Maine Lobster -- even got a marriage proposal, called Rock Lobster and Red Lobster. We want it next year to be a GGN Annual event!

Update:
There were 60,000 participants in the race, 33,000 actually registered. Out of the 22,439 finishers, I was 19,264! 9,532nd woman to cross the finish line and 1840 of the women ages 40-49). It looks like Rachel had a good run, but I didn't see her on the course!

This article calls out Swingy referred to above
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/19/MNFE10OMG3.DTL

Here's an except:
"A cold day to be naked
The bright sunshine turned to fog around Ashbury Street, but it didn't dampen many spirits - except, perhaps, those of a few of the naked men, who nevertheless soldiered on.
One of the nudists, who identified himself only as Jack, was, by all indications, downcast during the post-party celebration at the Polo Grounds, where an icy wind joined the fog. He had by this time wrapped his manhood in a sock.
"I'm trying to find something to put on, but at least one of my socks is helping," said the shivering 62-year-old South Bay resident. "I've got to find a T-shirt, a trash bag or something. I'll have you know, though, that I put the sock on after the race." (we can validate his last statement!)

6 Miles on a Gorgeous Morning

Well after taking too many days off (heat wave was my excuse) I got up this morning and headed out before 7AM to catch the cool morning. I made it from home to Fisherman's Wharf and back and I remember fondly writing in January that I hoped some day to be able to do it.

This afternoon Julie and Jeff arrive for an overnight (from Virginia) so we can do the Bay to Breakers 12K tomorrow. Its quite a San Francisco event and I'm looking forward to it and may take my camera to see what I can capture. I hope it stays cool like today.

Isn't it crazy that 7.5 miles doesn't seem that bad? I remember back with Robbie in the Emerald Nuts how it just killed me! Right after the race headed down to Disneyland for an overnight.

Tuesday Morning Workout

I think this is the first time (since late January) when I didn't enter my blog update after a workout. It might be because my alarm went off at 4:40am as I had a 7AM meeting at the Venetian Hotel. While I was frugal on my hotel choice, its quite a distance from the convention.

HGI Treadmill was acceptable, and so I did 45 minutes and almost 3 miles to get the morning started. The day at the Cognos Forum has been interesting but disappointing from a content perspective. I have been able to avoid the tables though, so one might say I'm up from a gambling perspective!

1 Mile and Viva Las Vegas

Got a mile in from the rental car to the office (pulling the suitcase) to the office. Headed over to Las Vegas to attend the Cognos Forum. Hope the workout room at the HGI has a good treadmill.

Mothers Day

I have one of the worlds best moms:

• She loves me and my sister unconditionally.
• She has a laugh that makes other people laugh
• She fixed dinner for the family every night while we were growing up
• She's a wicked good gin player and because of her I love to play cards
• She brought a great mac and cheese recipie into the family that everyone loves
• She let me drive her '68 Nova everywhere
• She gives a great hug

Best wishes to all the Moms out there who celebrated with their kids. I had a great chat with Mom to start the day. I hope it was a great day for her, she deserves it!

Next time you see me, ask me about the story of my purse and the pastor at Notre Dame this morning. I couldn't think of a way to type it and make it as funny as it was.

12 Miles 192 MInutes (16:00)

Whew! This one wiped me out -- I did great on the first 10 miles in 2.5 hours (or 15 minute miles) but the last two miles really killed me - -but I pushed through. Of course, this was nothing compared to my teammates who RAN all 20 miles in prep for their marathon (including Rachel who only had to run 18 but did 20 just for fun!).

This trip took us back to Tenessee Valley for miles 4-7 and it was just as hilly as it was the last time when all we did was the 4 miles there! If the goal was to give us killer hills so that San Diego will seem flat, mission accomplished!

We had 3 TNT teams at the event, so it was nice to see so many people. Raul played chaueffer for the trip (which was great), and I've done my 10 minutes in freezing water to help my joints. Not quite sure how I'm going to get enough energy to head south to San Jose for dinner with Karen, but I will, after lunch and a nap :) -- as it turns out I didn't go south, I couldn't do it!

3 Miles and A Fire Alarm

After a great phone visit with Cheryl on the east coast where we talked about everything from GGN, work to politics, I kicked it in and went over for my workout -- 3+ miles 55 minutes. At the end of the workout the fire alarm went off in the building I live in (The workout room is in the other building).

So I sat in the lobby of 250 King Street looking like a drowned rat (the outcome of all exercise events) and read David Chen's Wall Street Journal. Well don't you know someone comes up looking for their paper and I had to admit I was reading someone's paper. Lucky for me he wasn't David Chen (but he looked none too happy when he thought I had his paper!)

Weather has turned a bit chillier here tonight - I hope it improves for Saturday. I meet Rachel at 6:15AM for our trip up to Marin. My 12 miles seems like nothing compared to the 20 miles the folks doing the full marathon have to do. Cross your fingers for me!

Blisters and $64 Day of Race

Bet in Place with one of my favorite Florida supporters: "I will make you a bet. An added $3 per mile on run date plus $25 for finishing."
After I accepted the bet, i received this:
"You are on. Good luck. Glad you think it is easy money. I think it is doggone hard. Be sure you are wearing the right kind of socks and maybe some cover for the blister area when you run or I will win in a landslide."

I volleyed back with a counter to contribute to their charity in the unlikely event of a landslide in the wrong direction - any other takers? Email me :)

Morning Workout 3.2 Miles

I am so much a morning person, and I just need to reorient myself to morning workouts. I jump started the day with 3.2 miles in 50 minutes (way under my 15:00 pace) but completed my commitment to TNT before the workday begins. Blister is now a non event and socks have been narrowed to 2 pairs. I'm not doing my best for a green environment as I'll have to do wash more than once a week or go to Sports Basement and buy a couple more pairs of wool socks.

Start the Day with 2.3 Miles

I started at 7:30am church this morning, but then decided to walk home on the Embarcadero to get a couple miles under my belt. Google maps has a pedometer function so you can see how far you walked and it was 2.3 miles home (the long way from Church). Rewarded myself with an egg sandwich and a read of the San Francisco Chronicle at Panera bread before returning to the Beacon.

Yesterday was a great day at Muir Woods with Carmel and Karen. Its a place where a picture really doesn't do the visit justice, but I've tried by putting one up here at the top..We did a 2 mile hike at Muir Woods too - so a total of 6 miles yesterday - lets see if I can do the same today. Gotta gear up for 12 on Saturday.

YOYO 4 Miles -- Back at It

Thank goodness I'm back in the game. Yesterday the blister settled down (not gone) and this morning I was able to get in 4 miles in an hour with no pain. I think I've figured out which socks are coming with me to San Diego and next weekend on the 12 miler :)

Had to get done early as we are headed up to Muir Woods today to see the famous California Redwoods. Carmel wants to buy a new car, so she rented one today and will spend the full day driving it to see if she wants to make the purchase. I'm excited about actually seeing Redwoods -- years ago (25+) Neil and I drove from Seattle down to San Francisco and kept looking for Redwoods and never saw them -- we even paid $5 to drive through one that had been cut out with a saw!

Spent yesterday morning at SAP HQ in Palo Alto, CA, and then spent the afternoon with Sheila and Ann in Los Altos. It was a nice visit ~ Carmel and Karen picked me up and we went out for pizza in Santana Row and bling shopping at the end of the day. Karen's going to shine today!

Big shoutout to Aimee who heads north for her 1/2 Marathon tomorrow!

First Injury

So working through the blister last night was NOT a good idea...today a bit of a limp and pain in my foot. I'm going to try to ease up and rest until the foot gets better so that I can at least walk without hurting. Pretty bummed that this is the way I start the last month of training :(

Cure for Blisters? One Month Away

The ten miler (which Coach Joe now admits was probably 10.5 miles) got the best of my feet and I'm sporting a blister on my left foot the size of the State of Maine. I used this to procrastinate why not to exercise on Monday and Tuesday, but tonight I just pushed through it for 45 minutes. Robbie suggested I try duct tape over them -- maybe that will help. I need to find a way for it to settle down before 12 miles in 2 weeks.

Yesterday i went to a Professional Business Women of California session at the Moscone Center for some networking and I got to hear Madeline Albright and Cokie Roberts speak. Both sent jabs at the political process going on right now, although Madeline made a point of saying she's been out on the stump alot for Hillary.

Sunday in San Francisco

Started out with Sunday Mass at the Notre Dame Church on Bush Street. I've mentioned it a couple of times before, but this time I wanted you all to see the beauty of the church!

10 Miles || 16:6 per mile WOW!!

So I made the full 10 mile journey today -- we got to see Golden Gate Park (the flowers were gorgeous) and Ocean Beach (lots of surfers and crashing waves) as well as the San Francisco Zoo. (I was on the lookout for roaming tigers). In the spirit of Robbie (nephew) I did my best to jog/walk the first 7.5 mile, and frankly walked the last 2.5 (with a couple blisters). But I'm happy with my time and I felt like I could have walked another 3.1 if I had to (which I will in a month).

I tried gummy bears at the half way mark and they really seemed to provide some energy - might have to get some to carry along on the course when I go.

One of our team, Sara has an injury so she's not sure if she will be able to compete in the Spring but she was there cheering us on. She reminded me that in early February, I had difficulty doing a mile down at Sports Basement (Presidio)...3 Months Later I've logged my first 10 miler EVER.

Got to meet Raul (Rachel's husband) who was such a nice guy to come out with Toby (their 11 year old dog) to cheer us on during the run. As I said to Rachel in the car "You got a good one!"

I also tried the cold bath today - for 10 minutes -- to see if that will help recovery along with my standard Aleve. Carmel and Karen are coming up to the city tonight for dinner and show -- I need to rest up.

Big shout out to the Knapp family in New Jersey who sent a "you can do it" message this morning that really helped get me motivated.

Only in San Francisco

Ever wonder whether San Francisco was a liberal democratic town? Well check this out, "As first reported by the San Francisco Business Times, a group of San Franciscans is pushing to honor President Bush by renaming the city’s Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility for him the day he leaves office. " (See link below) I'd say thats downright dirty and low :)

The Article
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/04/21/daily44.html?f=et78&ana=e_du
Vote in the Unscientific poll
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/poll/index.html?poll_id=5505&ana=e_du

45 Minutes J/W

Not too much to call attention to today. Worked out before dinner tonight and made the mistake of wearing cotton socks -- I should remember that "cotton is rotten" and I will now that I'm sporting a blister on my left foot. I hope its better before Saturday when I'm scheduled for 9 or 10 miles. Silly me. I'm throwing out my cotton socks tonight. 3.0 Miles in the 45 minutes, lets hope I can keep that pace up through RNR.

A Tragic Story

This morning I came to the office to find out that the 1st Habitat for Humanity homeowner in San Francisco who emceed the Gala event I spoke of last week was murdered in the streets near his house (Link to the article below). He invited all of us to attend his son's college graduation in Tennessee next week.

http://www.sfchroniclemarketplace.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/23/BADC10A2MH.DTL

Tonight I have planned to attend a Habitat for Humanity Orientation for new Volunteers. Sure adds a somber note and some uncertainty to my commitment. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends today.

Earth Day 2008

The day started with a 4AM Global call for IBM, reviewing 1st Quarter earnings. How bout that stock price lately? $123.67 at last look - lets hope it keeps it up.

After work a quick trip to Talbots for a couple spring sweaters (you seem to need them here in San Francisco) and I heard that one of their bankers pulled back a credit line, so I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity.

Workout schedule called for cross training (walking qualifies) and I just couldn't push myself to up the speed past 3.5mph, so about 3 miles walking in the 55 minutes while watching CNN and Big Brother (yes, I do watch that show!)

From what I can see, Hillary got her 10 point spread in Pennsylvania so the Dem's keep fighting it out (keep it going!)

And theres this thing called "rain" falling down outside -- its been a long time - we need it! Maybe cause it was Earth Day we had to have a little rainfall :)

Ruby Relaxer || 50 Min J/W

I continue to learn new things from my almost first/favorite manager (at New England Telephone). She was reading the blog from yesterday and says we can make the Ocean Beach even more delicious by adding a shot of Malibu Rum to get a Ruby Relaxer! I think we are really onto something now, and I will definitely have to stop at the NH Liquor Store on my way to Maine to get all the fixins!

And did I mention that when I was a new management trainee and came to work hung over just a couple days too often she also gave me a sign/poster that said "He who hoots with the owls at night cannot soar with the eagles in the morning" :) I guess I'm allowed to be corrupted now that she is in retirement!

3.2 Miles in 50 Minutes tonight on the treadmill -- several intervals running 2 minutes at 5 MPH, which pushed me quite a bit but enabled me to keep on my 15 minute miles. Not sure I am going to try to shave any time off that -- just be happy finishing in less than 4 hours. Back to the condo in time to watch "The Bachelor."

Legion of Honor and Cliff House

Today was a visit to Annie Liebovitz's Show at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Franciso. Karen, Debbie, Trina, Rose, and Jim also came along and the show was great. After the show we went to the "Cliff House" restaurant for brunch, and a bit thanks to Rose for suggesting we spend the hour wait at the bar. I was introduced to an "Ocean Beach" -- vodka, peach schnapps, pineapple juice and cranberry juice ~ it was delicious. We had a great day.

5:30 mass at Notre Dame on Bush Street and once again a wonderful service and a very engaging priest and music was great. Pretty pooped but had a great weekend with Karen up in the city.

Missed Mentor Run

Instead of a drive out for a 45 minute j/w, I stayed at the Beacon and did a solo 50 minute for 3 miles with at least one 4 minute jogging stretch. Will have to do something tomorrow as I missed Thursday night (completely forgot about the coaches workout and I would have liked to have gone).

To completely get this you might have to see the Beacon but we are two buildings on one city block. My building on the 4th floor has a grassy area to walk your dogs, the other 4th floor terrace has the workout room. This morning, I traveled with a woman who walked from the other builidng and took the elevator up to the 4th floor of my building to walk her dogs. Have to wonder why she didn't just walk them on the ground floor of our block? Regardless I think I shamed her into working out as she showed up on the treadmill next to me about 15 minutes later!

Karen comes up to San Fran to visit today for an overnight and we see Annie Liebowitz (sp?) tomorrow.

Habitat Gala || 40 Minutes

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the Habitat for Humanity San Francisco Gala Dinner fundraiser at the Palace Hotel. The hotel is one of the oldest in the city and the building is beautiful after a renovation. A very nice event where I got to hear Mayor Gavin speak as he received the humanitarian award. (I was interested in hearing two other dems debate really).

I left around 8:45pm so I could geta workout in (since I missed last night). Treadmill along with Hillary and Barack in PA. Glad they continue to bicker with each other, hopefully PA will put some light on where we are headed even though I expect Hillary to be in until they kick her out.

55 Jog Walk

Whew! Schedule called for 40 minutes J/W but it is REALLY chilly out here (I'm beginning to sound like a Californian!) So I went to the workout room and no treadmills. :(

25 Minutes 2.25 Miles on the Elliptical really pushing myself something like 12 Minute Miles, and then I transferred over to the treadmill at 3.5mph for 30 minutes and logged in another 1.25 miles -- so 3.5 miles in less than an hour. Thinking back to January that would have seemed impossible.

Had a great chat with the cousins who are enjoying Sarasota and ran the 10K on Sunday without me. Their times were awesome and they said it was well organized and a fun run. Maybe we should plan the first annual Branch Pond 5K this summer and raise money for BPA?

Rest -- KCD in San Jose

Rest day today - I went down to San Jose last night after a couple of Aleves. Had the benefit of riding with all the mad Giants fan after a loss late in the game. Great kabob dinner by Karen for me and Carmel. I crashed early (after another Aleve).

Today we shopped and cut a wide swath through Talbots, Bath and Body and then a kitchen store in Santana Row. Lunch outside at a Mexican restaurant with a jazz band. Seemed very Californian. Watched the South African cutie don the green jacket from the Masters from Aunt Suzie's house in San Jose.

Late train back to San Francisco - leaving my cellphone in San Jose. I hope to connect to it tomorrow through the generosity of Karen and Debbie doing a cellphone relay.

8 Miles/1:58 Longest Yet

My first "Coaches Run" and it was awesome! We were once again in Marin County and had a beautiful place to run (including crossing over 101). I was thinking 7 ,but pushed myself to the 4.0 turnaround where I ran into Rachel -- who successfully completed a 1/2 marathon today!

Despite the fact that my legs are screaming at me right now, I'm pretty darn pleased about 15 minute miles in a time better than the Emerald Nuts (but it wasn't as hilly). Was accompanied at the end by a young lady from Chantilly VA who went to JMU and just moved out here to San Francisco -- what a small world.

Big thanks again to Rachel for tranporting and to Aimee for providing backup. Not quite sure what the rest of the weekend will bring, but heck - I went 8 miles today!

Rest -- 7:20 #10 Bus

Today is a "rest" day on the schedule. This is the second time I remember catching the 7:20 #10 Bus to the office - and there is a bus driver who actually knows her clients and greets some of them by name. What a surprise in a huge city, that this level of personalized service exist. She also likes to chat quite a bit, so you get a bit of a tutorial/lecture while you ride. Today was all about not extending yourself too much at work so that you loose the balance between work and family -- something that at least hit home for me.

California Gentlemen

I'd have to say that the men in California have an extra ounce (or cup) of manners. 9 times out of 10 when I am in an elevator with gentleman, they invariably wait until I exit the elevator before they do. This is not something I am used to (but certainly could get used to it). I know it might be a sweeping generalization, but I'd say overall the men in California have a bit more courtesy to those old fashioned manners than my east coast experience.

I thought of this as I went for my 40 minute workout tonight (after procrastinating for 40 squared minutes). First time in probably 3 weeks I've done all the scheduled workouts called for. This might prepare me for the 7-8 planned for Saturday. The official run is in Marin, so if I can find Rachel again, I'll hitch a ride and go with the team -- if not, the Embarcadero will certainly fit the bill.

Free Speech no Torch

Extremely dissapointed that Mayor Gavin decided to completely reroute the torch today in San Francisco, wonder if anyone who wanted to see it got to see it. Congrats to those people out on their lunch hour on VanNess who got surprised by the torch run by. As for me, I was able to see about 1.5 hours of "Free Tibet" demonstrations with a little pro-China and Darfur mixed in. Check out the guy above with the "I can't afford an actual sign!" The top picture is the view from the office down at the Ferry Building when it started to cool down.

On the good side, I met two nice ladies from Minnesota who were sight seeing here in San Fran and we kept each other company. Big thanks to Kaytee who tried to get us some info so we wouldn't waste anymore time.

Workout tonight was 40 Minutes Cross Training, which I did walking at 3.5MPH for 2.5 miles while watching Larry King Live and Top Chef back and forth. Pretty scary that polygamy stuff going on in Texas. Happy I've been on program for three days straight!

Morning CT Workout

Today was a 40 Minute Cross Training Workout, which I accomplished before 7AM leveraging the treadmill and a 3.5MPH walk for 45 minutes (a little over 2 miles), It will be nice to start the day with the workout behind me, which is a first for my San Francisco days.

Lots going on here in SF this week with the Olympic Torch arriving today. Depending upon the workday tomorrow, I may journey down to the Embarcadero from work to catch a glimpse of the torch.

Thanks Sponsors 35 Min J/W

With 2 months left to go, I needed every last one of you sponsors to get me to my workout tonight. I need to get back on track for workouts during the week, and I started tonight with 35 minutes on the elliptical.

Thank goodness for the Men's College Basketball Final where Kansas took the game from Memphis due to poor foul shooting in the clutch. It got me through the first ten minutes, and I just persevered for the remaining 25 minutes.

But most importantly, thanks to all of YOU that have supported the LLS Society and my journey. Without you, I would not have gone to the workout room, and wouldn't have heard from an elevator companion "you look like you worked out hard, I'm jealous."

Great news on Sunday in Florida -- Jude Blood and Danceman's sister Judy will be joining me for a 10K in Bradenton.

Burke Lake Park 4.7 Miles

It took me a while to get back out in the exercise mode after being diverted in Philadelphia for training that went from 7AM to 9:30PM each night. Friday I let my taxes be my excuse, but today I put myself over at Burke Lake Park for a 4.7Mile trip in about 1:10 around the lake. There were lots of people out and I felt like I was making good headway with a bit more jogging than walking in the first 4 miles. That last 0.7 seemed alot longer than that.

Here's a link to where I was
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/burkelake/

40 Minutes Ritz J/W

Good class at Wharton so far...we ended the day talking about emotional intelligence, which is alot to do about how you talk to yourself and how others will react to you depending upon where there emotions are at the time. To cut it down to simple steps --every morning between now and June 1, 2008 I need to wake up and say, this training is going to enable me to complete the RNR 1/2 Marathon in a reasonable time while jogging and walking my way to the finish.

So at 9PM when we got back to the hotel, I quickly changed into my workout gear and convened with the treadmill for 40 Minutes during Deal or No Deal. This time he took $200K when he had a case for $750K -- still a good deal for an hours work.

Class seems good so far, but tomorrow is a killer day -- but I guess the upside is no foam roller!

Sweet 16

Happy Birthday to one of my coolest nieces! Great family brunch (missing the other niece) hosted again by my sister with fabulous cooking by both Rob & Lou. Headed north to Philadelphia today so its a rest day for me. Lets hope I can balance training with school this week!

Marine Corp Butler Relay 10K

Chilly morning in Quantico VA, home of the inaugural Marine Corp Butler Relay. I arrived in Quantico around 7:15 for an 8:00AM Start. Spent several minutes vascillating what to wear in the 38 degree weather for the 6.2 miles ahead. Finally decided on 2 dri wik shirts, and I made my way to the start.

Pomp and circumstance at the start with the National Anthem from the MC Band, the color guard and shotgun start all made it pretty cool. Thank goodness for my friend Melba (like the toast) that befriended me at mile 1 and we stayed together for the full 6.2 miles and were the absolute last 2 people crossing the finish line at 1:40!

I was extremely pleased with the first 4 miles at just an hour (15:00 pace) and some killer hills on a dirt trail slowed us down between miles 4 and 5. It was wonderful to have the marines along the way cheering us on -- and pretty cool to come across the finish at the new Butler track.

I also found out that my guaranteed admission for the historic 1st MC 1/2 Marathon in Fredricksburg on May 18, may have some value!

Glad the day started out fun...the afternoon and evening are all about my annual letter to the IRS for income taxes!

Butler 10K Tomorrow

Since I can't hook up with my fellow TNTrs, I figured I would substitute with the Marines!
Headed down to Quantico for the Butler Relay 10K (6.2 Miles) at Quantico. The Saturday run for training is 5-7 miiles for RNR, so why not. I'll get to try that "chip" thing this time and jog/walk by myself (without the benefits of nephew power).

http://www.marinecorpshistorichalf.com/Left_Nav/MCM_Event_Series/Butler_Relay.htm

Now that I am committed/registered to the Marine Corp, I'm thinking a 30 minute j/w for today. The bad news is that by doing Butler I get automatic admission to the MC 1/2 on May 18, 2008 -- not sure I want to do a 1/2 2 weeks before the Rock and Roll :)

40 Ellipmill, 3 Miles

From Coach Joe in his weekly e-mail to TNT'rs "“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” <--I really like this one and want to remember it when the road seems long, hilly and far.

40 Minute Cross Training tonight - so I did 20 minutes on the elliptical for 2 Miles and then 20 mintues on the treadmill for 1 mile - total of 3. I'm hoping the elliptical will help me increase my jog time versus walk time.

YOYO 30 Minute Elliptical

Motivation....Endurance
Today was a challenge for me to get back out on Monday after a long jog/walk on Sunday. The schedule called for a 30 minute j/w ~ since I wasn't outside I decided to do a 30 minute elliptical while watching "Deal or No Deal." The contestant had a $1M case but she settled just shy of $400K. Can't quite imagine that kind of deal. I'm glad that I am back on schedule -- would like to get something in every day before the trip back east on Thursday!

10K, 100 Minutes GGP

Golden Gate Park in San Francisco was the venue today.
What a beautiful place, and once again, the camera didn't work so I couldn't capture any of the beauty that I saw, and boy was there alot of it. The flowers at the Conservatory were fabulous, and the lakes were filled with ducks and the trees were beautiful. Many Easter Picnics out on the grounds, and I only saw one "Easter Hat" in the crowd.

Best estimate is 6.2 Miles ( at 10 Kilometers a mile, but I think I actually improved my time) -- no markers on the trip for distance so I had to guess it from the map.
Link to map: http://www.parks.sfgov.org/wcm_recpark/GGP/GGPMap.pdf

I had a great time out today - down Martin Luther King Blvd and back JFK Drive to end up at Kezar Stadium. Tne "N" was running really slowly so it was an hour trip back to the Beacon.

Big shout out to Ms Schneider who made a whopping contribution to the cause and has been extremely supportive of all the TNT activities. Thanks!

8.4 Kilometers, 84 Minutes

Here I thought I was going for 4 Miles roundtrip - turned into 5.2 Miles Roundtrip on a gorgeous Good Friday night here in San Francisco. I headed out on the Embarcadero jog/walking with a goal of Bay Street and then walk home. Well its 2.6 miles to Bay Street I come to find out when I got back to the house!

I think this will be a good distance for me to build my endurance and jog walking, and get me ready for the 1/2 marathon on June 1, 2008. Its about 16 minutes a mile, would like to be down in the 13 or 14 by the time I get to the race -- just need to push to jog more and walk less.

Was accompanied by music the whole way and that really does make it much better. Going to have to find headphones I can wear at RNR to keep me company.

Once again, a week with little workouts and work as an excuse. Gotta reprioritize next week.

Celebrate for the Cause

Tonight was the celebrate for the Cause event. Thank goodness Aimee and Debbie were there otherwise we were surrounded by the all vocal "tri-team." Learned a bit more about the work the LLS does, and found that we have raised over $500K across all the teams to date.

Tomorrow is recommitment day when I officially say I'm headed to San Diego on June 1st. Bring it on -- but I've got a long way to go from a running perspective to have better time.

Thanks Aimee for riding home with me and teaching me that not all bus stops require a Bus Barn!

Rest -- Tour of San Francisco

The best Monday yet for me. Robbie stayed for another day of vacation and we had a great day. Early launch (9AM) from Pier 33 for the Alcatraz Tour. The 0.25 walk up the hill to the cellblock was a bit of a killer. We toured the facility and got on the 11:25AM trip back. Neither of us realized how much sun there was on the boat ride back (we both have red faces tonight).

From Pier 33, down to the Ferry Building for lunch at Taylors (burgers on sourdough) and then back up to the tourist area - Ghiradelli Square, Pier 39 to see the seals and then watching the crowd. Our feet were both tired so we headed back to the Beacon to rest a bit.

Dinner tonight at Palomino -- great food, poor service. Robbie heads out to Oakland Airport at 5:45 am and then I'm back to work and working out.

Emerald Nuts 12 K -- 82 (1:30 Intervals)

Nephew power! Thanks to Rob who pushed me through, we crossed the fnish line in 2 hours. The first 5 were jog/walk the last 2.5 was walk at a steady pace to get through. Bummer is I forgot my battery for the camera so no shots of the race. More later need food.

So the official site says our time was 2:02:12 and I was #2805 of the finishers, but #69 of the age group 55-59. (Somewhere in the 140's of the 44-49 year old age group) The fact that I'm not in the age group says I didn't fill out my form correctly. I had a great race.

Sunday night we found a beautiful church on Bush Street for Palm Sunday mass -- I think I'll switch to there from St. Patricks going forward.

20 Minute J/W with Robbie

Robbie's Here! Whoo! Hoo!
We had a first night here in SFO, dinner at Tres Agaves - nice ambiance and walking distance from home. (Thanks Rachel for the recommendation.) He stayed up for 24 hours before crashing. Its great to have him here as my first East Coast visitor.

This morning we did an Embarcadero session - I did my jog/walk for 20 minutes and he did a run -- figured I'd let him enjoy himself before he is strapped to me tomorrow.

Today is sightseeing in SFO -- Cable Cars cross town to Fisherman's Wharf, Segway Tour of Marina District up to the Golden Gate Bridge and then Dinner at the Salt House. Robbie's friend Meg (and her friend Jason) joined us and we had a great day!

Big shout out to Nancy who sent in a contribution to LLS today!

Back in the Game

You might have noticed that there weren't many postings this week as I was having "get your tush off the couch" problems, but I got myself to the Coaches Workout at Kezar Stadium and it was just what I needed to get back on track.

Lots of folks running the 12K on Sunday, and some helpful hints, but the runs tonight were jog 200 meters then jog/walk 200 meters 6 times. Well I made it around 9 times for 2.25 miles and my pace on the jog was pretty good (and consistent) i thought at 1:45. Coach Leslie and the team were very encouraging and one of the mentors had the team wait for me on one of the intervals which was greatly appreciated. I didn't feel dead at the end which was great!

And a huge shoutout to the Somers family in North Hollywood Florida! Those IPS girls really know how to help out a friend and the LLS even after 30+ years. My nephew Rob arrives tomorrow to see San Francisco and to provide encouragement to me on my first endurance race.

Core Training with Too Much Rest

Somehow I couldn't motivate my old bones to exercise yesterday and I felt it today at Core Class. The intensity of the workout continues to build, and I continue to see advancement every week (which is good).

Back on the schedule now and ready to work up to the Emerald Nuts on Sunday!

Cardinal Advance to Final Pac10

Rest day today absorbed at the HP Pavilion to watch the Quarterfinals of the PAC-10 Women's Basketball tournament. ASU gave Cal a game and it was close right up till the end. Stanford blew away UCLA (78-45) and their top player "Wiggins" couldn't even make a basket. The first string sat on the bench for the 2nd half to rest for the finals tomorrow night. It was a fun day.

One has to ask (and I captured in a picture) what kind of a team would have a mascot called "Cardinal" which is a color so they use a tree for the actual mascot???

I spent the evening at Mountain View Healthcare visiting with Aunt Sheila -- we had fun and caught up on baseball and lots of other things. Back in SFO by 9PM.

4 Mi Tennessee Valley & PAC10

The top picture is a view of the Team on the Marin Tennessee Valleey trail ahead of me so you can see how beautiful it is (and how many of us there are). The second picture is me at the beachhead (2 Miles) thanks to a fellow TNTr who took the pic for me.

The day started out with a hilly 4 mile jog/walk on the Tennessee Valley Trail (out to the beachhead). Rachel and I saw a coyote cross the road on our way into the trail! The trip was hard, but invigorating as I came back up to everyone else just under one hour and got a great "way to go" from all the team at the top. Something you just don't get when you workout by yourself.

Headed down to the PAC-10 Women's Basketball Tournament at the HP Pavilion, and watched the #1 (Stanford) and #2 (UC Berkley a/k/a Cal) beat their Oregonian competition. Karen and her niece Maiya along with a friend joined at the first game. I was too pooped to stay for the USC/UCLA game and came home on the 7PM Train from San Jose. Back tomorrow for 2 more games and maybe a side trip to Los Altos.

Pretty nervous about how beat I'll be next week after the 12K, but still confident that by hook or crook (or walking) I'll make it to the finish if they don't close the race.

101 and Plans to Run

Thanks to my cousin Kathy in NH, check out this link about a man at 101 who plans to run a marathon. Sure inspires me to try to keep up the workout -- and he's going the full 26.2 miles!

http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=4385601&page=1

Today is a rest day, and I plan to do just that before the Mentor Run tomorrow. Tonight kicks off the PAC 10 Women's Basketball Tournament which I plan to attend all weekend. Go Stanford Cardinal!

Coaches Workout!!!

My first coaches workout at Kezar Stadium. It was wonderful to catch up with my TNT gal friends I hadn't seen in a while: Rachel, Sara, Amy. Met Heather and a couple others as we started out on our run.

After a warmup lap, we ran for a mile straight with a hill at the end of each 1/4 mile. Coach Leslie says there are a couple killer hills at the Emerald Nuts race so they want us to get ready. Pretty jazzed that I stayed at 2 minutes run/1 minute walk for the full mile in about 18 minutes!

After that stretches and just chatter. Learned a couple stretches to do at home as well. It was a great night - and next week it will be even better when its lighter out as the time changes. Thanks to Rachel for a ride home to make it a quicker trip back to the Beacon

Big shout out to the Dukes of Silver Spring who contributed to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help me on my journey.

Picture from 1979 and C/Training

Well this picture showed up in my inbox from almost 30 years ago and since I got a chuckle, I thought those of you who know us well would as well.

Cross Training for 35 Minutes with the elliptical for 2 miles in 35 minutes. I can count at least 4 times I wanted to stop and call it a night, but I thought of all those who had sponsored me as well as all those struggling with a much harder battle and I persevered. Tomorrow night is my first time at a "Coaches Workout." Wonder what surprises that will bring.

Core Workout with Natashza

I'm pretty certain you'd have to have been in this class with me, but tonight I'm excited that I could lay on the foam roller, lift my left leg up to my belly button and do a crunch at the same time without falling over :) I can't do it yet at the speed or counts she wants but I at least did it tonight along with 5 push ups (she wanted 20).

Class was good and I see some improvement in my strength after 5 weeks.

I got my first number "3060" today for the Emerald Nuts Race on 3/16/08!

2 Miles 30 Minutes J/W

Schedule called for 25 Min J/W but the treadmill called me to 30 minutes or the 2 mile mark. The first 20 minutes were 2 jog/1 walk followed by 10 minutes of 2 jog/2 walk. Pace seemed pretty hard but something to aim for as I continue to prepare for the 12K on 3/16/08. I just want to finish (they shut down the course after a certain time).

Big shout out to Coach Blood & Jude for their contribution to LLS and to the Manter family who also weighed in big today. Both of these families have been my friends for 25 years plus ~ they know the good, bad and ugly about me. Back to core training tomorrow and that nasty roller :)

Big Red: 3 Wins, 1 Loss

After the 5 miles on Saturday the rest of the weekend was all about Cornell Women's Softball, and it was a good one.

Saturday the Big Red split their double header beating Qunnipiac and loosing to the host team George Mason. My sister and her husband hosted the 4th Annual Team Dinner at their house in Burke for 60 people. The Big Red Sauce in the Lasagne was enjoyed by all along with caesar salad and bread. The girls looked great in their new Nike warm-up suits and were gracious as usual.

Sunday they took both games (the first one was a nail biter) beating Niagra and George Mason. Great attendance from Cornell Fans including some family including Kevin, Rick, Lou, Rob, Jude and myself. It was all wrapped up by 1:15PM when the team bus (in good spirits) and all the travelers headed home.

This was a great weekend -- friends, family, food, fun and a little softball. Well worth the trip east from SFO. Today was a rest day for me in terms of TNT, back at it tomorrow.

5 Miles on the W&OD Trail

A jog/walking milestone for me as I jog/walked 5 Miles this morning accompanied by my runnin' cousin Jude on the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail today in Ashburn VA from mile marker 29.5 to Milemarker 32 and then turned around in 80 minutes!!! What a difference a friend makes! Based on the self portrait above, I'm convinced that I need to wear a hat anytime I run!

We first synched up with Tina from TNT DC and introduced ourselves, but decided to start out on the trip by our selves and knew that several TNT'rs would pass us on the trip. Jude and I talked about everything but running and I tried not to curse too often at the little beeper on my watch which times our intervals. Did pretty well on the trip out, and the trip back was more walking than jogging -- but it was awesome.

I thought it was cold so I started out with long johns on top and bottom and at about mile 3 I had to do a quick change out of the long john top :) Along the way we saw a cardinal and 2 blue birds and a turkey vulture (and lots of runners).

I was especially encouraged when I saw a lady at the back of the pack of the TNT Team much like myself struggling to keep up and I hope we gave her a bit of encouragement and a push. She's doing the Ankorage Marathon, so I probaby won't see her again.
We now switch gears to Big Red Softball in town for a tournament at Mason. Go Big Red!

A Room with a View

No workout today as I have to work and then travel east. I thought you might like to see the view from one of the best conference rooms we have in our office - it looks right down to the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero. Highs in the 60s today so everyone was out on Market Street at Lunch.

40 Minute Cross Training

I'm battling down a terrible cold which has now manifested itself with a nasty cough which kept me indoors all day today. I did manage to get myself up off the couch at 9PM and head over to the workout room since I knew tomorrow was a plane day all day.

I pushed myself for 30 minutes on the elliptical at a set pace. I completed 2.1 miles in 30 minutes and then went over to the treadmill and did a 1/2 mile in 10 minutes for a total of 40 minutes. I wish the pace on the treadmill could convert to pounding the pavement, but I'm pretty sure endurance is getting better. Watched SuperNanny throughout the workout -- we had a naughty step when I was a kid at 3213 -- but mom never made us stay as long as our years. I wonder what 48 minutes would be like on the naughty step now!

Headed back east for Big Red Softball this weekend and will connect with the DC Chapter of TNT. Plan to sneak my cousin in to run with us and am really looking forward to someone who will stay with me (despite the fact she could run right by). Also looking forward to seeing all the GGNrs on Friday night at Belva's.

Big Shout out to Dictor/Martin and Team who weighed in with a contribution to LLS. Just when I thought I had squeezed every last penny out of my mailing, in they came with a strong show of support. Thanks!

Natazha Core Training :)

So I wanted you all to see core class and get a shot of the roller. We are in the old commissary at the Presidio made into a "Sports Basement" and they give us this area to work out on Tuesday nights. I didn't get Nastazha but hopefully you'll see a bit what it is like. I did a couple push ups today so that was progress. I definitely figured out that my left side is MUCH weaker than my right, I may need to work on it a bit so I can see some improvement next week.

Small mishap when I went to the zipcar -- it was a Scion (really wierd car) and I couldn't get it started. Panicked I had paid but couldn't get anywhere I called zip car and made it through the voice automated service and who would think that you had to move the steering wheel to start the car? Well the good news was that it worked. Its a great service for the Tuesday night core trainings.

Borrowed from a fellow blogger (sure made me laugh)
"The EPA might drop its requirement that farms report toxic emissions from large piles of manure, saying nobody pays attention to the reports anyway. They did, however, stop short of calling the reports a huge load of crap."

Inside YOYO at the Beacon

96 Days to Go Till June 1, 2008 and the Rock and Roll Marathon.

Well, I pushed myself a bit too hard on Saturday and so I wasn't ready to run the 5K on Sunday so I ditched it -- it didn't help that it was pouring rain and 45 degrees. So I did what the schedule said for level 1 -- Rest. Quick trip down to Mountain View to visit Aunt Sheila who should be out of the hospital this week.

Tonight I had a meeting that ran late, so I went inside versus Embarcadero to my favorite treadmill. Watched a terrible show on convicts in high security prisons who can't seem to stay good to get out -- not quite sure why i didn't try to change the channel. Made it for 25 minutes J/W on the 2:1 path for the full 25 minutes and then 5 minutes cool down (1.9 Miles Distance). I definitely feel in the month I've been at this that I have improved, but the thought of 7.X miles in two weeks still scares me.

I got great news today that my nephew is going to fly out to accompany me on this 12K race across the Golden Gate Bridge and then celebrate St. Patty's with his friend in Monterey. Will definitely make me push a bit this week to get even more distance done while jogging. Tomorrow its back to Natasha after missing last week - I can hardly imagine how far behind I will be.

Fundraising has slowed, need to start knocking on doors again.

Return to Willow Glen

I returned to the Willow Glen track after an overnight in San Jose to celebrate Carmel's birthday and see "Vantage Point" (movie was much like groundhog day - but with a presidential assassination baked in -- get it on Netflix - don't pay $10 to see it).

Probably since I took 3 days off, the 35 min j/w on the schedule was a bit daunting, but it actually worked out. I walked for 5 minutes, and then started to jog -- well 2 minutes went by before I realized my watch was beeping so I decided to try jog for 2 and walk for 1. This lasted for 25 minutes (yippee!). The last ten were j/w for 1.5 min/ walk for 1.5 minutes, but I made it the full 35 minutes. Adding on 15 for walking back and forth and it was a good 50 minutes before the rain started. Gives me a little confidence for the 5K tomorrow. Looks like it is going to rain the whole day so I'm not sure if I am motivated enough to get out and do it.

Today is a bit of errands and visit to Aunt Sheila in Mountain View on my way back to the city. Have a great day!

Spirit of the Marathon

I needed some inspiration tonight - after 3 solid days with no workout. I used the excuse of client dinner and Cirque du Soliel on Tuesday and Wednesday without a workout. Tonight I went to see "Spirit of the Marathon" movie with Debbie -- there were other TNT'rs there, but I didn't see them.

Wow! Pretty amazing movie if you are thinking about marathoning (I'm guessing its a NetFlix rental if you want it). Made me jazzed again to get back out there tomorrow and do those 1:1's. I've signed up for a 5K on Sunday here in San Francisco -- my goal is to 1:1 the whole way through which would be quite a stretch. Wish me luck!

A Different Kind of YOYO

I got a reality check today when we had a fire drill here in the SFO Office. The walk down the 4 flights of stairs to our alternate location was a piece of cake. However, the walk back up the 4 flights of stairs with no rest was a rude awakening of what might happen if I encounter a hill sometime soon. Out to dinner tonight, so I feel a treadmill activity coming on later!

Whoo! Hoo!

Instead of the 20Min J/W Buddy Run, I did a YOYO from 4th and King to Washington Street Roundtrip (3.4Miles -- J/W for 25 walk for 35). Walking home I saw a billboard near the Oakland Bay Bridge (above) that said "Whoo Hoo!" That really made me smile as that is an expression that a friend Tobi and I used often when we worked together.

Figured out I have to go to Green Street for a 4 Mile R/T and its 6.4 Miles Rountrip to Pier 45 wihch is where all the tourists go when they go down to Fisherman's Wharf. At least I have some mile markers.

Tough to get all the workouts in this week due to a client dinner tomorrow night, and Cirque du Soleil on Wednesday night. The city is also going to be soaked again straight through Saturday, where our Mentor Run is from the Ferry Building. (I went there today and also went by the Amtrak station and thought of CAS).

I have to find a way to carry my camera so I can take some shots along the way to share with you all of San Francisco. I saw Coit Tower today from my walk!

Polling Results -- Can DMH Run a 1/2 Marathon?

Thanks to the 13 of you who voted (I did too!) on the Blog Poll. It closed yesterday and here are the results to

Can DMH Run a 1/2 Marathon?
13 (92%) voted Absolutely (Thanks for the confidence)
1 (7%) voted I'll Believe it When I see it (that was me!)
0 (0%) are praying for me <--I really need help here!
0 (0%) Absolutely Not

I'll work on another poll, but thanks for checking in and continuing to support me. As of today, I've crossed the $2K amount through your generosity.
Thanks!

60 Minutes (35 Interval) on Siesta Key

Sunday Morning (last day on the Key) and thanks to Nancy from yesterday, I did 35 minutes of 1:1 (jog/walk) about 1.7 miles down to the lower bridge. Seemed much easier to have some sort of plan for the trip. I walked back with a couple jogs (couple =2). Its a beautiful day here on Siesta Key today!

Should be a low key day with a mall walk with M&D and a couple stops before I head on back up to Tampa and back to San Francisco (via Dallas). Will be back at 9:00PM PST ready for a busy week of work and working out.

Big shout out to LoLoOntheGo for her support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Lido Beach Run & Coach Nancy

Today was one of the best TNT days yet, thanks to my new friends in the Sarasota/Bradenton Walk/Run team. I joined them at Lido Beach at 7AM on Saturday and despite the small team they were full of friendship, support and welcome.

Nancy and her stopwatch befriended me and we managed to run/walk (1 minute intervals) for 2 Miles -- except for a couple times when I couldnt make it the 60 seconds and quit at 45 seconds (what a wimp!). She's a run coach for galloway.com and gave me lots of encouragement and hints, plus having someone to run/talk with (that hasn't happened in San Fran yet). She's going to be in San Diego so that will be neat if/when I see her then!

After the 2 miles, Sharon stepped in and walked with me for 2 more miles. You would have thought we were lifelong friends with all we talked about. If you are a runner, check out onashoestringinc.com website where she and her husband have started a small business catering to those of of crazy enough to do this!

My day was already full and fun by 8:30Am but the fun didn't stop there. Delivery of 23 Meals on Wheels with M&D , followed by a delicious lunch at Marina Jack (thank you J&B!), a visit with friends Ernie & Jane, mass with Pancho, and then Italian Dinner out with family and friends (Thanks Salie!)

Tommorrow is the last day, should be quieter on the Key -- Salty Dog is the only planned highlight and than back to SFO on Sunday afternoon. It was an awesome day!

Sarasota FL -- Jog/Walk

What a beautiful weekend here in Sarasota, Florida. I was up early for a jog/walk down the Key to Stickney Point Road. Round trip 50 minutes and hopeful that there was 20+ minutes of jogging mixed inbetween.

Focused on running with my feet facing forward (versus out) to eliminate pronating. Pretty interesting once someone had told you the right way to do it, how easy it is to see someone else doing it running ahead of you.

Catching up with all the friends and family here...and lunch up in Sarasota after visiting with Steve, Karin and Wayne. Tomorrow is the run with the Sarasota team at Lido beach with a 7AM start - I'm already procrastinaing getting up that early!

Have a great day!

Cross Training (25 Elliptical, 30 Walk)

I pushed myself through 25 full minutes on the elliptical today, I'm sure I hit my target heartrate for a while. Then I finished up watching a show on TV on the treadmill, another 30 minutes at 3.0 -- made it 1.5 miles. Big day on Saturday when I head to Lido Beach to run with the TNT Team there for 3.0 Miles. I'm sure I can make the distance, just hope a good part of it is jogging. Have to be back on the "Key" by 10:15 to deliver Meals on Wheels with the parental units.

A funny thing happened today when I went to apply for a SFO Library Card -- my license ends with 1930 and the gentleman checking me in said he thought that was my birth year and was going to ask me what I was doing to look so good! Needless to say I got quite a chuckle out of that - thinking I was the same age as Dad :)

In 1991, I met a guy named Ed who became my study partner for MBA at Columbia. We worked together at two companies and I learned a great deal from and about him and I got to know his family. They weighed in with support today and I am truly thankful for their generosity. Ed & Patty have been helping me for all these years, and they come through again! Thanks you two!

Uno Wins Best in Show

How bout that? A beagle for the first time wins best in show?

http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/
To check it out :)

Snoopy (a beagle)came from Denver to VA to live with my extended family and made a huge impact on everyone. Can't help but think of her and MVH!

Congrats UNO! (A favorite Pizza of mine as well!) U RA!

Core Training...Quite a Workout

Week 3 with Natazha who continues to amaze me with her flexibility. I think I saw some improvement, but without a visual on this roller and what we do with it, its really hard to try to explain.

Imagine a round sytrofoam tube the length of your torso (so buns and heads can be on it). Lay down...hands behind your head, do a crunch, rotate to the right and lift your right leg off the ground. The only connection you have with the ground is your left foot. Or alternately, lift your right leg up to 90 degrees, and put your right hand and then left on the knee. Release and change positions. If I didn't know how ridiculous I'd look on YouTube, I'd do a video. The good news is I could do this today with at least one side of my body. The other needs work.

Pushups -- managed 2 today -- she's holding them for 30 seconds. Absolutely no way.

Some walk away from the hour session looking quite refreshed. I on the other hand look like a drowned rat :0 I asked for some help on upper body, so in two weeks I'm going to learn about dynabands. Pretty sure I can wait for that one.

NextWave Wireless weighed in today with a great contribution (and great to connect) as well as my Leominster Mom (mother of Bentley Brother from yesterday). I'm almost half way to my goal for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Political predictions came out as I guessed last night. Maybe I should be a pundit?

YOYO Elliptical (20) Walk (30)

Buddy Run just didn't get me jazzed up tonight...too far to travel for 20 minutes so I decided to workout at home. (Might be because I washed my bus pass and its no longer usable!)

Larry King Live kept me company tonight from 9PM to 10PM...I don't get CNN in the apartment, so even if its just to walk, I may be over there more often during this crazy election period.

Elliptical for 20 minutes (Level 1 was a 20 minute run). I was definitely pushing myself, but remembered all those supporters, quotes and reason why i was doing this and pushed through.

The walk at 3 MPH was just to keep watching LKL until it was over. Tomorrow is the Potomac Primaries and i've voted by absentee -- sounds like VA is scheduled to go Obama and McCain -- we'll see.

I couldn't have done it tonight without all of you. And I need you to stick with me for the next 110 Days till June 1, 2008. Thanks!!!

Quotable Quotes

Not sure if I'm looking for inspiration today or if its just coming my way. Three quotes I got today that certainly had meaning

From TNT Coach Joe in his weekly news:
"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."
- Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ


From a Personal CFO friend that marathons
"I will be what others will not be, because I will do what others will not do."

From a great Real Estate Agent in Montgomery County:
"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success" -- Henry Ford

And a big shout out to Leominster MA from my "little Bentley brother" and his family who weighed in with support to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Mentor Run at Blackies Pasture

What a gorgeous morning to take a drive over the Golden Gate Bridge to Timuron (sp?) and a run along the shore at Blackie's Pasture! Thanks to Rachel's wheels, she and Sara and I tooled over there at 7:15 am and we all did a little better than we thought.

- I went the distance the "1s" went but in the time of the 2's (35 Minutes)
- Sara moved up to be a "2" and did great
- Rachel ran with the 3s and was still breathing and chatty when we finished.

I'm not as beat as I was last Saturday - but no clinic or Chi added onto the run and it was sunny and beautiful versus cold and rainy. Today is a perfect San Francisco Day in February - should reach the 60's today.

Big shout out to Camp Naples who registered in with their support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I'm still learning things from my first manager ever!

Off to enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Thursday Rest

Thanks to a visit from a friend and colleague (Ray) to pursue business here in San Franciso, I called Thursday a rest day and enjoyed eating the in-season crab both at lunch and dinner in the Financial District.

"Wow, you walk faster than me" was a quote from Ray as we were leaving dinner. I guess all this working out is paying off! The true test is whether i can keep pace with RLV (another colleague) who is tall and has long legs.

Huge shout out to Tarara Winery in Leesburg VA for their support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society -- my largest contributor to date, and to quote them "Just find 9 other people who love you as much as we do and you'll be done." Back at you M&W!

Tonight back to the grind and Mentor Run on Sunday!

Jog/Walk Treadmill and Crime Witness

YOYO on the treadmill tonight for 30+ minutes, 2 miles with intervals of jogging and running. Hopefully I'll be able to do at least 2 miles on Saturday mentor run. Still reeling from core workout yesterday!

I was riding home on the MUNI and a guy on the train grabbed someones iphone and jumped off the train almost before the doors were closing. The lady that it happened to managed to get off the train and was running after him. It was all the train could talk about for the rest of the ride. Guess I won't work on my blackberry while riding - although it doesn't have the pull of an iphone.

Missing the Coaches Workout at Kezar Stadium due to a client meeting tomorrow night, so I'll be back in the workout room -- maybe a stint in the pool for a change?

DMH Meets the Roller

The little nymph in green came back with a vengence this week -- and we all added a foam roller to our equipment - and man does that add some challenge to the task of floor exercises!

I zipped over to the Sports Basement picking up Aimee along the way. The class was grueling but satisfying -- I continue to learn new things and try new things and find a way to laugh with all the team members in training.

I have got to learn to do push ups. She's up to 10 and I can't do one. Thats a challenge for this week on top of running a bit farther.

Buddy Run -- Keysar Stadium

Home of the San francisco 49rs from 1946 to 1971 was the venue for my first "Buddy Run." Right across the street from Golden Gate Park - I'll have to find my way back in the daylight and check it out

Probably a group of about 15 people in three groups. Four of us aligned to "Group 1" so we ran around the track at the stadium (after a loop at the top for warmup before stretches.)

Overall a good experience -- I went 2 miles (8 laps) and ran at least one part of every 1/4 mile. New shoes and new socks - we'll see how that works out.

There are some real enthusiasts out there -- a guy jumping 2 feet together up two steps at a time up the stadium seats! another guy running up and down the steps in a section. I need to remember my ipod so I've got some company as right now I'm the tortoise and no one is quite as slow as me.

Great day connecting with friends for fundraising. Big shout out to Barb, Dave and Joan & Bob -- Thanks for contributing to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

Tommorrow is Core Strengthening again.. I'm going to "zipcar" over and pick up Amy who I met tonight at the run -- she lives nearby.

Team Run Number 1

Chi Running Clinic
All about running from your core and relaxing your legs. Some really interesting insights about how your run. How you hold your body seems VERY important to your endurance ability.

Team Run 1's chose 1,2, o4 3 miles
Definitely the tortoise of the group, I made it more than a mile, but probably only 1/2 of it running (combo run walk). Focused alot on "how" -- "Go Team" from Rachel and High Five from Casey definitely helped me keep going.

Added Mary Blood to the Honoree Banner so she will be with us every step of the way.

Its raining here now this afternoon -- thinking a power nap is in order.