What do I have to prove?

Upon hearing that I signed up for another marathon, one of my friends asked another friend, "what does she have to prove?"*  Hmmm.... what DO I have to prove?  Honestly, I don't know.  Once I have done one marathon, why do I need to do more and more?

Well, let's look at that question.  I find that I need a training plan to help motivate me to get out there and run.  Running makes me feel good.  Healthy.  Alive.  It is too easy to sleep in every day and say I'll exercise tomorrow.  When I have a race on the horizon, I have a schedule and I have a plan on what I should be running.  It works for me.

So why not a half marathon or 10K?  Well, I guess I am a bit of an overachiever.  I like to push myself.  It gives me a certain pleasure to accomplish something that not too many people can do (or would even attempt).  I'm too cautious to climb Mt. Everest--besides... who has that kind of extra money, time and craziness lying around?  I'm not saying that a half marathon isn't pushing myself.  It is.  But there is something about the marathon that draws me.

Being a runner has become as much a part of my identity as being a mom.  I used to be an executive.  I had a powerful job in a pretty tough industry and I was proud of my position.  I traded all that to be a full-time mom (a decision I have never regretted).  As wonderful as it is to have that as an identity, I didn't really feel completely satisfied in this new role until I also became a runner.  A running mom.  And I am in very good company.  There are a lot of running moms out there and every time I meet one, we automatically seem to connect.  We have so much in common and have other things to talk about besides diapers, preschools and timeouts. Now, not only am I a runner, but I am a marathoner.  A year or so ago, my sister introduced me to someone by saying, "this is my sister... she runs marathons."  At the time, I had only run one marathon.  But I liked the sound of someone who "runs marathons."  It made me feel pretty  proud.  Now I really am someone who runs marathons.  Go me.

And honestly... I do need to prove something to myself.  I know what my body can do and it hasn't done it in either marathon I have run.  I ran a twenty-two mile training run averaging around 9-minute miles, but was wiped out by mile 13 on race day after running the same pace.  This is not as much a physical test any more.  It is a mental one.  I need to run smart and stick to my race plan.  I am looking at Surf City as redemption for me.  My first two marathons had my number; they owned me.  I am hoping that this next one I can run on my terms.  I am going to be more conservative with my expectations and goals.  I also think I have a better training plan.  My mileage per week is significantly higher than it was before the Rock-n-Roll.  I hope that this does a lot to improve my ability get to the finish line stronger and faster than before.  What I really want is to have FUN.

What?  Fun in a marathon?  Never.  But I know it is possible.  I have had fun on twenty mile runs, why can't I at least have fun for twenty miles of a marathon?  I recently started following a blogger, Danica,  who lives in this area.  Ironically, she had a miserable time in the Rock-n-Roll as well.  She had her redemption last month in Long Beach and her race report is my inspiration for Surf City.   I WILL smile throughout the race, just like I did during the Carlsbad Half Marathon last year.

So what do I have to prove?  I'm pretty sure that I have proven that I am a runner.  I've proven that I am a marathoner.  By continuing to run marathons, I continually prove to myself that I CAN.

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On the running front, I ran 36 miles last week.  I ended my week with not one, but two long runs.  On Saturday, I ran ten miles with my new running friends.  I had originally scheduled eight miles on Saturdays in order to run with them.  Then, I talked them into running a half marathon in January and wrote them a training plan to get them there.  What that means is that they are going to be running a lot more than eight miles, but not enough to keep up with my long runs, which means two long runs.  Too bad there is not a Goofy challenge** around here, because I am training for one!  Our ten mile run had quite a few hills, so we kept the pace pretty easy.  That was good, since I had an even longer run on the schedule for Sunday.

I had originally had fourteen miles on my schedule, but I thought that might be too aggressive in my second week of high mileage running.  I decided to run twelve.  The first nine miles were pretty flat (with some easy inclines/declines along the way).  I kept my pace at a nice easy pace.  I have been listening to books on tape on my long runs, which keeps me nice and slow.  The last few miles were pretty steep.  I found a nice shady horse trail that cut up through a neighborhood.  I am really starting to enjoy running around here.  When living in San Diego, I had to drive to many of the cool running places.  Here, I can get to cool routes right out my front door.  I think next week I might run with a camera to prove that inland Orange County is a pretty place to run! 

I ran twenty-two miles over two days and I was ready to rest today and sleep in past 5:30 a.m.  Back to the dawn patrol tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to a nice easy recovery run to start out another week of running.

* After reading some of the comments, I wanted to clarify that this particular friend said this in jest and with plenty of love and respect.  I'm pretty sure she does get it, but the comment did spark a thought process in me... hence this post.

**running a half marathon on one day and then a full marathon the next.

World Run Day

Yesterday was World Run Day and I ran.  I actually didn't find out about World Run Day until after I finished my run.  It is still nice to know that there were a lot of people throughout the world running at the same time as me, many of whom raised money for charity.

I have incorporated two running days on weekends into my newest training schedule.  My new friends aren't training for a marathon, so won't be running the longer runs with me, but I still want to run with them.  We usually do trail runs together, which is great for my Catalina training.  Our runs are not super hard, but definitely not easy.  We are also starting to do middle distances (9-12 miles).  The coach in me says not to do two hard workouts in a row, but I think it is going to work out nicely as long as I don't push it too much on either day.

My Saturday runs are my most fun runs of the week.  This week Kelly, Heidi and I went to the Santiago Creek Trail a couple of miles from my house.  Penny, they definitely allow dogs and the hills aren't too bad, you should try that area next (it actually connects to Weir Canyon).  We ran the trails to another nearby regional park* and then around that park.  We were going to explore the trails leading to Irvine Lake, but Kelly is fighting some tendonitis in her foot and we didn't want it to get worse by adding too much mileage on uneven ground.   I'm looking forward to next Saturday already!

I don't look forward to my long runs as much as I do the Saturday runs, but I am meeting more and more runners around here and I think I'll be able to set up "running dates" by the time my runs get super long.  The woman I met while looking for a place to live is now my facebook friend.  After she is recovered from Ironman Arizona, we are going to try to do some long runs together.  She is running Surf City also.

Yesterday was my long run.  I ran the opposite direction of the loop I did a few weeks ago, which ended with a hellacious hill.  I began with the hill, which is much more gradual from this new direction.  It went down steeply and turned toward the river.  I felt ok, but stopped a couple of times.  I usually drink and eat Gu on the run, but yesterday I stopped to do it.  I used stoplights to rest (instead of running in place).  I was pretty tired.  I'm sure that it had something to do with the nine mile trail run the day before.  Hopefully, I am teaching my body to perform on tired legs.  I still finished 11.25 miles with a decent training pace.  I was definitely ready for my rest day today, but I felt fine.  I am looking forward to a nice, easy run tomorrow to start a new week.

Happy Running!

*The regional park system in Orange County is great.  There is a ton of preserved wilderness.

Into the light...

The past week or so has been a pretty darn good for running.  The biggest change has been the time.  It has been SO nice to get up in the mornings and start running as the sun starts to rise, rather than in complete darkness.  It makes a surprising difference in my outlook.  Yesterday, I was able to find a great trail between the park and the high school for some intense hill repeats.  I never would have run back there in the dark.


I finally feel like I am back in the groove.  I have a training plan I like and my legs have that constant feeling of just a little soreness.  You know that feeling?  The good soreness after a good workout.  It feels like a perfect balance of working hard enough to get stronger without getting injured.  Yesterday's hill repeats were hard and was definitely feeling it going up the stairs.  Today's run felt a bit full of lead, but afterward I had that delicious soreness.  I love it!


There area couple of things that marred this great running week.  The first was finding out that my friend is injured and can't run.  We were going to run the Santa Barbara Half Marathon next weekend.  I am bummed because it would be the first time that she and I would be running together.  I feel horrible for her because I know that not being able to run is killing her.  This was to be her first half marathon.  She is already a triathlon stud, so I suspected that she would have given me quite a run for my money to keep up with her.  I am not running the race; I can't see doing it without her.  There will be plenty of other races.


The other thing was finding out that the Carlsbad Half Marathon is sold out.  That was my favorite race and my half marathon PR.  Last year it sold out in early December.  I never would have guessed that it would sell out the last week of October.  I am sure that I can find a bib on Craigslist or the Carlsbad Half Marathon facebook page,* but then I have to pay a twenty dollar transfer fee, in addition to a somewhat high priced race fee.  I am already spending a lot of money on race fees with two marathons on the horizon.  In addition, I seemed to have moved to a racing mecca**.  I know that I am going to be spending more money in race fees.  I feel bad because so many of my Rockin' Mamas are running it.  The AFC race was so much fun and I would love to hang with everyone again.  I almost feel like I am letting them down.


Despite a few bits of bad news, I feel like things are so much better than they were a month ago.  I feel like I have left a period of darkness and it is gradually getting lighter and lighter.





*There are already several dozen requests for bibs on the page.  It seems to be an incredibly popular race this year.  I bet they could have sold out a race double the size.
**The Greater Los Angeles area.

Another marathon?

You betcha! The question is which one (s).

I am 90% committed to the Catalina Marathon on March 13. My friend has signed up for it as her first marathon and I had mentioned to her that if she did it, I would do it with her. It is definitely one up there on my list of races to run. It is mostly off road with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and a herd of bison. If is incredibly hilly and difficult. The winner usually comes in around three hours. MarathonGuide suggests counting on a finish time around an hour (or more) slower than a road marathon. A good percentage of runners come back and do this race again and again.

The big question is whether or not to run the Surf City Marathon a month before. If I do it, I should use it as a training run. But can I run a marathon without trying to PR or go for that elusive sub-four hour finish? If I run it all out, I doubt I'll recover enough to make a decent showing in Catalina. Surf City is on the beach and close to my house. It seems like a great race to do. They have a half marathon option, but I'd really like to do the full. I am thinking about signing up for the full and then I could switch it to the half if I need to.

I am in the process of writing up a training plan. I have already added hill repeats once a week. Yesterday, I found the perfect place for training runs.* My new running friends took me there. We did a great eleven mile run that started out on a bike path along the river and then headed up into the hills. We ran on fire roads that had some steep spots, just like Catalina.

So I am officially back into training mode and very excited about it. Anyone joining me??


*Although I am not sure how often I could run there by myself, since I heard rumors that there might be mountain lions in the hills.

Running IS a lot like life

I have often read different blogs comparing running and life. Lately, I have keenly felt the comparison. The other day , I was running from my house down past the schools. I felt completely in a groove; running felt effortless. Then the road flattened out and the run felt tougher. I hadn't even realized I was running downhill until it flattened out.

It hit me that one minute you're cruising along in life and everything is good and then it levels out and it seems just that much harder. Even when life is going along without too many ups and downs, it can seem tough, especially after a particularly easy time (i.e. vacation).

Once you get your rhythm on the flats, you eventually hit the uphill (because what goes down must come up). We all know how hard the hills can be. Your legs burn, your lungs burn. All you really want to do is turn around or stop completely. And hills, up or down, really work those leg muscles.

Often, when you run up hills, as much as it hurts, there is a certain kind of satisfaction in getting to the top. You climb and climb and the feeling when you crest the top is sometimes even euphoric. One of my favorite races was the La Jolla Half Marathon, which is known for its hilly course, in particular, the Torrey Pines hill. When I reached the top of Torrey Pines, I let out a cheer with other runners around me. I heard of one runner, on the other hand, who hailed the ditch bus as soon as she reached the top. It was all too much. For me, I am very proud of that race and how well I did on the hills. I am proud of the metaphorical hills I have climbed in life, as well. Getting my Master's Degree, climbing the corporate ladder and motherhood are examples of some of the hills in my life that I am proud of.

Sometimes, however, there are hills that are really, really tough. When you get to the top, you don't feel pride, you just feel relief. There is no ditch bus and there is no one you can call to pick you up. I found such a hill Sunday. I started running up the hill thinking, "holy cow... this is one steep hill." I thought the top was at the next traffic light. When I got to the light, it leveled for that street and then headed up again. It seemed to have no end! When I finally reached the top and was able to run downhill, there was no "groove" or fun in the run. I just needed to put one foot in front of the other to make it home. When the road headed up again, it was tougher than before. The hill wouldn't have been so hard if I hadn't just run over seven miles (most of which were flat or gradual uphill). The good news is that I did make it home and was no worse for the wear afterward.

That is how my life has seemed for much of this year. My family has struggled quite a bit. Just when we thought that things were leveling off, the road continued upward. It didn't seem to have an end. When the hard part ended, I didn't feel triumph, only relief. There was no payoff of a downhill section, just a leveling off of the road. And now I move forward tentatively... waiting for that next hill to take the wind out of my sails.

Throughout my life, I have had long stretches of downhill and flat terrain. An occasionally roller only helps you to get the momentum for the downhills. My very favorite race was the Carlsbad Half Marathon (which happens to be my PR). It is not super flat, but a series of rollers. In that race, the uphill portions didn't slow me down. In fact, they helped my determination and focus. The downhills gave me "free speed." Short downhills are actually easier than the long ones-- they don't kill your quads. I hope that this next chapter of my life is full of rolling hills, just like that race. It keeps the scenery changing and the run more fun.

May you all have a life of gentle rolling hills with some fun "free speed" along the way. *wink*

Good weekend of running*

Other than a bit of jello legs at the end of ten miles on Sunday, I have no complaints about my running weekend.

The mom I met at my son's school called me and arranged to pick me up for the run Saturday morning. They were running a trail run nearby and the directions were a bit tricky. She and her sister picked me up and we met a third member of the group at the trail head. It was a fantastic trail run through a little canyon, up to a dam that overlooked a gorgeous valley/canyon. We spent a lot of time navigating (they hadn't spent a lot of time on this trail) and deciding where to go. That's ok. I enjoyed taking it easy and getting to know them. I think we ended up going around four miles. We made plans to run the same trails next weekend without as much stopping to navigate. I didn't mind the relaxed pace and stopping at all. It isa lot of fun running trails with other people. I was just starting to walk/run with Jen up Cowles Mountain and really enjoying it. I am glad to pick up the trail running up here.

Since I didn't get a very long run in, I decide to run again Sunday morning. I was determined to run ten miles, although the longest I had run since AFC was nine miles a week or two afterward. I am supposed to pace a friend in a half marathon in a few weeks and I wanted to make sure I can even finish. At this point, I just want to be able to run it with her. I don't know how good I'll be at pacing with my lack of training, but I am going to try my best. I am just excited to finally be running with her.

Sunday's run was nice. It was a bit foggy when I started, which made things pretty humid once they warmed up a bit. I ran down to the river and headed east. I felt pretty good. I felt like I was getting into a groove. Around mile 7, I wanted to see if I could pick it up a bit. I ran the eighth mile in 8:39. Yeah! It was around that time that I had to head away from the river and back up to my house. The key word here is up. Oops. I didn't leave much in the tank for an uphill return to my neighborhood. As I started up the road, I started noticing my knees hurting and my legs feeling pretty heavy.

The good news is that even though it was tough, I was able to run those last two uphill miles under ten minutes each. I was really worked by the time I got home. I think that eight miles would have been more appropriate, considering the amount of running I have been doing. But I am glad I did ten. I know that I will be able to run that half marathon in Santa Barbara on November 8. I may not be speedy, but I should have a respectable time.

Next weekend should be more of the same-- a fun trail run on Saturday and a longer run on Sunday. Life is good.


* I know, I know... the weekend was DAYS ago

New Chapter

I'm Back, Baby!!

We are finally somewhat settled. We are living among a sea of endless boxes that seem impossible to empty with a three and six year old around. However, we are here and starting to figure out the area and feel at home.

I have run a few times. Unfortunately, I have slept through my alarm more than I have woken to it. I think the stress of moving has taken its toll and I crash at night. The running has been good, however. It isn't super easy since we moved to an area called Anaheim HILLS*. The name rings true. But just outside our neighborhood is a nice park with a quarter mile loop around it. About a mile from our house is the Santa Ana River. That is definitely my favorite place to run so far.

I ran at the river this morning. It was a beautiful morning. It was clear and much dryer and warmer than it has been (although there was still a lingering mist). Once I got to the river, I headed east**. The sun was coming up and the moon was brand new with Venus off to the side. It was so peaceful running at dawn like that. The river is actually really pretty. There were plenty of herons, egrets and ducks. It is actually an odd sight to see a teeming estuary and then mere yards away from the other side is the 91 freeway, full of traffic heading into Los Angeles. I can't believe how busy that freeway is at 6:30 in the morning!

I think that life is going to start seeming pretty darn normal soon. Today I met a mom at the school who runs with a small group. She invited me to join them! I am very excited about that. All in all, things are working out well.

I will start getting back to commenting on your blogs. I don't spend a lot of time on the computer these days. Can Google Reader explode with too many unread posts? I am nearing 1000 unread posts. YIKES! Please don't hate me if I don't get a chance to read some of your old posts. I have read some of them here and there, but haven't really done any commenting.


*For those of you familiar with Southern California or Disneyland, we do live in the city of Mickey Mouse. Since we are in the hills of Anaheim, we are close enough to hear the fireworks from the Magical Kingdom. We'd have to climb out on the roof to see them, but it is nice to know it is relatively close by. We haven't gone yet, but I think a Disney pass is in my future. Yippee!!
**If you head west on the river path and run twenty miles, you hit the ocean.