April 4, 2009

I arrived in Charlottesville last night and had a wonderful time reconnecting with Wynne and Vicky who were my hosts for the evening. We went to a delicious Italian restaurant where I got some carbs, but really enjoyed the conversation the most.

Up this morning early for a 7:45AM Start to the Charlottesville 10 Miler. It was an excellent race. I completed the course in 2:05 which was a PR for me (and just about where I wanted to be). The thoughts of 3.1 more miles to complete the 1/2 at the pace I kept right now seems a bit of a challenge, but pretty sure I could walk 3 more miles to finish. Target for the 1/2 is now to finish between 2:40 and 3:00.

I called today a virtual relay race, as I finished my 10 miler, my friend Rachel was most probably departing from somewhere in the Bay Area on her long run in prep for April 19th 1/2 she will run. It was sorta neat to think she picked up where I left off.

After the race a quick stop back with Wynne and Vicki and then Bodo's to get some of the best bagels I've ever had. The warm turkey sandwich on a plain bagel was a real treat for the 10 mile distance -- I really enjoyed it. Planning on having a chicken caesar salad from Bodo's tonight for dinner to complete the day.

Great bright red shirt and medal were provided as recognition of the day.

April 1, 2009 (Happy Birthday Michael)

Who knows what today will bring...I hope mixed among the tricks of the day are some good results on the project as we are pushing through to finish something this week.

I reconnected today with 2 good friends from Charlottesville that we befriended while watching UVA Women's Hoops about 17 years ago. They have graciously volunteered to host me for an overnight in advance of the Charlottesville 10 Miler on Saturday morning. Should be fun to reconnect and catch up and then do the 10 miles which looks pretty hilly from the website. Good prep for the 1/2 -- should help me set my time for the 1/2 at the end of the month.

6 Miles this morning at Fitness Pointe in Munster Indiana -- wish I could do the 1/2 marathon on the elliptical machine and eliminate the impact of running on pavement!

March 30, 2009 (Happy Birthday Beth!)

A treat for me to stay in Virginia on a Monday, and its Beth's 17th Birthday! We had a great celebration last night (family of 5 missing one :( ). Her official party is tonight with her friends, I hope she has a great time.

I reluctantly got up this morning and headed off to Lifetime Fitness and did 5 miles on the elliptical at 6mph or 9:00 miles (about). It was a killer, but now that its done, I'm glad I did it in prep for the 10 miler on Saturday.

March 29, 2009

17 Years Ago today we had a bridal shower for my cousin Kathy and a baby shower for my sister Louise in Bethesda MD. So tonight I head over to Burke VA to celebrate (a day early) the 17th birthday of my niece Elizabeth. Wow! how quickly 17 years go by but what fun I've had with her and her siblings over every single one of those years. Happy Birthday Bette Boop!

I was happy to spend the weekend back in Fairfax, but I do wish the weather would have cooperated a bit more. The sun has finally come out this afternoon. Saturday morning I was with Sue for the CRT class at Lifetime - and this time she went nuts with the weight and our shoulders, biceps and triceps. I should be happy about that as I completed 8 miles indoors today (due to rain again) and my legs are now screaming at me.

Next Saturday is the Charlottesville 10 Miler - my prep run for the 1/2 Marathon at the end of the month. I've reconnected with one of my best college friends who says she will come down to the city to cheer me on (her daughter is in school at NYU). I hope the weather is better for the 2 runs ahead, but I've secured a rain jacket for running just in case.

March 26, 2009

5.5 Miles this morning on the elliptical at Fitness Pointe and it felt pretty good in terms of intensity. Scale is moving in the right direction, just trying to pass through another milestone in the next week or so. Should be a busy day at the office.

March 25, 2009

5 Miles this morning (mostly at 7mph) at Fitness Pointe in Munster, Indiana. If I could only run at that pace -- the the lack of pounding on your body on the elliptical really makes it quite a bit easier. I took a 2 day rest from the 16 mile weekend, but need to get back at it. I've got 3 lbs to get to another milestone and I've been less than stellar in watching what I eat. I'm committed to getting back on program to get those 3 lbs off so I can shoot for a different milestone.

Weather in Indiana is improving as spring arrives. Lets hope it holds.

March 23, 2009

Sunday started off with a 10K around Forest Park in St. Louis -- neither of us realized it was 6 miles around until we saw a marker from a running team. Kate and I did the first 4 miles as intervals of walk (3) and run(2) and if Lili had had her say, we would have run the whole darn thing! It was a pretty morning and there are lots of sites in the park. The zoo looks like a good place to return to if I end back up in St. Louis with time on my hands.

Quick change up and we drove out to Edwardsville, IL and were hosted at a great lunch by Debbie and Jimmy. There full family was in attendance and it was a great deal of fun. Back to the city in the late afternoon, and an early dinner down in the square with Kates friend Natasha. A good relaxing and fun filled weekend!

March 22, 2009

A great Saturday in St. Louis with Kate. The picture above was at the Budweiser Brewery right in town and we took a great tour which ended with a free sample (along with some pretzels). It was our appetizer to lunch where we headed to a great wrap/bowl local place that had one of the best chicken/spinach/pesto wraps I've ever had.

We went to 5PM Mass at the Basilica -- which was an absolutely phenomenal church. After a quick trip home, we headed out to gamble a bit and get some dinner. We had a good time both at dinner and the casino, but overall we left more money there than we came home with. Today I get to see Edwardsville, IL which I have heard about for the past 30+ years.

March 21, 2009

Welcome to St. Louis! The picture above is of Kate and me at the top of the Gateway Arch yesterday afternoon as part of my tour of the city. I'm here with the NCAA Wrestling Championship so there are lots of "guys" in town too. We had a wonderful dinner last night wiht scallops and risotto that was delicious. I crashed early on Kates...

This morning I woke up to do my long run -- was targeting for 10 miles and actually went 10.4 in 2 hours or a little under 12:00 per mile. Makes me pretty confident that I can finish the 1/2 in less than 3 hours if I push myself for the last 3.2 miles. I ran through St. Louis and down to the Arch and back and then 4 times around Lafayette Square which is right near Kates house. I think we'll go back again with Lili in the afternoon, so I might log a 1/2 today in distance.

March 19, 2009

A couple of good things have happened in the past couple of days:

• I completed 6 miles on the elliptical machine this morning in about 50 minutes. Thats the farthest I have gone in my morning workouts ever. I hope it helps me get to 2:30 for the 1/2 marathon in April.
• My work colleague commented on a new suit I was wearing yesterday by saying "It fits you" which I implied that she noticed my older clothes were getting bigger.
• In the health club this morning I listened to woman say that she was working to loose 5 pounds BEFORE she went on vacation -- a real key to how people maintain better, versus going crazy on vacation and then coming back and having to loose. Pay first sounds like a better way to go.
• I signed up for the Marine Core Historic Half Marathon in May in Fredericksburg, VA. Its the day after I get back from St. Louis, so hopefully it will work out.

These are all good signs when I was personally sabotaging my weight loss efforts. Wanted to reflect on them to get back onto the path to goodness. Stress still sends me to food, I continue to need to work on that!

March 12, 2009

New Shoes Today! I went to Fleet Feet yesterday in Schereville, Indiana and had a gait analysis and foot analysis to pick out the right shoe (Misty was awesome). I think I tried on 8 pairs of shoes till I settled with the Saucony's. I test drove them this morning on the elliptical for 5 miles and no signs of blisters coming back. If I like them after road wear this weekend, I'll probably go back and get another pair for Indiana and leave the new ones in Virginia! Not to mention that the prices seemed more reasonable than Northern Virginia too. There is a TREK Bike store next door, I may go by there tomorrow night to do some exploratory searching on bikes.

I could have gone to a Brooks brand (I now wear Brooks Arial), but it was like buying the same car in a different color, so I tried a new brand.

Snow showers today but no accumulation. Another night in Indiana before heading back to Virginia.

March 11, 2009

It sure is easy to get out of practice of blogging. Its been a good month in terms of fun and fitness. This past weekend I clocked 8 miles on the W&O Trail from Vienna to Falls Church at 12:00 per mile which was a PR for me. This week I'm back in Indiana and have used the elliptical at 5.0MPH for 2 hours logging 10 miles over the past two days.

We had two great weekends of Cornell Softball down at George Mason for tournaments. They've started out the season 6-0 with hot bats as they head down to Florida.

February 18, 2009

Wednesday morning - back on the "normal" path of 5AM CDT at Fitness Pointe. 4.8 Miles in the 65 minutes -- a little soreness in my knee today on the last 3 minute run so I pulled it back and walked. Took a couple advils and we'll see how the day goes. Lots of rain here in Indiana today, and I have to say I don't mind it a bit ~ thinking that it could be snow instead. I'm looking forward to a couple days on the SE coast of Florida at the end of the week.

February 17, 2009

An evening workout. For some reason, I was awake at 2:30AM CDT today and I got up and worked for a couple of hours and then tried to go back to sleep around 4:00AM CDT..As a result I missed my morning workout and told myself I had to go tonight. I do not like evening workouts. I really struggled on the treadmill tonight - was trying for walk 2, run 3 and managed that for 35 minutes and then went down to walk 3 , run 2...total of 4.8Miles which was good, but I really felt it. The Fitness Pointe site was much more crowded and there was certainly more activity to watch. I'll be back at it tomorrow morning at my normal 5AM workout time.

February 16, 2009

9 Miles within 12 Hours :) I procrastinated my Sunday workout until 8PM EDT and did the 65 minutes while watching the kickoff of the Amazing Race at the Fairfax Lifetime Fitness. Back on the treadmill at 5:45 am this morning in Chantilly to squeeze in my Monday workout before the flight to Chicago. I'm hopeful our new President stays put this morning so that the air traffic in Chicago doesn't get messed up.

Great party Saturday night hosted by Nancy in NW DC.

February 14, 2009 -- 10K

George Washington 10K in Alexandria VA today. A personal best completing the 10K in 74:49 minutes (11:42 per mile)! I did it by walking for 3 minutes and running for 2 the whole way out. I came in 630 out of 659 runners, and 60 of 66 in my female age group. Its amazing how folks on intervals tend to pass each other but really stay together the whole race. It was a chilly 35 degrees when we started but my body heated up pretty quickly.

Great progress for me from a year ago, and I felt pretty confident that I could do the course again (maybe not at the same interval) so that I can get through the 1/2 marathon. Right now, I'm thinking I can complete the 1/2 in 3 hours (which would be about 40 minutes quicker than last June). Time will tell.

A great workout and a great race course (pretty flat)!

February 12, 2009

A good workout at Fitness Point..4.8 miles, I trimmed back on the running and split it with walking (30/30). Will most probably take tomorrow off to get ready for Saturday. Looks like it will be cold on Saturday morning for the 10K.

Found a mall in Illinois last night - what a trip back to the retro 50's mall. I felt at home in Macy's but when I went into the mall it was like going into the twilight zone. I didn't stay there long at all.

The scale appears to be working in the right direction for this uptick in training!

February 11, 2009

Wednesday Morning at Fitness Pointe, IN

A good 65 minutes with 33 of running (5.5) and the rest walking (4.0). For some reason its getting harder (versus easier)...might be because I need a break. I'm thinking I will take Friday off before the race on Saturday to give my legs a day to rest.

Found a Red Lobster restaurant here in Munster Indiana which was excellent. I had their new "fired" tilapia, broccoli and a baked potato. I did manage to eat only 1/2 of those delicious cheese rolls and called it a night.

February 9, 2009

5 Miles Interval!

Early morning at Lifetime Fitness, and this time I cranked up my run time to walk for 2 minutes (4MPH) and then run for 3 minutes (5.5MPH). I was ready to quit at 36 minutes, but I pushed through and when I finished my 5 minute cooldown I had clocked 5 miles! That gives me some confidence for getting through 6.2 miles next Saturday in an hour and a half in celebration of Washington's Birthday. We'll see how the rest of the week goes, but it looks like my quads survived the spin class.

Nice Sunday dinner last night in Burke with a crowd of 5..some discussion of the upcoming softball season and the end of February visit by Big Red to play at Mason.

February 8, 2009

Spin Class
Okay so I bit the bullet and tried the "Spin Class" this morning. OMGosh! it was quite a workout and a great deal of fun. I was very upfront that it was my first class so everyone was watching out for me. I was able to complete the 60 minutes without my quads falling off, but they are still screaming a bit right now :) I will absolutely do it again, but not probably until the end of the month due to scheduling.

Did 30 Minutes run/walk afterwards in prep for next Saturday's 10K in celebration of Washingtons Birthday. My goal will be to complete it in less than 1.5 hours (its 6.2Miles in distance). It will be a good guage for how I'm getting ready for the 1/2 marathon.

Pretty sure a nap is in my plan for today and I'm thinking about taking an Aleve just to be preventative. It is a gorgeous day here in DC today - should be up to 60. Could still be a walk around Burke Lake in my future today.

February 7, 2009

Chocolate Festival in downtown Fairfax today and I resisted the temptation!

I went to my favorite CRT class today and it was quite a workout. Increased the weights to 5lb when we were doing weight exercises and I can feel it in my arms now. Finished with 35 minutes on the treadmill (3 Miles) with 20 minutes of running at 5.5 (4 minutes of running to just test it out)

Great time last night at GGN in DC, a small crowd, but we had a good time catching up. The new food choices were excellent. Its a gorgeous day here in the DC Area -- might get up to 50.

February 5, 2009

Fitness Pointe -- Munster, Indiana, a pretty nice fitness facility. I found out mid week that it comes along with the HI since their workout facility is so terrible, so this morning I decided to try it out.

Same drill as the past couple days 65 minutes on the treadmill. I'll have to be ready to walk in the door at 5AM if I want a treadmill with a personalized TV set, but for this morning I caught up on last week's NPR Wait Wait which was good.

I'm counting on the huge boost in activity to make an impact on the scale too! Back to Fairfax tonight.

February 4, 2009

So today I learned a bit more about "Lake Effect Snow" ~ I am lucky to be west of where it normally drops, but its a pretty amazing phenomenon where this stream of snow dumps (18" today) down across a swath of Indiana and heads east. Luckily I've moved hotels and the work site so that for this week, we avoided it.

Early bird caught the worm this morning -- on the treadmill at 5:00AM (6:00 AM EST) for a 4.9 Mile 65 Minute trek, walking at 4MPH, jogging at 5.5MPH in walk 3, run 2 intervals. This one really got to me, maybe because I've been at it for three days straight with no break. May take an easier trip tomorrow morning. I'm pushing hard to try to break through a decade on the scale this week. (One I've been sitting in since December!)

February 3, 2008

Happy Birthday Peggy!

Orland Park, Illinois Lifetime Fitness this morning at 5:30AM. I almost took the "totally strength" class in lieu of the treadmill - but will think about that next week. 4.8 Miles in 65 minutes (I think a record for me) 3 minutes walking at 16:00 (4MPH) and then 2 minutes running at 11:XX (5.5MPH) with the last interval of 4 minutes running. Man that was difficult.

The good news is that the 6-10 inches of snow predicted for today hasn't started yet so I was able to get my workout in (early).

February 2, 2009 -- Week 5

Schedule (3x per week) 6 Walk Run Intervals; walk 4 Min at 17:00, run 2 min at 12:00 for 36 minutes or a total of 2.6 Miles.

Achieved today: 12 Walk Run Intervals; walk 3 min at 4 MPH (15:00), run 2 min at 5.3 MPH (11:19), distance of 4.7MPH in 65 Minutes! Whew! I got to the health club early this morning and did my 60 minutes pushing myself. Week 9 is when the schedule calls for 60 minutes (at a brisker pace), so all I have to work on is increasing my pace and minutes running. Its fun to think about a schedule and a goal again

Looks like snow this week both in Northern Virginia and in Chicago - for the past three weeks it has snowed in Indiana on Tuesdays - looks like we are going for a three-peat.

February 1, 2009

Ok. Here we go again! This weekend I was getting a bit bored with my treadmill workout and went surfing and found the MoreFitness Half Marathon in New York City for women only in late April 2009. I went to their training calendar - and saw that week 4 was walk for 4 minutes, and then run for 2..so I took this to the treadmill and yesterday and today I walked for 3 and ran for 2! Seems like I can catch up with the schedule and get ready for an April event. I've asked some cousins to come along, so I'm not sure yet whether its a solo trip or not, but I think I've got the bug.

It didn't help that I was also getting all kinds of requests for TNT funding from my California friends who are training for the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon in June 2009. And I look back at the blog and on 2/2/08 I had my first run in San Francisco and hardly made it a mile. Today I logged 4.2 miles in an hour on top of an hour step class!

Follow along as you want, as I now try this training thing from Virginia!

28 Years of Working Today!

28 Years Ago today I showed up at New England Telephone Headquarters in Boston to start my Management Training Program! While I have left the "phone company" I certainly haven't left New England (or Maine) and still remember fondly all I learned in those first 18 months in Portland Maine, both professionally and personally.

Stadium to Stadium 10K/ 100 Minutes

This was an urban run, from AT&T Park down 3rd Street for almost 5 Miles and then a left turn toward Monster Park (where the 49rs play). It was hard cause there were no mile markers and the volunteers had no idea about distance or where the water stops were. Thank Goodness for the SFPD who had three stations where they would spray you with water and I took advantage of all three of them. It wasn't as hot as the 8K in Fairfax, but for San Fran it was pretty darn hot. I finished #827 out of 930 at a 16:11 pace which gives me a target to get under 16 for a 10K. I was #70 of 86 for my age category.

The transportation back to the start was abysmal and I had to wait 1.5 hours in line to catch an 11 person van back. Regardless, it was fun. Had several "Go Teams" given I had on my TNT shirt. After a bit of relaxing I'll head down to Mountain View to visit with Sheila.

6.75KM Turning up the Heat

Back to the workout room - did the first 2 miles on the elliptical at a 12:00 mile pace. Leads me to believe I could run a bit longer than I do when I'm going for a long distance. Moved over to the treadmill for a more leisurely 2.2 miles. I completed the 4.2 miles in under one hour which is a record for workouts for me.

Signed up today for a "Stadium to Stadium" 10K on Saturday morning. The path goes from AT&T (Giants) Stadium to Monster (49rs) Park through the city. I think it will be fun and it starts right at my condo (like the Fairfax run).

Congratulations to Aimee from my TNT team who has been selected to be a mentor for the Fall Season! She's committed to running a full marathon at the Rock & Roll in San Antonio Texas. Makes me want to sign up again for a 1/2 in San Antonio (or at least think about it!)

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!