15.39 morning run in San Francisco

I learned a few things on this run.

I had a banana for breakfast at around 5:30 before I drove downtown to meet my running buddies to carpool down to Sausalito.

We began our run at 7:30 at the beginning of the Golden Gate Bridge and to be honest with you, the banana wasn't all that filling.

By the time we reached the Ferry Building, we were nearing the 8 mile mark. We turned around to head back and I started to feel pain in my hips. Not badly, but enough for me to hobble. I decided this was a good time to chew my single Clif Shot Blok.

I accidently brought the wrong lid to my water bottle so I was waterless until one of the kind-hearted runners in the group offered me a 12-oz water bottle. I was terrified of drinking it all early in my run, so I didn't drink a sip until Mile 9. And I even left half the bottle filled with water just in case I needed it toward the end of the run.

This might have been another mistake.

Please do not run a 15-1/2 mile run only eating a banana and one clif shot blok and waiting to sip water until Mile 9. Because if you're a lot like me, and you probably are.... it'll hurt by the time you reach Mile 11.

But.. it was FUN!

I kept promising myself, "I can do this! I can do this! I can do this!" And I did.

But to be honest, I felt as though I hit a wall around mile 8-9... and then another wall just before the Golden Gate Bridge on the return trip back.

But it didn't stop me. I kept on running. And it felt GREAT to finish.

The following day I still felt great. But I can't help but wonder what would I have felt if I hadda better breakfast and had more water and more gels?

Only two more weeks for the race and now it's time to experiment!!!

The first step is the most difficult

You really can do all what you want to do. Simply by getting out there and start doing it. It's not the distance.... it's the first step that is truly the most difficult.

This video is not just about running. If you want that college degree or simply want to tackle those weeds in your back yard, I hope you consider putting on your shoes and getting out there. Once you do, you'll feel your spirit soar.

Sleep on it

Sleep is such a fascinating concept.

It's the process of shutting down our bodies for a time in order to keep forging ahead. To completely leave yourself wide open to danger and bodily harm. To close your eyes and go to a whole other realm.

I think of that a lot when I am traveling, especially. Watching one sleep on the bus and on planes and at the airport. Drooling mouths opened wide, sleeping in chairs and stretched out on the floor at their gate waiting for their next flight. It feels so vulnerable.

While sleeping on the beach a couple of weeks ago, the murmur of voices lulled me to sleep. Upon waking, I was surprised to find so many people around me had packed up and left while I slept. They packed up their coolers and closed down their umbrellas while I laid there in a different dimension. And it IS another dimension. It really is a whole other realm of being.

We dream in this state. It's where we ponder and wonder and figure things out.

We go to sleep with questions and we wake up with answers.

We sleep on it... to renew and relive and revive.

It is warm out tonight. I can hear the neighbor's chatting it up in their backyard with their friends and family. Gales of laughter. Lots of conversation. Clinking glasses. I imagine their faces glowing from the candle light and the twinkling lights they have set up. I want to be outside, too. I want to sit out under the stars of my backyard and listen to the crickets and enjoy this beautiful warm evening as well.

But it is nearly 10:30 and I will be waking up at 5:00 to run 14 miles in beautiful San Francisco. I'll start at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge early tomorrow morning and finishing there as well. It's going to be a great morning!

So it is off to bed I go.

I will dream of running. I always do before a long run. I sleep on it... so to speak. And, it helps me on my actual run. I really believe it helps.

Good night.

I ran 15 miles-- huge milestone for me

I ran 15 miles today. FIFTEEN! By far, the longest run I have ever ran.

By the 12th mile, I started to hurt. I tend to waddle by that length of time.... moving left and right as i run forward. I wasn't planning on running 15. Only 12.

(ha! O N L Y twelve).

But. Heidi called me last night just before i was headed for bed and said, "ya wanna run 17 miles tomorrow?"

"Seventeeeeeeen!?!??!"

She asked me while I was in North Carolina last week if I would be her running partner to train for a full marathon. I didn't think much about it and said, "yeah, sure! maybe!" But... more than a week later and nothing had progressed, I started not to take that offer seriously. And I actually started to feel relieved.

I only ran five miles while on vacation. The week before I think I ran maybe seven miles between two separate runs. The week before that, maybe only four. I have been negligent and it shows in my speed and how it feels in my body while running.

But this morning I ran.

We ran from downtown Sebastopol to Graton and back.... but we also ran around downtown first.

We planned on running seventeen miles, and it could have happened if not for us noticeably slowing down our run in this neighborhood as we soaked in all this wonderful metal sculptures in every single yard!

It's incredible.


We laughed. We sighed.
We imagined ourselves making these. We took in deep breaths.
We stared. We marveled.
We longed. We wished. We loved.

The street is called Florence Street in downtown Sebastopol, CA.


Hardly not my best run. But by the time I made the finish stretch, it felt good that i had accomplished this milestone.

I now need to work on my speed.

The race is less than a month away and now my game is on.

vacation

I am back from vacation.

Again? some are asking. I have traveled quite a bit during the past four to five months. Some are just two or three night getaways.

But I need them. Anyone who scoffs and says to me, I am too busy to take time off... I seriously see them as someone who is on the verge of a burnout.

Getaways are essential. They don't have to be expensive. But I'm not so sure about these stay-cations people are talking about. Oh sure! They are excellent for cleaning out the garage and working in the yard and catching up on all those things on your To-Do List, but they don't slow down the mind.

And that is essential for the mind and spirit to have that recharge time.

And you know, you can even visit a friend over the weekend. When you are not home, your mind isn't busy planning or worrying about all the things that need to be done. You are in the moment and not thinking about paying the bills, watering the lawn, buying groceries.

When you are away, you are merely in the moment.

And if you're a lot like me, (and i think you are)... then you're all for calming the mind, rejuvenating your spirit and inspiring your soul.

If you haven't gone anywhere in some time, it's time to go somewhere.

Do it now.

You deserve that.

Upcoming Hurricane Earl (and flies on the butter)

Granddaddy's Home

I am in historic Swansboro, North Carolina.

It's a town I have visited often.

My granddaddy lived here for many years. And my relatives still own a home here, so happily for me, I still can visit often.

I love this town!



I am on vacation here for a week, waking up early and spending most of my time on Emerald Isle collecting beautiful sea shells while gazing out over the emerald green gentle warm waves.

Though this morning, I woke up extra early and ran. I was surprised how hot it was so early. No wind. Just very hot "heater" air. It sucked me in as I ran. Wondered if it was because of this hurricane that is 100 miles up from the coast. Is this the calm before the storm? I figured that was probably it.

So I shrugged it off and ran. I ran and I ran.

Sweat dripped and poured down my fingers... as I ran nearly five miles before giving up. The town is so small, .... i kept duplicating my route. I slowed down and walked through the old graveyard as I caught my breath. And while i ran past the cats sleeping on the pavement next to Yana's... i couldn't help feeling hungry, smelling the lingering delicious bacon smells.

Yana's

So many people in this tiny town were sitting on their porches sipping on coffee. Their hair still shaped from their pillow. I waved to them, "Good Morning!" .... Sometimes twice and three times over.

I was about to quit running, when Wyonna's song, "Flies on the Butter" song came on over my earphones so I decided to run the town once more while the song played out... running slowly past Granddaddy's home.... missing him in a big way:

Old tin roof, leaves in the gutter
A hole in the screen door big as your fist, and flies on the butter
Mamaw baking sugar cookies, we were watching cartoons
Heard her holler from the kitchen which one of you youngin's wants to lick the spoon?
Yellow jackets on the watermelon, honeysuckle in the air
Daddy turning on the sprinkler, us kids running through it in our underwear
Old dog napping on the front porch, his ear just a-twitching
Fell asleep on Granddaddy's lap to the sound of his pocket watch ticking

Oh, oh, oh - Oh, oh, oh
It doesn't seem like it was all that long ago
Oh, oh, oh - Oh, oh, oh
You can dream about it every now and then
But you can't go home again

-------

Tonight we are under a hurricane warning. Hurricane Earl.

It's calm right now. But the storm is supposed to hit tomorrow.

I'm a California girl.

I have no idea what this all means, but I've watched Big Brother and it seems they can live on (slop) PB&J sandwiches all week so I guess I'm set.

I'll keep you posted...

(This is the areal view of Swansboro below, so you can see how close we are to the water):

And here was my running route... (nearly the same route as the ariel view)