Honoring Our Honorees

Today was a bit of a tough run mentally for everyone. It was warm, and the out-and- back route we ran was uphill all the way back. No wimps, though! I ran the first 5.75 miles with Ernie. I only needed to go 8 miles total, but I've been logging extra mileage because I can, and Becca was pouring water and playing tunes at the second water stop, so I had to make it to her table! She's my fellow spring team and San Diego race alum, not to mention longtime friend. :-)

Mom and Dad dropped by after the run and just before the team potluck. They saw a few familiar faces, and I introduced them to a few of my new teammates. They probably won't get to do a water stop this season just due to the way timing is working out, so I wanted them to get to at least one of my runs. Thanks, guys!

The potluck following our run was in honor of our team and personal honorees. They are such phenomenal individuals -- true pillars of strength and models of inspiration. They've endured surgeries, rounds of chemo, recovery followed by setbacks, and yet they persevere and view each day as a glorious gift. It really helps give me perspective, and it makes me so glad that I can do something to help them and others like them who are going through treatment. I'm so proud of the fact that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society consistently gives 75% of all funds raised to research and patient care.

One of my teammates, Lynsey, brought her personal honoree, Laura Warren! No kidding. Gary knew her last name was the same as my maiden name, so he introduced us. It's really a crazy small world. And Laura is truly an amazing individual. She really might be superwoman. She survived Hodgkins Lymphoma as a teenager and a recurrence just after college only to get breast cancer about 20 years later, which was manifested itself as a result of the treatment she had received for Hodgkins. She endured treatment for breast cancer once, and now it's back. She just finished her last round of chemotherapy about a month ago and goes in for a full-body scan on Monday to see if all the cancer is gone. Let's hope so!

You'd think so much cancer would be a burden, but no! Laura hasn't let it slow her down. She's particpated in I can't remember how many marathons with TNT -- one about a month after one of her chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer! She's also done two hikes with Hike for Discovery, among other TNT events. We should all be so blessed to meet people like Laura, let alone find out they're our "twin"!

Cause for Celebration

A bunch of us from Team Oz attended Cause for Celebration in San Francisco on Thursday. It's a rah rah for TNT and a chance to get typed for bone marrow donation, which I did last spring. If you're not on the national registry for bone marrow donation, you should be! Especially if you're a minority, as quite often patients who need bone marrow transplants find matches within their own ethnicity.

Here I am with Janice, one of our team honorees, and Coach Al. Go Team!

San Francisco Sunset

Today was a quintessential September day in San Francisco -- sunny, with temperatures in the mid-70s. I'm so glad I planned ahead to run in the city after work!

I drove out to Ocean Beach -- I used to run out there "a lot" when Chris and I lived in the Inner Sunset. It's such a beautiful landscape (or it would be a seascape?). Don't get me wrong, it's not Hawaii or the Caribbean, but it is the ocean. And it's hard to go wrong running next to the ocean for several miles.

I parked just below the Cliff House and ran all the way down The Great Highway to Sloat Ave. (near the zoo). I noticed along the way that the sun was pretty low in the sky, but I didn't really think I'd still be running come sunset. Well, the timing worked out perfectly; I ran for 55 minutes, getting back to the base of the hill below the Cliff House as the sun was dipping toward the horizon.

I love sunset and twilight; it's my favorite part of the day after sunrise and dawn. Both remind me of the good in the world and of nature's beauty and promise.

Lots of other people were also taking in the stunning panoramic view: Down on the beach a woman kick-boxed, dogs ran wild, couples strolled, and kids chased each other. In the water, surfers in black wetsuits waited for a wave big enough to ride into shore; they looked a bit like a flock of birds. Up on the sidewalk, tourists and locals alike paused to watch the brilliant round ball of yellow gold reflect off the water.

It only took 10 minutes for the sun to sink below the horizon. I watched until the last sliver, which looked like a horizontal canoe, slipped away. It was a priceless respite in a world gone topsy turvy with financial and economic chaos.

[Disclaimer: These aren't my photos; sadly, I didn't have my camera with me!]

My Blob

I just have to say that my grandmother, Snookie, is so cute. Last week I printed out all of my blog entries and mailed them to her because, you know, she's old school! I got a thank you note from her yesterday telling me how much she enjoyed my "blob." I'm laughing even as I type this. I love her spirit!

Rock climbing!

I set up rock climbing as a fund-raiser (just like last season) at Diablo Rock Gym, where Chris and I have been members for over 3-1/2 years. So on Sunday, four of my fabulous teammates brought their friends and joined me for an indoor adventure! Two of our team honorees, Brian and Janice, along with Lisa and Ernie, represented Team Oz. Plus, Lisa brought Dave, and Janice brought all of SF State! Okay, she didn't bring the whole university, but it sure seemed like it! Boy can she rally her friends. Go Janice!

I think everyone had a good time. It definitely took a long time for the gym staff to teach the group of 18 (give or take) how to climb, but once we got through it, everyone spread out around the gym and gave it a shot. Some people were like monkeys; I was amazed. The first time I climbed I was terrified!

Janice wasn't so sure about the wall height (about 32 feet). She got about halfway up and wanted to come down. She made me laugh out loud when she said, "I'd rather run another 10 miles!" I said, "You never thought you'd be saying that, did you?!" Ernie tried to encourage her to keep going, but to no avail. To her credit, she tried several more routes -- she didn't make it quite to the top, but she kept at it!

Lisa, Brian, and Ernie all climbed several routes each. Hooray Team!

Holy Humidity and the Accidental Half-Marathon (Almost)

Where do I even start with this post? Without a doubt, the “memorable moment” was going off-course (NOT by design), but I’ll get to that.

Today’s run was a combined team outing that previewed the Nike (Half) Marathon course. Team Oz met the San Francisco fall run team at Sports Basement in the Presidio at 6:45am. Yes, that means I woke up around 5:20am, long before sunrise. Fortunately, I carpooled with Andrea and Dene, so I had good company.

The SF coach talked us through the course, noting that it was marked with white flour arrows and that we should ignore other TNT chalk markings, as they were from a different run. Easy enough; besides, most of the course was familiar territory to me. I’ve either run it on my own when I run in the city, or it was along the SF half marathon course. I remember the coach saying something about us not needing to memorize his course directions – we just needed to look for the arrows. Great!

A bunch of us took off together from the water stop that Dene was manning: Glenn, Don, Kyle, Sara, Clara, Michelle, Andrea, Ernie, Russ, Felipe, and Marlita/Marlena (?), from the SF team. I really enjoyed running with everyone! We had to weave our way through throngs of other runners and bikers; so many groups were out! We even had to squeeze, literally, through a mass of triathletes waiting to start their swim just below Ghirardelli Square.

We saw a lot of TNTers since the route went out 2.5 miles and back to Dene’s water stop, and we made a point to yell, “Go Team!”, “Way to go!” and the like. Our teammates returned the cheers, but the SF team didn’t really respond, and they didn’t make a point of cheering us on. Huh?! Well, whatever. Then Marlita said the SF team wasn’t really very social or embracing and that we had already talked to her more than her own teammates had all season long!

My eyes practically bugged out of my head. How could that be? It’s a team outing; it’s all about having a good time and achieving something amazing together. Yes, the results are individual, but everyone encourages each other. I’m so sad that it took until to today for her to experience TNT in all its glory and yet glad she got to run with us!

By the time we got back to Dene’s water stop (the halfway point, more or less) I needed windshield wipers on my glasses! It was super humid and incredibly misty due to very low cloud cover. The humidity was very unusual for SF, and I felt really gross; I was sweating like a pig and had that icky sticky feeling that only humidity can give you. C'est la vie!

Ernie, Kyle, Jon Judge, Glenn and I trotted along Crissy Field toward Fort Point and the Golden Gate Bridge. We took a hairpin turn and headed up the hill. Kyle and Ernie and I opted to walk it, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. Little did we know it, but the three of us were about to go on an urban adventure!

The incline heading up Lincoln Blvd. toward the bridge entrance was intense, so we just kept walking. The SF coach had told us during his warm-up speech that there was no shame in walking; he has a friend who runs 3:20 marathons who walks up hills to save her legs. Perfect! I love it.

We started really running again once we crested the last incline on Lincoln, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There was a water stop there, but we opted not to visit it since we had been “conserving energy” and had plenty of fluids with us. I remember there being a group of runners there that pulled out and fell in not too far behind us. We started running downhill (hallelujah!), happy to be coasting. I figured we’d cross the street soon and head back through the Presidio, but we didn’t see any flour arrows. Hmmm.

When we got to the bottom of the hill just past Baker Beach, I started seriously wondering if we were still on course. There was a group ahead of us on the other side of the street, but no one was behind us anymore. Then we saw Coach Al from the Bayside team ride by on his bike in the opposite direction. I yelled out, “Are we going the right way?!” Yes, I was assured. I wanted to yell, “For the summer team or the fall team?” because the summer team was running a different, 20-mile course! But I couldn’t ask fast enough before Coach Al pedaled off.

We ended up running through Seacliff and I was 80% sure we were off-course, but we occasionally saw flour arrows! So we kept going…until we hit the water stop at Clement and 32^nd Avenue. The volunteers there confirmed we were on the wrong course. They were nice enough to let us stock up on fuel (pretzels, gummy bears, Starburst) and liquid.

Fortunately, this was my old neighborhood. I knew exactly where I was, and there was no way I was going back up the hills we had just run! So, I said: “Here’s the plan. We’re going to run to 25^th Ave., jog over to Lake, and run up Lake until it dead ends into Arguello. From there, we run into the Presidio and it’s all downhill from there. We’ll end up right on the back side of Sports Basement. You in?”

Ernie and Kyle were game. So I took them on an unofficial tour of SF. We ran right by Chris’ and my first apartment at 18^th and Lake. Most of the route was flat, except the one-block super hill leading to the Presidio Golf Course. The guys were troopers; we definitely walked part of the way. I promised an exquisite view once we got into the Presidio, and I delivered. Not far past that we headed straight downhill, and it felt wonderful!

I was concerned that Lindsay and the rest of the team would be worried about us. Usually I take my cell phone with me on long runs, stashing it in my Camelback, but I didn’t today. I did, however, have extra goos, a mini-Clif bar, and some cash – always prepared! (I am my mother’s daughter.)

Two hours and 20 minutes after starting out, we strolled into the backside of the Sports Basement parking lot, where we were greeted by relieved and inquisitive faces. I don’t know if it was good or bad that Lindsay said she wasn’t too worried since she could tell by the sign-in sheet that the three of us were together and she knew if Kyle was with Ernie and me, we must be all right.

It was quite the journey, one that turned out to be just short of 13 miles – almost a half-marathon! I’ve definitely cemented the “Don’t do what I do” motto.

Click to see more photos.

Getting Cooler

It may just be a fluke, but the weather was decidedly cooler this morning when I went out for a run (about 55 degrees, best guess). I busted out my fleece headband, and layered in a moisture-wicking tank top, long-sleeved technical top and lightweight running jacket! I thought for sure I'd lose the running jacket a few miles into the run, but all I did was unzip it a little bit. I managed to forget gloves, so carrying my cold water bottle meant that my hands were numb by the end of the 4.8-mile Upper Happy Valley loop. My warm shower afterwards felt soooo good!

I had to get my run in this morning since I skipped yesterday's YOYO workout to attend the staff social at Pyramid Alehouse in Walnut Creek and I'm having dinner with my friend, Carlos, at Cha Cha Cha tonight. So much to do and so little time!

I'm going to try to drag myself to the gym tomorrow morning to rock climb. I went to Mission Cliffs yesterday morning; it was so much fun and yet so brutal! I'm out of rock climbing shape, so my arms got pumped and I fatigued really quickly. But I'm game for going again tomorrow.

Speaking of rock climbing, we have a TNT outing to Diablo Rock Gym this Sunday. I can't wait for people to try it out!

The hills were fun! Or maybe I'm just crazy?

Tonight's hill workout was fun! After the crazy hard hills two weeks ago, and compared to the BIG hill at Newhall Park in Concord last season, these were easy! I guess perspective is everything. I ran for just under 30 minutes total, including the warm-up, so it wasn't too long, which was nice. I'm sure I'll feel it in my hamstrings and glutes tomorrow, but that's the point!

Coach Al timed us on the first and last of five routes/loops. The first time we could use our own watches, in addition to his "official" time. The second time we had to temporarily donate our treasured time pieces to his red Santa bag. (OK, I confess, mine is a $10 velcro jobbie from Target; not so treasured!) The point was to see who could get the closest to their original time.

Pretty much everyone ran faster by a smidge. It had to do with anxiety/anticipation, and Coach Al's point was that we need to learn how to deal with this anxiety on race day so we don't go out too fast and burn up our energy. ("Go out fast, die like a pig," a la Coach Tim.) We need to learn what our true pace is, not as measured by a watch, but as felt in our bodies. It was quite a revealing little exercise. I definitely felt "pressure" to run a bit faster the second time, and I did come in 10 seconds quicker.

Running aside, the view from atop the hill was stunning -- to the east, golden hills in the distance; to the west, a brilliant orange-pink swath of color as the sun set. Beautiful for sure, but it made me sad that the days are getting shorter. Indeed, by the time we finished, it was pretty dark and my headlamp came in handy (I remembered to bring it!).

One last note -- Danville is full of ridiculously palatial mansions! I had never been to that part of the town before (just the downtown area). Now I know why Danville is "money"!

Tuesday's Track Workout, or Don't Do What I Do

This season we're alternating hill repeats with track workouts, versus following blocks of training like during the spring. So Tuesday (9-9-08) was track at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon.

Two things about the location:

1. It's ridiculously far! I left the office at 4:10pm and arrived at 6:10pm after BARTing to Lafayette and driving the remaining 18+ miles. This gave me just enough time to find the gym restroom (took a while -- the school is pretty big) and change out of my work clothes.
2. The track is really nice! As is the school -- it's only two years old. (In fact, the restrooms are nicer than the ones at work. ) But seriously, the track felt like a pillow under my feet. And the football field itself is one of those newfangled artificial deals with tiny circular rubber pieces that look like real dirt. The only problem is that they stick to your pants and don't easily brush off.
   

The workout itself was kind of fun. We started with core training. Then, after an 800m warm-up, we did a pyramid at tempo pace (about 8 out of 10 in terms of level of exertion): 400m (followed by 200m recovery/brisk walking), 600m (200m recovery), 800m (300m recovery), another 800m (300m recovery), 600m (200m recovery), and 400m. We followed it all up with an 800m cool down.

The numbers were easy enough to remember, but I managed to screw them up. Instead of running the first 800m, I stopped after 600m, thinking I had gone 800m. Only once I realized that none of the people I had been running with were around me did I put two and two together. So I ran 900m on the next leg to partially make up for the missed 200m. It put me off on my own part of the track for a while, and I confused peple by running when they were walking and vice versa. I just kept yelling over my shoulder, "Don't do what I do! I screwed up!" Yeah, I'm a great role model. :-)
(See more photos)

Running Amongst the Vines

Yesterday's 8-mile run in Livermore was beautiful! It certainly beat the one we did there late last spring on two counts (http://laurapayette.vox.com/library/posts/tags/livermore/). First, the weather was perfect -- about 60 degrees and overcast when we started. And second, we took a more scenic route -- through the vineyards!

I'm not sure whose vineyards they were, but they were pretty. The vines were full of luscious purple grapes -- no doubt almost ready for crush! (On a related note, my friend, Iain, just crushed the first batch of his grapes. For a behind-the-scenes view of his winemaking, check out his blog.)

Despite the beauty of the run, and the excellent company (I ran much of the route with Lynsey and Kim, and the whole way with Kelsie), I felt like I had lead weights in my shoes. It was definitely the opposite of last Saturday's fantastic outing. Oh well, they can't all be good runs! Despite the difficulty -- partly attributable to the hills -- I managed to run a negative split: 43 minutes out and 39 minutes back.

Spirit Box II

At the end of Saturday's run, I awarded the Spirit Box to Tiffany. Janice had added to the contents significantly – so much so that she created a whole new box, with the Wizard of Oz lunchbox inside! She included personal notes that had been written to her when she was in the hospital (among other things!).

There are many team members deserving of the Spirit Box. Tiffany was chosen because she's remained super positive in the face of dealing with some health issues, and she's diligent about attending team runs. She has an active 11-year-old daughter, yet has managed to raise over $1,000 already. She's going to rock the San Antonio marathon, and I look forward to cheering her across the finish line there! Go Tiffany!

Last Week's Torturous Tuesday

Last week's hill workout in Walnut Creek at Shell Ridge Open Space was brutal! I didn't think it would be too bad because I'm in better condition at this point in the season than I was last spring. Ha!

Our warm-up was just over a mile long -- uphill! Then our hill workout was straight uphill (seriously) for 2/10 of a mile, followed by about a mile of downhill recovery; we repeated it twice. The 2/10 of a mile is what nearly got the best of me. A short distance to be sure, but the incline was unbelievable. I went out way too fast. By the time I slowed near the top of the hill, my throat was burning. It really felt like it was on fire or, at the very least, like someone had rubbed it with sandpaper. I was coughing like I had bronchitis and wheezing like I had asthma.

Even after recovering (mandatory before the next downhill leg), I couldn't "right' myself. You see, when I cough, it makes me sneeze. At the very least, I get a runny nose. So I started sniffing in the absence of Kleenex, which made me cough even harder. It was a vicious cycle. Then I tried running downhill, but I had drank a lot of water already and when I coughed hard, it make it hard to hold my bladder! Let's just say I was pretty much a disaster.

I got back around to the bottom of the hill for the second go-around and Coach Haakon said, "Don't go up until you've caught your breath!" It wasn't my breath I was trying to catch! Jeez oh peas. I did the second loop much more slowly.

I ended up buying cough drops on the way home from the run. Sadly, they didn't help! I even still had a scratchy throat the next day -- small price to pay, I guess. It was a small miracle that my legs and glutes felt all right. I'm just glad tomorrow's workout is at the track and not in the hills.
(See more photos)

Catch Me If You Can -- 98 Minutes

I had an awesome run today! It was super warm (70 degrees at 8am and probably into the 90s by the time we finished), so I have no idea how I didn't melt. The half-marathoners were scheduled to go 7 miles, and the full marathoners 10. I've been trying to follow the full marathon schedule (even though I'm 90% sure I'll "only" run the half in San Antonio), but I didn't know when we started running whether I'd be up for 10 miles or not, so I left it to a game-time decision.

I had a nice little mini-group around me on the trail: Gary and Russ in front, and Kelsie and Ernie just behind. It was wonderful to run with so many people! Kelsie was a trooper -- Ernie, Gary, and Russ are usually much faster than me, and we were all averaging less than a 10 minute/mile pace! Not too shabby. Plus, it was one of the longest (if not the longest) runs Kelsie's ever done!

I tried Cytomax at the first water stop -- the "drink of choice" for the San Antonio marathon. Ugh! Talk about disgusting. It tasted like super sweet syrup and looked unnaturally electric pink. Why companies try to out-do Gatorade, I'll never figure out. They should just leave well enough alone.

Anyway, at the end of our 7+ mile loop, I decided to continue on with Ernie, and Russ joined us for a few more miles. I have no idea how I ended up out in front of them, but I was pushing the pace for most of the remaining distance. And, at the end, as Ernie and Russ started to kick it up, I just turned on after burners I didn't even know I had and yelled over my shoulder, "Come on boys!" I smoked 'em! Well, that's an exaggeration, but I did beat them! Maybe 1 in 10 times I can do that. Amazing! I finished the 10 miles in 98 minutes, and I could probably subtract 4 or 5 minutes off that time for resting at the water stops. Yahoo!

I've tried to think back to what I did differently that made this run so good, and I can't figure it out! I ate too much food last night at Mom & Dad's (somehow two small bowls of lowfat ice cream seemed like a good idea). I ate the same breakfast I always consume before Saturday runs: coffee (half caf) with almond milk and half a PowerBar. I ran with my CamelBack instead of my hand-held water bottle and filled it with PowerBar electrolyte drink mix; maybe that helped? I didn't eat any goos along the run; in fact, the only thing I consumed were pretzels at the water stops (they're just sooooo good!).

Oh, there was that 4.something earthquake last night. Maybe I need a good rumbler to make my legs move -- ha! Actually, I ran quite well late last spring on the Livermore run when it was really hot outside. Maybe I do better in the heat!? Guess I better order up a hot day come November 16.