Let's try this again...

2 years off. No marathons, only causal running. And now I'm back :)

The marathon has always been a lifeline for me. When times get tough, training gives me focus, determination, progress, and results. Long runs turn my mind outward in. There is something to be said about the meditative powers of two and three hour runs. Thoughts tumble around in your head, worries and anxieties slowly grind away until you get to the polished kernel of truth in the matter. 

A lot has changed in the past few years. I learned what real love feels like. I learned a lot about the meaning of unconditional, and what it means to love someone as they are and not who you want them to become. I know what it takes to raise a family. I know about losing people, and moving forward without moving on. I always worried I didn't have it in me to love with everything. Life is amazing, how you can always expand your body, heart and mind to places you never dreamed possible.

I'm excited to recreate this blog to represent more of the things I love. Cooking and running have always been passions of mine that I love to share with whoever will listen. As I mature as a teacher, I have more ideas an successes I want to share with others, and the wisdom to know the difference between ranting and reflecting. And Zen Meditation has become a big part of how I navigate each day, trying to become a better version of myself. Moving forward, I want to the blog to incorporate all these things. 

So what have I been up to? Marathon training, of course! Santa Barbara is in 14 days and I'll immediately start training for Napa Valley Marathon a week after. I'm much faster than I was 2 years ago and I've got my fingers crossed for a BIG PR :) Every time I lace up my shoes I'm getting one step closer to Boston. Now that my taper starts, I'll have a lot more time on my hands to blog ;)

I'm also teaching Geometry & the Math exit exam course, and I am trying out a lot of new ideas and materials that I am eager to share. Hopefully I can figure out some labeling system to help sort this all out on the blog. I'm very open to suggestions, please share ideas!

Tomorrow I will hopefully make some homemade tomato sauce... I will be sharing more of my culinary adventures as well!

Hard Corps!

So, I talked to mi madre a day after I told her about the 13.1 heartbreak ridge race. She thinks I am crazy.
Race website course description (no map or elevation profile available):  13.1-mile course, 90% gravel off-road through the breathtaking rolling hills of Camp Pendleton in the 43 area. Course is on packed fire-roads.  This course offers a little bit of everything - it’s an out and back course, including rolling hills and some flat and fast stretches intermixed throughout. 
Not so scary sounding, right?  Maybe a little challenging, but no western states endurance challege.

Mom's description (has a vague idea of where it takes place, more than I do at least): I talked to a guy I work with who does triathlons and ironmans. He was talking about that race. There is a reason they call it heartbreak. Marines train there. It is not going to be easy (imagine it a tone of intimidation).

My response:  It's only a half marathon so it can't be as difficult as a full marathon. Boston had a hill called "heartbreak" hill, so if I could do that, I should be ok.

Mom's response: But that was a hill. This is heartbreak ridge.
(awkward pause)


My response: ...so you are saying I probably won't PR?
(awkward pause)


Mom's response: Well, I'll be there to cheer you on anyway. Maybe after we can go down to the beach and I can lay you out on a stretcher next to me while I lay out. First we can put you in the water and see what you attract. Go shark fishing.


My response: You need to have a fishing license for that.

I am so lucky to have family that supports me in my running endeavors, even though they don't really fully understand why anyone would want to be a distance runner. And knowing my mom, she was probably using some reverse psychology on me to make me train harder so I do PR at the race. She knows how competitive I am, and knows that anytime someone doubts my ability to do something it pretty much guarantees that I will get the job done. After all, if people hadn't expressed doubt about my ability to run a marathon, I probably never would have stepped up to the plate and got it done. Call it the Type A in me, but I am a goal/challenge oriented person who has a controlling desire to prove that I can do anything.

...and then I found this race picture. Maybe mom is on to something...

So, gotta train harder to make sure I PR on this breathtaking hilly/flat course that I now have a reason to be very afraid of. Good thing my new training ground is crazy hilly!

NWM 2011 Group?

No miles this week. I totally suck.

Why? I am having a really hard time coping with work and life stress. I thought that once my Master's work passed committee, I would be free and happy, but the vacuum was immediately filled with other challenges. So is life.

Last year I had to prepare for not having a job in the fall. Part of being a teacher. Well, I find myself potentially in the same position again, and I am not dealing with it with as much grace as I did in the past. Nothing is more frightening than failure. And it seems at the moment failure is confronting me from MANY different angles.

To help myself cope and give myself a distraction, I registered for my first marathon. Training for the Nike Women's Marathon gave me something to focus on when the going got tough and a goal to work towards if I found myself unemployed. Seeing myself in a similar place as last March, it makes sense to register for the race again and hope it helps carry me through a potentially anxious summer. Maybe it will be the good luck charm that helps me keep my job for another year.

So, I am going to make a group for the NWM 2011 and get a group of people together to run the race. I have a guaranteed entry, and I hope that if I use a group ID it will mean my group will have an entry as well. No matter where you are or if we have met before, if you follow my blog I would LOVE it if you would consider getting together to run this race! If this sounds good, leave a comment and we can figure out how to make this happen. I plan on getting the group ID in the next few weeks and I will post more about it when I get it.

This race was a ton of fun. The course was challenging, and I liked that there is a half marathon option than that your team can be a mix of half and full runners. Even in the rain, I had a great time. My goal this year is to not hit the wall and limp around the lake miles 18-22, as well as set a new course record, hopefully sub 5 hours. I am slow, I know.

On a final note, I was reading the McRunner's blog (the guy who ran the LA Marathon after eating a diet of McDonalds for 30 days), and a quote really stuck out to me:

"At 4:16 I ran 3-4 days per week, for a peak of about 35 miles. To run 2:36:54 last year, I put in 10-13 runs per week (ran 7 days per week) and hit 105 miles. While the numbers are just for reference, I have seen everyone around me improve with additional mileage. Arthur Lydiard hit on something when he said, 'Miles make champions.' "

I am a slow runner. But I am a new runner. I have no formal training. Everything I know about running is from reading 2 books, my subscriptions to Runner's World, Google, and the blogs I follow. I am running 2-3 days a week and will peak below 30 miles. I never played sports. I hardly worked out before I started running 2 years ago. He is well on his was to cutting is time in half. If I cut my time in half, I could EARN a BQ. My new Mantra is "Miles Make Champions". It make take me a while to put the words into action (I need to learn some stress management first), but I am determined to make it happen. 

Not only will I break 5 hours for a marathon, but I will someday break 3:30. And I am going to do it one  mile at a time.

New Year, New Goals

Better late than never, here are the big goals for 2011. This is going to be an amazing year full of big milestones and travels. The challenge: making realistic goals that are attainable but challenging. 2010 I met 2 of my 3 goals, which I am VERY proud of. I ran my marathon and got my teaching job, both of which I thought would be the harder of the three goals. So, 3 more goals to help make me a better athlete/person in the new year:

1) Donate Blood. When I first donated, I had a terrible experience, passing out on the floor at work and making a huge scene. The Red Cross says that less than 30% of first time donors return for a future donation. I don't want to be that person, so I am going to give it another shot and donate at least one time this year. One in 3 people have my same blood type (O+) so I am sure it will go to good use :) January is National Blood Donation month, btw.

2) Improve my PR's across the board. That means a faster 5k, 10k (not sure I have a PR for this), half and full marathons. If I am a good girl and run regularly, this should be attainable. More interval/speed training is also gonna make this one a reality. Setting a time just wasn't realistic last year, and I don't think it will be this year either. So progress, no matter how small the amount, is the focus of having an injury-free year. I also thought about running a minimum of 3 times a week every week, but travel is going to make that prohibitive. I am still going to try to run at least 3 times a week, but not going to sweat the weeks where this isn't possible.

3) Run (not walk) a full marathon. No stopping and walking like Nike Women's Marathon. This means making sure I don't get injured in the race by training longer and smarter. When I go back to San Francisco in October, I am going to bring it! And, my Marathon PR should improve if I am not walking around the lake.

Writing goals down is the first step to making them a reality. Help me out and hold me accountable folks! When I am not blogging, it usually is because I am not running and ashamed to show my face in bloggyland. Here's to more miles, more posts, and more pints in 2011!