Terry Fox's story

Last night, my hubby and I watched ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary about Terry Fox.  It was a powerful film that captured Terry Fox's dedication to fighting cancer and living strongly.  I recommend this film to runners and non-runners.



Today, I feel a great deal of gratitude for my health, legs, and running and believe that we CAN beat cancer.

Fierce

I had a blast running the DSE 5 miler at Oyster Point.  It was cool to really, truly race today.  That meant that I focused on passing people--instead of just considering my pace and time.  The nice & flat course traced around the San Francisco Bay near the SF Airport.  Though it was a glaringly sunny and hot day, I warmed up well, paced myself, and pushed myself to a strong finish.  And, guess what, I was the 2nd place woman!! My race time was 39:02 (7:44 pace). I need to thank my coach, Mary,  for encouraging me to do hard workouts, dig deep, and believe that I can run fast.

As usual, I woke up early and enjoyed my coffee, peanut butter toast, and banana :P  Then I picked up Jenica, and we headed down to South San Francisco and had a fantastic warm up jog.  I felt calm and ready to rock the 5 miler.  I lined up close to the start and noticed a few speedy looking women.

I started strong (7:37 pace) but was careful to keep in control, especially due to the heat. Then I just kept working my legs and tried to catch the runners ahead of me :)  At the halfway point, I heard that I was the 4th woman, but I knew I wanted to place.....And I saw women up ahead, so I knew I had work to do! I passed one woman & then another woman---yeehaw!  My breathing got tougher, but my legs still felt strong.  At points, I had to convince myself to push, and I tried some different mantras to maintain a speedy rhythm. With less than a mile to go, I heard footsteps and was certain that one of the women was going to pass me back.  But then I saw that it was an older man, and he helped push me to the finish. Whew!  I finished with a kick but had definitely left my energy out on the course. 

This race taught me a few things. First, heck yeah, I have the fierceness for racing. Second, even if your training runs are dragging, you can have a great race. And, third, it's just plain ole FUN to get out there, try your best, and kick some tail in the process ;)

Happy Fall!

Yesterday I noticed that the leaves were changing colors, and it was lovely to see some red and golden foliage on my recovery run :)  Today is a gloriously sunny day, but fall is in the air!  I had a great, confidence boosting interval workout today--with 90 second bursts at 5K pace (7:44, 7:26, 7:12).  They felt great, and my legs truly felt "in the flow."  I'm looking forward to this weekend's 5 miler and just want to have fun at the race, and, well, feel some pain while pushing myself!!

Simplification

Running, like almost anything in life, can get pretty complicated. Training can get confusing by involving juggling different routes and paces and drills and techniques. And recently, I've just wanted and, ultimately, needed my training and running to feel simpler. Thank goodness my coach assigned a simple long run for this weekend.

So, this morning, I tackled the nice and simple long run. It wasn't totally easy or lazy, but it was simple....I headed out the door, up the hill, back down the hill, around another neighborhood (Trestle Glen), out to Lake Merritt, and then I trotted right back home. All in all, a 10 mile tour of our 'hood. I saw plenty of folks out with their dogs and grabbing coffee and several other runners and bikers. Best of all, I ended up running the last 2.5 miles at 8:30 pace! The workout felt like an honest effort because I didn't strain myself or freak out over paces. Instead, I just worked, and then returned home for a chocolate milk protein shake and plenty 'o' football :)

Friday Fun

I've been thinking a bit about what's fun and what's pleasurable- in life, work, and running. My definition of fun includes running in the rain, shopping for running shoes, debriefing a hardcore workout or race over brunch, and celebrating with a beer, ice cream, and some smiles :P

Happy Friday!!

Still goin'

In the midst of another hectic week, I had a great medium long run on Thursday and enjoyed my College Avenue route. Yesterday, I ran 8 1/2 miles in Alameda, and that was another solid workout. It's been two weeks since the race in Santa Rosa, so my body and legs should start feeling ready to work hard again :)

Sweet running

According to the Jewish calendar, it's a new year. I wish you all a very sweet year ahead! And, I'm wishing myself some sweet running.

To keep my training fresh and fun, I'd like to:

1. Run races of different distances (there's a 5 miler in a couple weeks, and it would be cool to run a 5K this year, too)
2. Return to trail running (the Bay Area is loaded with cool trails)
3. Complete more fartlek workouts (they challenge me in a fun way)
4. Cook & bake more with fresh produce (should make blue cheese mac and cheese soon for my hubby & me)
5. Try out some different kinds of ice cream & gelato

ZING is Z-licious

Sometimes, we runners need a bar (shakes and gels, too, but shakes are a pain to carry around and gels taste nasty). I was stoked to discover Zing bars at Whole Foods.

Zing bars are packed with natural ingredients, include over 10 grams of protein to support muscles :> They've been kind to my tummy, and they taste really good :>

The chocolate coconut Zing bar tastes SO much like an almond joy bar, except it has even better tasting chocolate!! There are other flavors, too. Another favorite of mine is the peanut butter chocolate chip bar.

I realize this sounds like an advertisement, but I've been looking for something good to help with fueling and recovery for a while, and these are working well.