Race Day is tomorrow

Race Day is tomorrow. And I am sick.

I've been sick for nearly a week now. Pounding headache. Fever. Aching body. Lost voice and a coughing so intense, so deep, I need to hold onto my ribs to soften the pain I feel each time I cough.

I haven't ran for a week. I've barely moved my feet. I look like the older folks you see shuffling down the street all wrapped up and shivering in the cold.

But yesterday morning, I woke up and felt a shift in my body. Was it my hopeful imagination?

Did I really feel improvement?

Today I have a worse cough, but no longer feel achy and the fever has been gone for two days now. Though I slept for more than twelve hours last night, I feel my energy returning.

It is no longer my imagination.

I'm going to go out there early tomorrow morning and run that race. My goal is to simply finish the Half Marathon. My other goal is not to get sicker after I finish the race... but to feel better and more empowered.

HA! Well, that is something only time will tell.

You know the saying, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger... so I'm putting my trust into the alternative....

Running across the Golden Gate Bridge and along the Embarcadero in San Francisco

This video says it all. It was amazing!

I was born in San Francisco and have spent a lot of time in this lovely City, but there were places I ran that I had never experienced before.

I had to hack off 13 minutes of this video but it will still give you a good sense of our 12-mile practice run.

We started off a the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge in the pouring rain and ran across the bridge and circled around to the bottom of the hill along the Golden Gate Promenade and ran to Ft. Point, stopping momentarily to touch the wall, and then back along the Promenade to Crissy Field while we got caught in the middle of a race... and then ran along Marina Blvd, past the Safeway toward Fort Mason, up to Prospect Park and down along the waterfront toward Fisherman's Wharf ... past the boat house and Aquatic Park and we turned around at the Hyde Street Pier (corner of Hyde and Jefferson, kitty-corner from the Cannery Building). The cable car turnaround/Buena Vista Cafe/Ghirardeli Square are all a tantalizing block up on the hill on Beach Street.

We then turned around and headed back the same way we had come.

It felt a lot like we were on the tv show: the amazing race.

I am so grateful for this wonderful experience. It was so fun, I barely noticed I was running. The plus side of running in such a beautiful place.

Running in the Wine Country

This past Sunday, I ran 11-1/2 miles in the Wine Country.

After experiencing a long week of feeling lousy about myself... for feeling weak and lame and wanting to throw in the towel ... I watched another episode of The Biggest Loser on TV and I was so inspired watching these folks fight through their physical and mental barriers, I decided i needed to do that, too.

If they can do that, then by golly, I can do that! 

I woke up extra early on Sunday morning, nervous and excited and thought this: "If I can run this, then I can run the half-marathon!.."

It was a gorgeous morning outside and it was so breath-taking (in more ways than one!) to run through such beautiful scenery!

I started off running at a slower pace, reminding myself that it's just a practice run and if my ham strings act up on me, I can walk as much as I need to ... but within the first mile, I had passed everyone but a couple of runners who started off at the front of the pack and i never saw them. Ever! Even on long stretches of roads, but that was okay, as I had forgotten they were even ahead of me.  

As far as I knew, I was leading the group and I felt strong. I felt empowered! And that felt GOOOD! 

I finished the training run in 2 hours and 5 minutes and burned nearly 1200 calories. I pushed myself a little, but not like I was racing. Just enough to help me over my previous hump. I finished without even breathing deeply.

I live in such a beautiful area. I kept looking up and seeing my surroundings of the rolling hills and the vineyards and the beauty of it all kept pushing me to keep on running.

I just signed up for the Half-Marathon to take place on May 22nd.  I haven't trained like I should, (there were some weeks I only ran one day) but I guess there's no better time than the present. (And I think I'm better trained than I had previously believed).

This coming Sunday morning we're running over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco along the Embarcadero and back across the bridge. I'm really looking forward to it. I plan to videotape my experience and will post it early next week.

(coach marc's bike)

Hey, by the way: Here's the route I ran! Impressive, huh?  :O)

Running against the obstacles

So I ran.

And I ran and I ran... but I felt sore and lethargic and felt my calves were gonna explode. I kept up with the group for the first couple of miles and then I started to lose my pace... and the distance between us started to shift farther apart.
 
And when I finally finished the near 9 mile run, instead of feeling happy, I felt sorta defeated. I didn't wanna be last in my running group.

And I was last.

And maybe if my knee wasn't sore, and my hamstrings weren't giving me any trouble and my ankle felt strong... I would have done better.  And certainly if I ran more during the week, without question, I could have enjoyed a greater run.

I certainly don't run nearly as much as I did this past winter. Some weeks I just run one day. And never more than twice a week. My running buddies are now running while I'm at work. And running alone isn't as fun so I'm running less frequent, and in turn, each run I feel the struggle of it more and more.

Basically, I started to give up in my head. And you can't have that when you are running.

Sorry for the defeated post, but I am guessing we all feel this way at some point.  I feel sad and depressed and overcome.

Wishing for better days.  And they will come.  They do, ya know, and they will.

(By the way... the video I took while running is under a minute and if you watch it,  you can see how beautiful it was out there!)

I am so happy I experienced running in such a breathtaking, beautiful place amongst ferns, wild flowers, flowing rivers and eventually the Pacific Ocean.

Tomorrow I'll run again and see where it takes me. Because I know in my heart, it all begins with that first step and a new mind set.

I ran in a rain storm if that counts!

So i ran this morning. In the chilly rain and mud and wind.

I had all sorts of weird dreams while I slept last night. I dreamt I met Helen Keller on my run. She was doing so well. Or perhaps, I was not doing so well... and that is why we were running together. When she introduced herself to me, I was impressed to meet her and told her she was a house-hold name, but I didn't realize in my dream she was the one who was both blind and deaf. In my dream, i thought she was an awesome runner!

In another dream, I was driving in a flood and my car spun out of control and I was late for the run and as hard as I tried to make it to the start-off gun, I was too late.

Race runs always make me nervous. I spend a lot of time worrying about it as I sleep. But I slept good in between my sleep.  I slept in clean sheets and each time I tossed and turned and rolled over, I thought to myself, "awwww, this is so comfortable..."

It was raining hard when we started out this race. And it was cooler than the weather said it would be. I don't know how cold it was when we started the race, but when I was done running, it had only reached to 42 degrees.

I was excited to run with Heidi and Angie, but because the trails were so thin, they put us on staggered start times... depending on age.  We are such fierce rule followers, I am older than both and started five minutes ahead of them.

(Looking back,  I could kick myself.  What was I thinking!? I shoulda just blew my age off and started running with their age group!!)

I don't know where my head was, but I continued running alone the entire seven miles. And that was sooo not what I wanted to do!!! My dream and desire was to run with them, because ever since our half-marathon run back in early February, I've been running mostly alone and to be honest, I haven't been enjoying it so much. Running hasn't been as fun! I missed my running buddies!!

The race went okay. During the worst stretches, my calves were sooo tight, i thought they were about to burst. i was reduced to a shuffle, stumbling over one rock after another, running up hill.  i prayed for some downhills for they would call into action muscles that were fresh, ones that didn't hurt so badly.  Meanwhile, I kept looking over my shoulder, looking for Heidi and Angie.   

To no avail.

By the time I reached the 7th mile, I sprinted to the finish line. And then I stood there, shivering, and getting drenched in a downpour waiting for Angie and Heidi to reach me. Seven minutes later they were there and we were discussing whether or not we wanted to run back the seven miles we had just ran.

The truth is. I could have run it. And I should have run it. But it was that seven minutes standing there under a terrential downpour, i started to feel myself feeling stiff and cold.. and when Angie said, "Naww... this is good, I'm gonna head home for a hot shower.." .. i hafta say the hot shower felt inviting to me as well and I was set to head there, too.

So I looked at Heidi and told her I was quitting... and she nodded at me and as she turned around and started running back the same course all by herself,  I immediately felt bad for my decision and wanted soo badly to catch up and run alongside her.

But I didn't.

I didn't! 

I just stood here shivering in the cold... and knew I had made up my choice.  To play it safe. Not to risk any further injury.

But you know what? I could have run the 14 miles.

So I sit here and I feel like I sorta let myself down as I know I could have done it! And I should have done it, but I didn't do it. 

So... I'm quiet all day....... reassuring myself that it's all okay.

Running is a funny thing.  It IS competitive. And it IS fierce.
And some days ya feel powerful and on some days you're basically a whimp.

But I learned something today. If I don't ever wanna feel that heaviness I feel in my gut today, I will push myself forward. And I will.

One step at a time.

14-mile race tomorrow in the rain

Heidi called me this morning.

"Shawn, I know you and Angie might be running the relay team as partners tomorrow but I want to run both legs of the race. Do you guys wanna, too?"

To be honest, I had given up the idea of running in this race. I didn't get a confirmation back from Angie that she would run the race with me, and besides, the weather forecast calls for a cold steady rain all day. So I gave it up in my mind.  Didn't want to run seven miles in the rain. Actually felt relieved I didn't hear back from Angie.

As Heidi and I were starting to feel reluctance in running the full 14 miles and maybe run as a relay team together if Angie bails, Angie called Heidi and said, "Yes!"  She was willing to run the entire 14 miles with us. 

Then that settled it. Angie, Heidi and I are going to run both legs of the relay race tomorrow.

And, yes,  i'm ...  nervous!

I know i can do it. But I haven't been running on a consistent basis and I have never run that far before in my life, though it's just a little over a mile further than the half-marathon I ran back in February.

It's up at Annadel State Park and will cover a lot of hills.  Muddy hills. But after wading through the icy stream last weekend, I now know not to run around those puddles but to run through them. And, besides that, with all that rain, my shoes will be water-logged anyway.


I better go see if I have any clean running clothes. And I'll drink plenty of water.  Tomorrow morning is coming quickly.  Wish me luck.

Wading through icy waters

Early yesterday morning, Kelly, Karen, Angie and I drove up to Hood Mountain to tackle a difficult 10.72 miles up in the hills. Angie and I had never ran there before and we were both eager to experience something new.

What we didn't know then, was what exactly that new experience would be. And, we're both happy we didn't know about it... ahead of time.

And that's walking through frigid icy raging water.... twice!

But, wait. I'm already getting ahead of myself.  Let me start from the beginning.

We started our journey in temps in the low 30s and though i didn't see any patches of snow ... I was told there was still snow from a recent cold front. Angie's legs were covered in goosebumps from the chilly, icy air even while still sitting in the car. It was the kind of cold that when you spoke, you could see your breath.

I was secretly worried when I started off. Could I keep up?

Would I further injure my ankle? When you're cold, you feel everything sore on you. My knee where I hurt it back in January when I fell on a rock is still painful. I worried I'd fall again on the same knee.

I know that when I start to worry about falling, those feelings come from some other place. And yesterday morning, I knew that my fear was not about falling but all about failing.

We were all eager to start running to warm up.  My feet were so numb, I couldn't feel them as they hit the dirt. Karen pulled off her gloves and showed me her purplish-blue fingers. 

Within a mile or so, we all started to warm up and I was feeling good in my run and was curious why Karen and Kelly stopped up ahead when we reached the raging icy cold stream and not run along beside it. 

"Let's lock arms as we cross so the current doesn't carry us down the water fall..."

"Whaa? We're walking through that?"

And, before I was able to wrap my mind around the idea of it all, I reached out and held onto Kelly and Angie and Angie reached over and held onto Karen and locking arms, we took our first steps into the frigid raging water. We sunk in deep at times, sometimes catching each other as we slipped a bit over the rocks beneath us, water reaching upwards to our crotches before we made it to the other side.

It was an amazing experience.

Remember when you were a kid and you were about to get a shot, and you were really nervous and about to cry, but the nurse just magically gave you a shot in such a non-emotional way, doing this distraction thing, that you didn't even know you got the shot, until it was actually all over and you were sucking on your sucker?

That's exactly how it was for me.

"This is what we're gonna do. Lock arms and hold hands and move forward carefully against the stream.."  

It happened so matter-of-fact and so suddenly. Never ever would I have ever considered walking through a raging stream in my $100 pair of running shoes. But I did! And ya know what? They weren't any wetter than when i ran in the rain last Wednesday night during a short 3 mile-run in a downpour with my running group.

(Welll, okay, maybe yesterday they were indeed a bit more water-logged...)

We climbed back up the slippery slope and we were off again.  Slosh-SLOSH-slosh-SLOSH were the sounds of my wet socks inside my shoes. I was surprised (and much relieved) to feel warm and insulated between my wet skin and my running shorts as I ran.

It was mostly all uphill the first half five miles. So steep at times and for such long periods of time, I found myself walking more than running.

I kept repeating to myself, "c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon.." lifting one foot after the other... feeling like a mule carrying a heavy load...  "will this ever get any easier?" 
Kelly says it will. She says these tough uphill runs make you strong.

Seeing views from a place where few people have ever crossed is really quite humbling and overwhelming. And I felt good as well. I stayed on track... kept up with the group as best as I could. I wasn't nearly as slow as I had worried I would be.

What seemed to take forever to reach the top of the mountain, the trails back downhill was quick and it took seemingly no time at all! Nearly back to the car, I heard a roaring sound and remembered the rushing stream.

Taking a deep break and locking arms once again, we crossed the frigid waters, a few feet further up from the waterfall than when we crossed earlier that morning. Karen said, "Doesn't the icy water feel good against your pulled ankle?"

And it did! 

It was like I was icing it while running. Making the most out of situations.

I woke up this morning and I'm glad I had that experience and yes, I do feel sore.
But... it's a good sore.

Like kelly says, "it only makes you strong..."

The friendship between a dog and an orangutan

Watch more National Geographic Channel videos on AOL Video

 
This video shows the friendship between a dog and an orangutan.  I hope you watch this and that it touches you to your very core.

Ran ten and a Half Mile Run at Pt Reyes National Seashore

I woke up extra early and was out of the house by 6:45 to meet my running group to run at Point Reyes National Seashore. 

Heidi, Denise, Sue, Brittany and i climbed into the SUV and drove south to Point Reyes... our chatter sometimes silenced by the beauty of the landscape around us.  Fog laying low on the earth.. the sun above shining so brightly touched down into the low-lying clouds and looked like fairy dust... it really felt magical!


We ran nearly 10-1/2 miles this morning in Point Reyes National Seashore and it was truly a spectacular run... breezing past the Douglas fir forest and along the rushing Bear Valley Creek.  The Bear Valley trail ended here at the end of the california coastline called Arch Rock and so we stopped and took pictures. 

It was incredible!!! This part of of our coastline is not anywhere near roads and cars and people. It probably looks much like it did a hundred years ago. The photo below is probably where the name Arch Rock got its name.

I soaked in the beauty and then sat down on the ground and emptied out a small rock out of my left shoe and smoothed out the wrinkle from my sock on my right shoe... and headed back.


Through the ferns, moss-covered trees and forget-me-nots framing our trail.


In two weeks I will run this again. I plan to film this on my Flip. It really truly is an amazing trail.


By the way, this is along the San Andreas Fault. Apparently it's one of the most scariest places to be if you're ever in an earthquake here.  So.. it's an obvious great place to run if you wanna quicken your pace ... as I did as I ran toward the car.

During Dinner

He blows his nose onto his cloth restaurant napkin... digging deeply with his finger into each nostril and then blowing hard, sounding like a fog horn.

I lift up my shoulders in a cower and bend forward and want to tell him, Can you maybe do that after dinner or can you walk away from the dinner table and maybe use a Kleenex instead?

He does one more wipe around his nose and says, So what's a great girl like you still single? Why hasn't a guy captured you up already!

And I want to tell him, Well, I wouldn't be captured by you, because whenever I see you blow your nose at the dinner table, I want to turn my eyes away in fear of dry-heaving.

But.  I don't.

Instead I just feel kind of embarrassed about being myself.

And he keeps on digging and blowing his nose and says, That’s so weird that you are single....
  
And I silently sit there across from him, as I focus on his fingers indenting into the cloth napkin rubbing up against his nose while he blows even harder.

This is why I enjoy trail running

UltraRunning from Matt Hart on Vimeo.

This video expresses why I enjoy trail running. (And by the way, the beginning of this video shows the beginning of the 100 Western States Race up at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe and finishes in Auburn, CA. Kelly has raced it two or three times. Each time I have been there and have crued for her. Waking up and seeing them start out in the early morning in the dark, still makes me cry).

I went running with my sister Kelly tonight after work. I think we ran 7 or 8 miles. It kicked my butt. I felt sore the entire run. My calves felt like they were about to pop. My knees ached. My tendons hurt. My toes cramped. But I just kept moving. Jumping over rocks and roots and mud puddles and it was getting dark and I wondered if we'd run into a mountain lion... because a lot of deer and turkeys were out strolling about and why not the mountain lion? And, I was happy the mountain lion was not out.

In a few days, I'm off to Palm Springs to enjoy the warmth of the sun. Not much running there, so I am happy for the run tonight.   I plan to run another Half-Marathon in May.

I need these races to keep me running....

Bravery

And in that moment... feeling resentment of picking up my next door neighbor's dog poop week after week and throwing it away in my garbage can...  I picked up a pile with my gardening shovel and without thinking of the consequences, I flung it as far as I could over her car in the driveway so it would land in her yard. I misjudged my throw as the poop was only as heavy as cotton and it landed instead, on her car rooftop and some of it slid down her windshield and onto her hood.

The noise of the poop hitting her car, however, was not as quiet as cotton. Suddenly, the neighbor walked outside with her dog.  She had heard it and was coming out to check the skid marks.

It was a moment of sheer panic and embarrassment and I knew I had two options.  To either drop and roll out of sight   ....   or be brave and fess up to the mess.

I decided to side on bravery (and do the right mature thing) and started to rush toward her when she and her dog turned and walked on down the street oblivious to me or the brown smears down her car window.

i stood there, breathless with my heart beating out of my skin and realized that I had just experienced a miracle.

I whispered, thank-you-god, thank-you-god, thank-you-god  while I cleaned up the mess on her car in neck-breaking speed.

And then, after observing the lesson I had just learned from my experience, I shoveled up the rest of the poop, and this time walked closer to the edge of her yard before flinging it.

Just as I should have done from the beginning.

Perspective Tea Party Rug

I was commissioned to draw this tea party scene to be a children's interactive rug. The idea behind this is for the children to have make-believe tea parties with fake plastic food that was packaged with the rug. But... if I were that little girl, I don't think I would have enjoyed eating the plastic food nearly as much as the real thing.

I won! I won!

As I was leaving my house this morning, I glanced over at my house and noticed a small box sitting on my porch. I screeched to a halt and ran up to the porch to grab this lovely surprise.


Guess what it was?


Business cards!!!


I didn't win the lottery, but it sure felt like I did when I won 250 free business cards from Uprinting who were sponsoring a giveaway on Val's art blog! 


I couldn't resist this giveaway. I've always wanted to have my own business card to drop into the bowl at restaurants for a free lunch giveaway and now I can! 


I'm really happy with these. Now i'm thinkin' of using their site to get one of my art pieces printed on canvas! Hmmm... oh the ideas are limitless...


Thanks Val so much!  i LOVE my cards!

Dreaming to Win

Driving home from work this evening I was worrying about my finances, and stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things and on my way out, I passed the California Lottery machine and spontaneously put a dollar in to play.

And afterwards, while driving home I was so lost in the dream of what it would be like if actually did win ... that when I got home, and pulled up into the garage ... I still sat in my car for the longest time...  feeling giddy, still caught up in the moment envisioning my life as if I had just won!

Its amazing what the imagination can do. In that moment, I was able to shift my feelings of anxiousness to feeling calm and joyful because of where I was inside my head. 

Obviously the chances of winning are slim to none, but a dollar really is worth the dream.

My First Half Marathon: 13.1 miles and covered 1643 vertical feet!

My cramping toes on both feet spread out in every direction ... lookin' like scared petals on a daisy.


Those toes were angry with me and I understood why. I had just put them through the ringer.  But it was all worth it: I had just completed my very first half-marathon. And it wasn't like any other half-marathon. This race was 13.1 miles and covered more than 1643 total vertical feet of climb and descent behind me.

It was 38 degrees out when the gun went off at 8:00 Sunday morning.

I had such adrenalin rushing through me, I just took off ... lost in the heap of the runners running at a quicker pace than I was used to. I didn't see Angie or Heidi or Heather anywhere near me. I was ahead of them... and that began my focus to keep it that way. 

I know you're not supposed to start the race that way. 

You're suppose to start it off slower, so you have some energy in reserve to finish the race with.  But i didn't recognize my pace well enough to know if I was running faster except for not seeing any of the girls around me. So I threw caution to the wind and just ran. One foot after the other. 

The first mile was along a wide gravel road and then we turned onto Canyon trail and began the next four miles of climbing that took us from just over 200 ft above sea level to around 1400 feet above sea level.  Running up to that level was made more difficult by all the rocks sticking up and we had to snake our way around the various boulders and puddles...  the lyrics to the songs playing in my ears were fun and made it more personal.... 

Justin Timberlake singing ... "... so you pass to the left, then you sail to the right..." and Beyonce singing.. "To the left.. to the left.. to the left.. to the left.... "  as I kept maneuvering around the trails, passing some, others passing me... darting left and right, jumping over rocks and puddles... and then I started to feel rundown and worried my english muffin and banana I had for breakfast wasn't enough for this run, so i grabbed a strawberry clif shot block from my pouch.


It was soooo sweet. It was tooo sweet. 

It just sat there dissolving on my tongue and the thick syrupy juice was gliding down around the sides of my teeth and I didn't want to swallow it. I started to feel nauseous and started to dry-heave. That lasted for about 4 miles.


Heather caught up to me just before the second Aid Station and we started running together. We asked how each of us were doing. I told her I felt like I was gonna throw up.  She picked up her pace and I never saw her again.


A few minutes later, I saw my sister at the second Aid Station where she was volunteering and she snapped my picture.  "GO Shawn GO!!" she shouted. "You're doing great!!!!"


She turned to the others at the Aid Station and pointed at me, "That's my sister!"  They waved and cheered me on and I saw my neice Chelsea there, too! Their encouragement gave me so much more energy and off I ran right into this large puddle.

It's not surprising they call this Marsh trail. Running with wet feet... water sloshing around your toes... for 10 miles or more is really an experience. But there was no way getting around it, so i just had to acknowledge it and continue running.


The sisters-in-laws were still behind me. I started to worry I couldn't keep up this pace. But I tried. I really did. I figured I'll hurt for a day or two... but i'll give it my best shot.


I was struggling when I turned onto Ridge trail and was considering walking up the next 20 yards, but I was greeted by a few adults and their children ringing cowbells and carrying signs saying, "WAY TO GO!" and "YOU CAN DO IT!"


It was a perfect place for them to be.  And, I'm quite sure it wasn't by accident. I waved to them and thanked them.. and I picked up my pace as I grappled my way around these large deep ditches that looked like muddy river beds. The boulders were large and I tried to climb above, only to slip and fall back into this heavy deep slushy muck of mud. The mud was so intense, some lost their shoes in it. It was crazy. Each time I would step down into the mud, i felt it grip me back and not want to let me go.


It was somewhere amidst all that winding quick sand that Heidi saw me ahead of her and she zeroed in and I became the target to beat. And she did. Right there around Mile 8 or 9.


"No problem," i thought to myself. "I'll catch her going downhill.." But.   Something serious happened to me when I finally got to the summit and started to cascade down, I almost felt a snap.


I felt a pain that sprung on me that I had never felt before. I felt like a salamander who had it's leg partially severed off.


I had injured my illiotibial band. And from then on... though I was running downhill, it felt uphill all the way. I didn't feel I could control my right leg.


"ow-OW-ow-OW-ow-OW-ow-OW" i would shout for each step I ran. Then I would change it to "youcandoit.. youcandoit... youcandoit... youcandoit..."  then back to "ow-OW-ow-OW-ow-OW-ow". I was running back down that same boulder filled trail again that I started running up 9 miles earlier, only this time I was in pain and my fatigue had dulled my senses and the ability to lift my legs and pass to the left and sail to the right was much more of a struggle.


(this photo was taken around Mile 11... Matt took this and it was so encouraging to see him out there.. I picked up my pace even quicker after this shot was taken and after i saw him)

"ow-OW-ow-OW-ow-OW-ow-OW" ..... "youcandoit.. youcandoit... youcandoit... youcandoit..." 

About a mile and a half before the finish, I ran past a parked ambulance and it's emergency team helping one of our female runners who had taken a really bad fall against the rocky fire road. I stopped for a moment, worried it was Heather. 


"I'm fine... keep running!" the young woman smiled over her tears flowing down her cheeks. It wasn't Heather. I turned around and kept running. I was near the finish.


When I rounded the bend, I could see the crowd and finish line and started to push myself to run harder. I was in so much pain by then, but seeing the finish line .. the pain began to feel numb.


My mom, lloyd, ann, ed, wally, tyler, kate, guilliana, mark, tony and heidi were there to see me at the finish line. Heidi who finished about 6 minutes ahead of me, ran back toward the finish line with me and it helped pick up my pace. 


By the time I crossed the finished line, I had run 13.1 miles and covered 1643 total vertical feet of climb and descent behind me. I came in 11th out of my age group.. but just 222 out of 300 runners. 


Angie's knees were hurting her and she followed behind me equally the same distance as I was behind Heidi.


I am not a runner like my sister. But I ran the race. And that's what mattered to me the most. I did it! I accomplished my goal I had set out to do this past Thanksgiving! 


We really CAN do whatever we put our minds to doing ... if we want it bad enough.


Thank you for keeping up with my "running entries" these past 12 weeks. And for encouraging me along the way. It meant so much to me.  I never ever want to forget how this running experience has felt to me and I hope to do it again real soon.

You gain strength, courage, and confidence 

by every experience inwhich you really stop to look fear in the face. 

You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.

~Eleanor Roosevelt

Week 10: last training run before the race

Well. This is it. Our last week of training before we run more than 13 miles up in the hills this Sunday.

It's been a fun adventure.

I still can't believe I'm about to run this!

After this photo was taken, Anita and I got lost out there on the trails this past Sunday morning. We missed one of the pink ribbons that directed our way.

Coach Marc believes we were gabbing and missed it. He might be right.

But I think we missed it because over Thanksgiving weekend, we ran the same trail but turned right and ran up the road and I think we were thinking we were running the same trail we ran then. ya know... monkey see, monkey do.

But. It was foggy out there. We might've just didn't see it.

When we arrived at the finish line, we received a round of applause. Most of the group was going out for breakfast after the run but we were close to not having that breakfast as they were just seconds away from going on a search for us. We were really that late!

And now fast-forward to tonight.

I am worried about this Sunday. So I ran alone through my neighborhood after work tonight, setting off motion lights all across my neighborhood. Who needed a flashlight?

I set out to run just 30 minutes and by the time I got home, I had run 34 minutes.

It was easy and it felt good.

I really don't know what i'm doing, but I'm about to embark on a half-marathon this Sunday. They say to "take it easy".. so I am.

Wish me well.

We're all in this life alone

It was about a week before Christmas, while sitting alone at a funeral of someone I love very much.... when the pastor said it was our opportunity to view this lovely woman in the casket... and I felt my knees buckle.

I felt so entirely alone and wondered how I could muster up the courage to do this uncomfortable feat by myself. I started to shake.

And.  As i shook... I realized this:
There are 500 people giving their last respect and goodbyes to this amazing woman and even while standing two inches from someone they knew and loved ... they were still experiencing their very own personal grieving experience alone. 

So i managed.

Later, I walked out into the parking lot filled with tears and I looked for her husband. And her daughters. I waited and when it was my turn, I grabbed them and hugged them hard and talked to each of them personally.

And I knew even then, if one other person accompanied me and stood by my side or even an entire family, and we all walked up to these grieving friends of mine together...  i knew as I talked to them individually... I would still be talking to them as an individual.  I wouldn't be any more brave or feel any less alone if I was standing with a dozen people.

Because..... we all are in this life alone.

This evening I am icing my heel and my ankle and my knee cap as they hurt and I worry about them during my last practice run tomorrow morning before our race next sunday.

Angie and Heidi won't be running our practice run tomorrow as they spending the weekend up at Lake Tahoe with their families.

So... I'm going to run this last practice run alone.
And you know what?

That is life.

We're all in this life alone.

Way back when Oprah ran that marathon.. do you remember people saying things like.. "Well, she had her own personal trainer..."  and "she had her own personal chef..."

Well, listen to me. No matter who feeds you or who trains you... it is still YOU out there running that race. Alone. No one else is running for you. It is just you. Running in the dark. Or in the rain. Or when you don't feel good or in pain.

It is all you.

I am happy and feel blessed that I am going out there tomorrow. Against the winter weather and just run. Because it's just that.

I'm running for me.
Alone on those trails.
And in the end.. that matters.

12.6 miles run (whoda ever thought!!)

12.6 miles later.

Running through deep running streams... stepping down into mucky water up past my ankles...  getting completely soaked... and then I start running again, listening to the squish-squish-squish sounds of the water in my socks inside my shoes.  


Thank God for Drymax socks.

And I'm not getting paid to say this. They absorbed the moisture in my water-logged shoes ---each time, I stepped into another raging stream or sitting puddles too large to jump across I would hear the squishing for a bit.. and then it would be gone.

Whenever I could.. I would run alongside the paths.. but oftentimes, even that was deceiving and the edges were water-logged as well!

No blisters to note.. and I ran with wet socks and shoes within mile 1 out of my 12.6 mile run.  It was a long way to run. This time I hafta admit... it was kinda hard.

I ran over waterfalls. I ran through mud so thick and deep.... it felt as though my shoes were velcroed to the ground. It also felt like I was lifting 5 pound weights off my ankles as I stumbled through it. I ran underneath fallen trees from last week's storm. I climbed over other fallen trees. It was an obstacle course. Many of the moss covered trees looked florescent! It was extraordinarily beautiful! The views were breathtaking.

At one point in the run, a woman ran past me with short dark hair.

I shouted, Karen! recognizing her as one of my sister's running friends.
She turned briefly around to say, No.. I'm Maria....

I shouted, Maria Ronchelli!!

She stopped and spun around to look at me as if in disbelief!

It was fun to see her. We went to elementary school through high school together and now I know she lives in my neighborhood. Small world! I think she graduated in my brother's class.


Are you gonna run in the half-marathon?! I asked her.
I signed up.. .not sure if I'm fit enough for it! ... she responded as she blazed past me.

I shouted.. "You are!" but I don't think she heard me. She was running too fast to hear me.

Two hours and six minutes into my run, my legs feeling the fatigue, I guess I wasn't lifting my feet high enough to carry myself over all the rocks and mini boulders and I tripped and gashed my right kneecap onto a bolder.  It bled.

Anita was there behind me and helped me back up.  I felt shakey at first... and walked maybe 20 seconds before I started running again.

It wasn't long before Anita would take a tumble as well. This time, she was near high clifts... and was lucky she didn't fall all the way down into the ravine.

It was a crazy run.

Two hours and 31 minutes later.. i arrived to my destination.

Next week I think we're only going to run 7.5 miles...  to ease off. And then the following sunday is our half-marathon. 

I don't have the same elated, blissful, exhilarated feeling I have felt in other runs, but I'm so grateful I made it through this run.

Another record breaking distance.

And I should be proud.

Afterall.. I've only been running two and a half months.

Getting State Fright

It has been raining crazy this past couple of weeks. It has rained more in the past 10 days than it has rained in the past three years.

I am worried about the muddy trails up in the hills this coming sunday morning. They turn into flowing rivers as the water uphill starts to flow downward. It's crazy when you're running uphill while the water is rushing downhill.

The trails weren't so bad when this picture was taken, because the rains hadn't really started. The trails hadn't turned into rivers just yet.

 I love having Angie and Heidi running this with me. And in this photo, they are literally there sandwiching me in. 

Knowing we are all in this together, really helps. And i love our bonding time.

 Angie in the middle.  We are her sister-in-laws. 

This coming Sunday we'll be running 12.6 miles in our practice run for our Half-Marathon race.

I only ran once this week.

It was on Wednesday night, in a very small drizzle... Heidi, Dennis and I ran maybe four-and-a-half miles singing songs.. "can you guess this tune!?"  We hadda blast.  Singing songs from the 50s to the present.

I felt like were on on a road trip.


I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy...  and  I got a brand new pair of roller skates.. you gotta brand new key... 

Running really is fun. It is!

The forecast for Sunday calls for: RAIN.

I know it will be an experience I will never forget. My hope and wish is that we all make it to the finish line in one piece and be ready for the Half Marathon on Feb 7th... just two weeks away. I can't believe how quickly this training has taken place.

And I'm ready.  I'll keep you posted. Please come back to visit!

i ran 11 miles this morning

I am sleepy.

I ran eleven miles this morning.

In the mud. Up and down hills. Over rocks. And roots. Jumping over mud puddles when I could and jumping in them when I couldn't jump them.

At Mile 6... I was soaring. I believed i could run all day long.  I am glad that didn't happen.

Eleven miles really was enough.

And it was really a special day.
And I love the newness of it all. Breaking records with myself by running further than I have ever run before. Or even imagined was possible.

When we lived in a small hilly town in Fairfax, my 5-year-old sister Kelly and our 4-year-old-friend, Eric taught me how to run. They both grabbed me by the hand and ran as fast as they could with my tiny little 3-year-old legs carrying me as quickly as Kelly and Eric could pull me.  I was scared! But! I was running!

And I have never forgotten that moment.

Six weeks ago, the idea of me running this far was daunting.

But...

Remember how scared you were to take the training wheels off your bike? Or how much courage it took for that first kiss?

Nothing stopped you then.....

Gnomeville

Here is another one of my fabric designs that was released this month. It's called Gnomeville. I designed two other coordinates to go along with it.  This one is a Border Print....

10 miles

This picture of me was taken around the 7-mile mark.... 

I tried clocking 10 miles in my car the other night.  Driving 65 mph .... it still felt like a long time before i hit the 10-mile mark. 


I dreamed of running last night. I always dream of running the night before our Sunday training run. I wonder if my dreams help carry me the following morning. As if I have mapped the course out already in my dreams so it makes my running less effortless when I am actually running it.


At one point during my run this morning, I looked up and in that split second, I had a Deja vu of that same moment already happening.


It does make me curious.


My run this morning covered three parks! Howard, Spring Lake and Annadel and we ran around three lakes: Lake Ralphine, Spring Lake and Lake Ilsanjo, but I had my head down on the trail through most of it and didn't even notice two of the lakes!


While running, I overheard two women behind me talking about fruit and carbs and protein. I listened hard as I don't have a clue on good nutrition. Especially during training runs. I heard one of the women call the other "Wendy" and I instantly recognized the name as one of my sister's friends.


When they were through talking, I introduced myself, while sucking in air, pushing up a long, hard uphill climb.  I was happy to hear they were BOTH fans of my sister and they told me how much they admire her. I felt warmed by their kind words and it pushed me to run a little harder.. as they passed me on the uphill.


I ran alone most of the morning until I caught up with Anita and she and I ran the rest of the run in together. 


This morning's run had less elevation gain than any of our other training runs so I was able to run it in 1 hour and 47 minutes compared to running nine miles last Sunday in 2 hours and 10 minutes! 


But we still had some hills to climb and my calves at one point felt like they were water balloons about to explode! I tried pointing my toes downward as I ran and it seemed to relieve the pain somewhat.


The half-marathon is one month away. 


I am still feeling surprised and happy that I was able to run 10 miles today. Each Sunday I am running farther than I did previous runs.  It just makes me crazy with giddiness.


It is so rewarding to watch my body change and do things I never dreamed possible.

P.S. My Uncle Jerry passed away this morning on Long Island, New York.  RIP. I will miss you and praying for the family.

Two Hours and 10 Minutes

This brave runner actually ran through the puddles while I skipped and danced around them.

Two hours and 10 minutes is how long it took me to run a little 9 miles.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned something on my post that it took a little over an hour to run 8 miles. That had to have been wrong. Someone told me later they think it took more like an hour and a half.

I believe them.

This morning was tough but I expected much worse. I was nervous all week before running this morning because I was busy between Mid December and New Years with the holidays and traveling and didn't run as often as I had hoped. And never nearly as long as I should have because I was running in unfamiliar places alone with just my ipod playing in my ear.


This morning we started up the Canyon Trail into Annadel Park and then up the gravel grind known as Richardson.... and from there, we ran up even further on a gnarly single track called South Burma.

It had beautiful views from up there. It was really breath-taking, looking down and seeing Santa Rosa swallowed up under the fog. The sun was shining above the clouds and it felt warm on our faces.

Mossy tall trees everywhere. And the air was so silent. All I could hear was the pounding of my shoes and the water slushing back and forth in my water bottle.

And then we reached Buick Meadow and headed down Marsh.

I love running downhill... it's where I can catch my breath. I feel the muscles changing in my legs as I push myself downward ... my shoes suctioning into the mud... and slipping an inch or two each time my feet touched down.

We had been running an hour and 23 minutes and I didn't have a clear sense of how far we had run during that time.

I was running with Angie, my sister-in-law but we had lost Heidi (Angie's sister-in-law) at the beginning and we were both silently worrying about her when Angie offered me a shot-blok and when I turned back to grab it, I caught a glimpse of Heidi bursting out from a fog bank running full speed.

She looked great and she told us she was feeling great despite a few set-backs earlier in the run and she had to keep running or she'd feel pain in her knee... so off she went running right past us.

We ran about a half mile up Canyon Trail again.... and then criss-crossed and ran around the lake in the opposite direction of what we ran earlier and then we carefully descended the rocky, rooted Spring Creek trail. By then my legs were feeling a bit fatiqued... and had to be careful winding my way down.

It felt really good to finish. Angie and I finished at the same time. Heidi arrived two minutes earlier.

And it really was a great run! I was sick with a cold earlier in the week but it didn't detour me.

I feel happy and excited that I ran 9 miles. I never ever dreamed I could.

Next Sunday... we'll be running 10. Only a few more weeks before we run the half-marathon.

I'll be home For Christmas

So. I'm listening to Christmas Carols and I hear Bing's warm, soothing voice singing: "I'll be home for Christmas... you can count on me."

So that's reassuring. He RSVP'd.

He then says to "please have snow and mistletoe" which sounds a little bit demanding. Especially the snow.

He also wants "presents on the tree."

I think he meant UNDER the tree, but whatever. On the tree.. under the tree.. guess he already figures there will be a tree or he'd be asking for that, too! A flocked one, no doubt, because he's beginning to sound like someone who is difficult to please...

He emphasizes it again... "I'll be home for Christmas..." and "you can count on me"... and it's like, "alright aleady! You'll be here! I'll have the snow and mistle toe and presents here waiting for you..."

Then... he goes into something that doesn't really make sense.. something about ... "Christmas Eve will find me where the lovelight gleams...".

During that moment, I'm sure the person on the other end of the phone is looking for a pen to write down all his wishes...
And wonders why are there a hundred pens in the house but none of them work!

1. pick up mistletoe.
2. Order snow.
3. Buy presents.

He's really coming! We can count on him!

But then... he ends the song with this line and he slows it down and really lets his words linger.... "I'll be home for Christmas... IF .. ONLY .. IN .. MY .. DREAMS..."

What is up with that!? That, my friend is not a true RSVP.

I havva feeling he's holding out for a better offer...

running 8 miles in the rain and fog

I ran 8 miles yesterday morning and then again this morning. Both nights previous to the runs, I laid in bed and kept hearing the pounding of the rain pouring down outside my window and I felt nervous going out in it to run the trails in a downpour.

What will it be like? I worried.

It was amazing!

Jumping over crawling newts, loose rocks and mud puddles was surprisingly very exhilarating and it kept my mind focused on my safety other than running the distance.

Seeing people emerge in and out of thick fog banks was breath-taking.

Hearing the rain pouring down around me ... yet feeling protected overhead by much of the canopy of trees was comforting.

Running down a steep narrow trail with water rushing down it at the same time was exhilarating.

I fell once.

My toe hit the top edge of a boulder and I went down into a face plant. It happened so suddenly. I was running and then I wasn't. I rolled my tongue around and over my teeth for any chipped edges and I was relieved to find none, so I pulled myself back up and continued running. Funny what adrenalin does.... you don't feel anything, but your heart pounding. And then my legs picked myself back up and I continued on as if nothing had ever happened.

Stunning, beautiful views. Large ferns growing on the sides of the steep cliffs. Fog rising up the hill.

I worried if I fell down the cliff, would i bounce and roll down to the bottom? Or could i break my fall, by grabbing hold of a limb or tall grass. I tried not to think of those scenarios, but once you fall... you realize how easy it is to slip like that. So I moved closer to the upside of the hill as I weaved my way down to the bottom of the mountain.


Such a feat. Such a huge accomplishment for me.
I really feel proud of myself for pushing myself to do this. Because I know only too well.. how easy it would have been both mornings to turn off the alarm and cover my face under the blanket and sleep a couple of hours more...



Always before we run in those early mornings, the coaches give us a pep talk before we begin...

I ran seven miles this morning

This video is what I filmed from my point of view this morning as I ran. I used my new FLIP camera! We ran as a group up at Annadel State Park in the frigid low 30s. It was fun. And it was hard. But it was so completely worth it! Next week 8 miles! The Half-Marathon will be set up in those hills in January. And that is what we are all training for. I look forward to being able to achieve that goal.

Cat vomit on your sofa

Some days are like this.

You're feeling happy. The house is clean. You have candles lit. The house is warm. Food in the oven. Friends are coming over. And then the cat vomits on your sofa.

Disappointments always show up unexpectedly.

Home repairs.
Sickness.
Money difficulties.
Disappointments.
And cat vomit.

I think the most importance in all this is how we react to these challenges. My reactions to disappointments today ultimately affects the happiness and quality of my life tomorrow. And then the next day.

Life isn't perfect. But there are perfect moments in this life. Just like the one that's slipping away half-noticed as I finish writing out this sentence. Makes me feel sorta anxious like I ought to be doing something much more significant than typing this post.

So off I go.... have a great day. And seek out those perfect moments.