Training Wheels

Here is to sleeping in 'til 12 but not officially making yourself get up at the "crack of dawn" so you can actually start getting your running done. 

Race #3 of 2015

March was suppose to be the Mud Run but when the date arrived two weeks ago, I still had gotten no email about where the race was suppose to be held or what time. What was worse was that the race was given two dates for SD. I had the email that said it was that day and then the site saying it wasn't until September. That day was a bummer when we drove downtown searching for it and saw nothing. 

The great thing about living in Southern California though is that there is no shortage of 5K's. So I frantically searched for a 5K that both me AND Birdie could do because she has implied that everytime she can be part of a race, she wants to be part of a race. So it came down to St. Patricks Day and The Race for Autism. We decided on the Race for Autism because it gave us more time to prepare, it was held in beautiful Balboa Park and we got to dress up like super heroes. I ran a 5K with  Birdie in a stroller and then Lillee ran/walked a 1mile race. Only 9 more races to go!

Don't forget to donate to my charity. Only 9 days left. The button is on the side of the blog. THANK YOU!

Race #2 of 2015

Race #1 of 2015

I am not a morning person, yet I got up this morning at 7am and drove to Coronado for the first race of the year. The New Me 5K. Last year I decided to run at least one race per month, working my way up to the Tinkerbell 10K in May and possibly a half marathon before the end of the year. I struggled finding a babysitter for Birdie but at the last minute when I told her what I was doing, she said she wanted to go. So she ran/walked with me and I was extremely proud of her. You find all types of people at these kinds of races and I adore every one of them for making such a beautiful change in their lives. 

Don't forget to donate to my charity for the Tinkerbell Race. You can find a link on the side of the blog and every single dollar counts! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

Happy Blogging. 

Happy April Fools Day/Goals for this month

Am I the only one who is ready for this day to be over? 

Granted, I was only "pranked" by three people but whenever it happened I thought "jeeze, I do not have the time to deal with this right now." I do have a sense of humor but it tends to be more on the clever/subtle side where I only get a few intelligent laughs (i've been compared to having the attitude of the character Juno). Maybe next year when I'm dealing with a ton of transitions, I'll be a more light-hearted about this so-called "holiday." 

On a more optimistic note, its the beginning of the month! Usually that means paying rent and then being broke for 30 days but I realized I hadn't made any goals for myself lately so I thought, why not make a few for the month. 

1. Run more (about 3-4 times a week). Its not like I'm starting running or I never run but I'm always happier when I do run. It puts me in a better mood, gives me a slight boost of energy in my day and makes me feel better about my body. But lately because of the stress, I've been only running 1-2 times a week and then taking a week and a half break. Not good. 
2. No more candy or chips! I've been meaning to do this for a while. I eat a lot of candy and it doesn't do any good at all. I'm showing my daughter that its okay to eat junk food. Not good. It ruins my teeth. Not good. It's bad for my body and my mood. NOT GOOD. It hit me while I was picking a snack in the store. I don't worry too much about eating healthy all the time, sometimes its good for a break. So I thought about getting a salad but I saw these popcorn chip type things and I thought, "that looks good, I'll try it." So I put my salad back and bought the chips and I regretted it. It wasn't like I got sick or that they tasted bad. I just felt like I had made the wrong choice and from that point on I thought, something needs to change. 
3. Be more creative! My creative projects such as art, music and photography has taken a bit of a back seat since I transferred to university but I forgot how much my art balances me out! Every time I get back into the groove, just like running, I remember why I did it in the first place. I need to put myself out there. 

A year ago, I remember realizing that it doesn't help to put a wall around yourself. Of course, protect yourself from getting hurt but sometimes, its good to take risks and be a little vulnerable. It makes you stronger in the long run. Lately, I've forgotten this and have just wanted to shut everyone out but how does that help anyone? 

Make some goals and share. 

Happy Blogging!

Running Streak Is Over

Miles Total: 34.14

"And she goes down for the count." 

So the running streak is over. So far what I have learned is that I'm not very good at streaks or cleanse or anything for a long period of time but hey, I can do a ten hour drive by myself with only two stops. 

I completed over 50% of my running streak so yes, I am proud of that. But I swear, the last week, running kept feeling like a chore and that is not a good feeling. Finally when I got a cold (one for the first time in over a year), my body in constant pain, my throat sore and not being able to breathe for my nose, I decided it was time to stop torturing myself. I also made many mistakes during this time which probably resulted in my final decision quit. 

Mostly, I was not eating the right foods. 

I wasn't eating junk food constantly but I wasn't eating foods that are vital for running and repairing your muscles. This includes nuts or nut butters, eggs or oatmeal. I wasn't even eating a lot of vegetables or fruit. So even though I was stretching my muscles out properly, using a foam roller and pacing myself, that was all healing the outside of my body. I wasn't healing or recovering the inside of my body and to be a steady runner, you HAVE to do both. 

And so my birthday was passed (which I had a wonderful time), Christmas has passed and the New Year is almost here and of course I plan to make some resolutions but maybe not so stressful or controlling for my body as running streaks or juice cleanse. 

One step at a time is what is best for me. 

And I'm not going to fight whats best. 

Happy Blogging!

Day Four Running Streak

Miles total: 8.95 

Despite it being only day four, I feel optimistic and a ton of a lot better about myself. I notice my skin is clearer, my face is brighter, my body is getting more toned. Not that my weight fluctuates but I'm getting the body I once had when I started running and it altogether makes me feel better about myself. Janice has been keeping her end of the deal as well which makes me feel better. 

The worse part is not the actual running. Like I said, one mile is a pretty easy thing to do. But its getting up from a nap or in the morning or before i go to bed or practically anytime. Usually whenever I have a chance to rest (no work, no classes, no daughter) then I spend it being lazy. Sleeping, reading, watching tv, eating food. So why the hell would I go run? 

But I have kept up so far running everyday and on day three I decided just a mile and I ultimately felt better about myself. So I see good things happening. 

Happy Blogging. 

For the Month of December

I'm not very good at pacts, cleanses, detoxes, or any sort of plan that requires a certain amount of self control. 

I've done it. I've accomplished it. That doesn't mean I'm good at it. But what ultimately makes it easier and provides more motivation is when you do it with someone. This is actually how I achieved the master cleanse, when I did it with a friend. This is where Janice comes in...

Janice is my best friend who I met when I was living in Redding, CA with my parents. We bonded over a love for eating healthy, being vegetarians and our obsessive love for biking. We even have the same birthday (except born a year apart). The last summer we both lived in Redding, we spent almost every waking moment together (and sometimes sleeping moments). We would bike all over Redding averaging at least 30 miles per day. I became a regular at her house. We took road trips to Chico and Portland. When we werent together, we would text how we missed each other. It was kind of sickening how close we bonded in a small amount of time. And then she went to college in Sacramento and I went to San Diego to start a new life.

When we both lived our separate lives, we still talked to each other. Janice was exploring Sacramento, started a new relationship and was having a great time at school. I was getting use to where I was living and starting school again and deciding what I wanted to do with my life. Thats when we started running. 

Janice has lost a significant amount of weight because she made a change in her lifestyle with her eating habits. She is even a nutrition major now. But with a start in a new place, Janice wanted to start running to add to her healthy regime. And I wanted to start running because it was the one thing I hated most and I wanted to conquer my fear. We both went at it different ways but ultimately it was once again something that connected us, even though we were so far away. Even though we don't run 3-4 times a week like we did when we started, we still run and consider ourselves runners. 

So why do I bring this up? 

Because of this article HERE, I decided I wanted to do a running streak for the entire month of December. In the article, a man talks about his experience with a running streak from Thanksgiving day to New years. Even on days when a blizzard is out, the goal was at least ONE MILE (thats about 10 minutes of running for me). He said after he got a flow going, it ended up being just a part of his life. I thought this would be a good way to start December, end the semester and begin the new year. 

So I asked Janice to do it with me since she's my partner in crime when it comes to running. Honestly, I expected her to be nice about it and say "I want to but I'm so busy. But I'll cheer you on." Instead this happened...

And so I write to inform those that read this blog is 

I'M DOING A RUNNING STREAK! 

I encourage everyone to do some sort of exercise streak but for now, I'll just blog about my experiences. Even when I started running, I was still taking about 2 rest days per week and I wasn't running for 25 minutes constantly. So lets see what happens. I'll update on Janice as well. 

On a side note, when I visited my friends/bandmates in San Diego a few weeks, one of my bandmates told me he started reading my blog. This horrified me. This was the bandmate who started the band, writes the lyrics and is a lawyer. And i'm still in school. I was a little embarrassed that he read my antics about trying to do a cleanse but grateful someone read it at all. So this post is dedicate to Tony, if you're still reading this blog.

Happy blogging.