Survived!

It's Monday morning, which means I survived my seven-mile training run on Saturday! Woo woo! It was challenging to put it mildly, but definitely worth it.

We ran through Golden Gate Park and in front of the ocean near Beach Chalet. The first 4.5 miles through Golden Gate Park was a loop we'd already done a few weeks back. We ran there during my second week of training, and I remember how much that hurt! But this week, I was still feeling pretty good at the end of 4.5 miles. I was so psyched to realize how much I have progressed in just a few short weeks!

But--then came the last 2.5 mile loop. Dun Dun Dun Dunnnnnn. That is when my muscles started feeling tired. The idea of starting another loop after already finishing 4.5 miles seemed tortorous. Fortunately, I had my running-buddies Carnley and Will to lean on. Carnley and I were keeping about the same pace and just kept trucking along. We were constantly passing other Team Challenge members so we received and gave a lot of encouragement along the way.

The worst thing about the last loop, aside from a bit of wind, were the rolling baby-hills. I hate hills--all I have to say--but considering the race is from Napa to Sonoma I guess its good practice because there are a bunch of rolling hills on the course.

When we finally hit the last water station, with a little over a mile to go, I got my second wind. Just knowing that I soon could stop was motivation enough to hurry my ass up! We came in for a strong finish, at about 1:13 minutes! Not bad if I do say so myself!

Here are the keys to my success this weekend:

1) Running buddies --> check!
2) Trashy pop music and latin beats --> check!
3) Teammates dressed in crazy wigs at water stations to keep you motivated --> check!
4) Knowing the butt-kicking is good for you and helping a great cause --> check!

After the run, when we were all sweaty and smelly, a group of 6 of us had lunch at Beach Chalet. Oh, I totally earned that burger!

This weeks bit of advice: don't run 7 miles in cotton socks. Splurge on the synthetic ones. Can you say BLISTERS??? All. over. my. feet!

No pictures this week. You'll have to stay tuned for next!

Pictures as promised

Rachel, my other running buddy, stretching me out.


Jackie, my mentor and me.


Group shot after the 6-miler.


"Hey! Put that camera away. That is not going to be a good picture."


Man that last mile was hurting.


Photo-op and really bad sunglasses. At least Rachel is looking good after 5 miles.


Almost the whole SF team.




...I may have to work on getting someone to capture my less flattering moments. These aren't nearly as embarassing as I promised, but they'll have to do for now. Enjoy.

Rolling in the dough, racking up the miles...

Training and fundraising are moving along nicely. Here's the latest news:

We've been slowly but surely upping the mileage. This Saturday will be longest distance I've run so far--7 long miles. I can't pretend that I push through our longer runs with ease, but every week I feel stronger. I also have a couple of great teammates that run at my pace, so we encourage and challenge each other as we go! One of my running buddies, Carnley, is in the picture above. (Since last weekend was a recovery week, we only ran three miles, and Nimo did it with us. He's a champ!)

For me, it's time to add at least one more run to my week. Thus far, I've only had time for a couple of group runs a week. But--as the mileage goes up my body is starting to complain and that means more training to prepare all of my muscles for the crazy beating it gets every Saturday.

My fundraising started taking off a few weeks ago--already $441 donated!!! Thank you so much to everyone who donated. I know we can make it, but we only have 10 weeks left. Gotta keep our eyes on the prize. So keep it coming, and I'll keep running.

Saludos,
MP