Downtown Phoenix
I am proud to share that I ran 12.02 miles @ 11'13" pace. I kept my run and pace easy and didn't want to push it. My body and legs feel happy! I believe I'll be ready for my next half marathon race on June 2nd. Bring it on! Ready to relax and Enjoy Saturday!
*****CHEERS!*****
Current Music: The Script's If You Ever Come Back
Current Mood: Coffee Happy!
Snapshot from Dobbins Lookout at South Mountain taken at 5:15am
Bon dia! It's early Monday morning and I'm up and alert. I meant to take a cat nap yesterday afternoon and it turned into a 9 hour delicious and glorious sleep. It's exactly what I needed.
I wanted to post a few pics from Saturday's morning run at South Mountain. Melissa and I decided to run down and along the mountain. We're training for The Fontana Days Run (Half Marathon) on June 2nd and it's all downhill. So Saturday's run was all about downhill running. We did quite well. My body and legs felt good after the 6 mile run. I made shure not to start off too quickly but ease into it and gradually picked up the pace once I was comfortable. We both did very well. We'll probably be training down South Mountain during the May weekends.
This is the last day of April 2012. I remember being a young 20 something and believed that Father Time was a close friend. Now I'm not so shure. What I do know for certain is that I'll need to continue my daily double dose of moisturizer! I may be getting older - but I plan to have beautiful youthful skin! Coffee is brewing. House is quiet + the Cockatoos are still asleep = Pure Joy!
*****CHEERS!*****
Running the Temecula Valley Half Marathon - January 21st, 2012
On April 18th, 2012, I wrote a blog update about Rose 'Sporty Diva' Coates and her amazing story how she lost 110 pounds. I'm blessed to have Rosie as a friend and Mentor. Rose has a long term goal - "to compile the profiles and stories of various people to be turned into a book to be sold on Kindle with proceeds going to a charity that centers around health and wellness (to be determined at a future date)." I'm honored that Rose reached out to me so that I can share my story. I'm so thankful for all the wonderful people that have entered my life while on this journey to better health and a healthier Life.
I'm honored that Rose has featured My Weight Loss Story on her blog: Sporty Diva's 98445 Blog. Feel free to head to Rosie's blog, comment, share. Thank you so much Rose for allowing me to be a part of your long term goal. Thank you, thank you!
Along San Juan Road at South Mountain
This past week and weekend were incredible. I enjoyed special moments with many old and new friends. Played tennis and ran with incredible people/friends that push me to be a better athlete. I decided not to run the Whiskey Row Half Marathon this year. I plan to concentrate on 57th Annual Fontana Days Run (Half Marathon). I really want to PR at this race.
One of the hardest courses for me to run is along San Juan Road at South Mountain. First two miles is an incline and my legs just feel worn out by Mile 3. Once I find my groove, I'm okay. This only means one thing: Gotta improve and do more Hill Training. Ugh. I look forward to becoming frirends with this course. The view along South Mountain is definitely one of Mother Nature's best. Yesterday I ran this course and made the mistake of leaving my Sony MP3 player at home. ACK! I planned to run 8 miles but I'm happy with 7.5 miles. I plan to run this route at least once a week.
I can hear the Neighbor Mockingbird proudly singing his song. House is quiet. Music is playing low. My Soul & Spirit are singing just as loud as the Mockingbird. Ready to make this week a great one.
*****CHEERS!*****
Hollywood Half Marathon / April 7th, 2012
Truly felt blessed sharing Orthodox Good Friday during The Procession with The Epitaphios at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. After Mass, I attended Happy Hour with a few friends and enjoyed great conversations. I left such great company early because I had to return home and do a bit of house cleaning. I'm the Hazel of this house!
I haven't ran all that much this week. My legs have slowly come around and seem to be ready for tomorrow's Sabino Canyon Sunset Run. This was a rough run for me last year. My goal is to have fun and cross the finish line with a better time.
House and bird cages are clean. Tortilla Soup is ready to be placed into containers and stored in the freezer. I am ready to celebrate Orthodox Easter.
*****CHEERS!*****
This will be a quick update. I so wanted to set a PR for this race. I was on track to do just that until I hit the 2 mile uphill incline at Mile 11. I crashed and burned. I was so disappointed in myself. I will have to make friends with hills and just improve my endurance. My official time was 2:30:35.4. For the most part, I executed this race just as I hoped through the first 11 miles. Like Life and everything else, my running continues to be a 'work in progress'.
A huge Congratulations to the organizers of the Inaugural Hollywood Half Marathon, their staff, the Sponsors, the volunteers, and all those that came out to make this event so special. I loved this course - even the 2 mile hill at the end. I look forward to running this race next year. I will so be ready for that mega hill next time.
It was such a joy to meet up with friends in LA/Hollywood. I never thought that I would be running half marathon after half marathon. I began to be satitsfied with just crossing the Finish Line -- Now I want to improve my times. I'm ready to do just that!
*****CHEERS!*****
Current Music: Edens Edge's Amen
Current Mood: Content
***Random Play
*Idina Menzel: I Stand
*Jamie Drake: When I Was Yours
*Jonny Diaz: More Beautiful You
*Tara MacLean: Passenger
*Lamb: Between Darkness & Wonder
*Amanda Marshall: Tuesday's Child
We're already into April of 2012. When I was in my 20's and enjoying Life's thrills and surprises, I never once thought about how Life would be while in my 40's. Now I find myself asking God to slow down the Wheel of Time. Older I get the more I realize how valuable moments really are & embrace the joy for each breath that I'm allowed and given.
This coming Saturday, I will be running the Hollywood Half Marathon. This will be my 5th Half Marathon this year and 11th overall since I took up running last year. I look forward to running through the streets of Hollywood.
I took up running again for the sole purpose of losing weight. So many times I've lost weight over and over again through proper nutrition and running...only to stop completely and continue the Yo Yo Dieting Syndrome. This time I have stuck to the program and can finally state that this has become a lifestyle. I've worked so hard to turn back. I've ran so many miles only to gain all the weight back and lose self confidence. I have a great support group of friends and fellow runners. Mornings when I don't want to run, I remind myself how lonely I felt when I was overweight. The weight gain always affects my social life. I feel heavy and overweight, I avoid social outings with friends. I'm blessed and thankful that I haven't felt this way in over two years.
One of the joys of running, in my opinion, is facing your demons through self meditation and therapy during runs. It's just me and the open road. Music is usually playing very low but when the voices in my head start to overwhelm my thoughts, I have no choice but to deal with situations head on. I find that I'm not as stressed as before. There's nothing like running or playing tennis and working up a good sweat.
I'm not a great runner so I can't give tips on running but I feel I am qualified to share the simple joys of running. I will never win a race. I will never be at the top of my age division. I will however be listed as someone that completed a race. I will take joy that the weight continues to stay off. At 47, I'm more determined to take care of this body than ever before.
I so wanted to run this morning but decided to lay off and save the fresh legs for Saturday's race. I want to run a good race. I know I have it in me.
Holy week is always so special. Easter brings back so many wonderful memories from my childhood. I can remember the beautiful Easter baskets filled with chocolate goodies that would be waiting for us after Sunday Mass. I will have a few chocolates on Easter as a reward.
The older I get the more I relish in the simple joys of Life. Countless Blessings are all around me.
Current Music: Jamie Drake's Beautiful
Current Mood: Thankfully thankful for This Very Moment!
*Harry Connick, Jr.: Only You
*Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now
*Natalie Merchant: Retrospective 1995-2005
*Julia Fordham: That's Life
*Jamie Drake: When I Was Yours
*Gavin Rossdale: Wanderlust
It's 77 degrees at 5pm on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. I'm currently writing this post beside our pool in the backyard. I see God's Love shining all around me. It's a beautiful thing to see & feel!
This will be a quick update. I really wanted to share the news of yesterday's 5K race. I've never ran very well in 5 and 10K races. My person PR for a 5K is 29:24. My 5K Race PR was 33:31 but that changed as of yesterday. I completed the Grand Canyon University's Run to Fight Children's Cancer 5K - Spring Edition Race with a time of 32:59. This meant a great deal to me since the last 5K race I ran in December was a miserable 36:07. I was telling friends that I often feel like the Sasha Cohen/Johnny Weir of running. I do well while training but always screw up during races. So this latest race gives me Hope. I feel as though I'm heading in the direction with this running thing. I look forward to my next Half Marathon race on Saturday. My body, legs and feet are feeling great. My right ankle injury is no longer a problem. I'm ready to train my best so that I can avenge my last half marathon time of 2:44:42.
Sunday evening will include a homemade pizza and movie night...another quiet night at home with my Umbrella Cockatoos. Life is a blessing!
*****CHEERS!*****
Current Music: Gavin Rossdale's Forever May You Run
Current Mood: Fresh & Easy
Melissa & I with Smiles & Our Finisher's Medals!
***Random Play
*Jennifer Knapp: Letting Go
*Will Young: Echoes
*Diana Winter: Escapizm
*The Script: Science & Faith
*Adele: 21
*Julia Fordham: The Julia Fordham Collection
Slowly but surely, I'm adjusting to so many Life changes. I'm back on track with better eating habits and choices to help me lose the 8 pounds I've gained. I'm not happy to share this but if I put it out there, I know I can't hide from my own words.
This past Sunday, I ran the IMS Arizona Half Marathon. I wasn't expecting much from myself since I haven't been running that well due to pain in my lower right foot. Prior to this race, I have never ran a half marathon race with pain. This time around was the first time I fought the nagging pain and earned my Finisher's Medal. Official time: 2:44:42. I'm not happy with time but proud I finished. Best part of this race was seeing the smiling faces of good friends from our running group. Gotta love the comradery.
My running mentor came over last night and taught me how to properly use a foam roller. Initially I thought he was out to KILL me! After stretches, I felt a great deal better. I'm not walking injured like an overworked Vegas hooker so that's a good thing.
A huge thank you to our running group and good friend, Melissa, for keeping me calm at the Start of this race. I had to wave Melissa goodbye at Mile 3 due to pain --- that Melissa is a fast little rockin' roll diva!
Time to put this race behind me and gear up for the Six Tunnels to Hoover Dam Half Marathon next month. I'm excited about this destination run/getaway trip. I have somethin' to prove to myself.
*****CHEERS!*****
Current Music: Jennifer Knapp's Dive In
Current Mood: A Bit Disappointed & Content all at the same time...
*January 7th: The Southern California Half Marathon
*January 15th: PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Half Marathon
*January 21st: The Temecula Valley Half Marathon
3 Half Marathons in 3 weeks. Crazy, eh? Probably. Crazy because I didn't share with many friends and acquaintances about the 3rd race. I wasn't planning on running the Rock 'n' Roll race. The plan was to rest up and train for the Temecula race but plans changed. I met my expectations and goals with the first two races. The race that meant the most to me was the Temecula race...the race that I simply gave up at Mile 5. I didn't dress accordingly and allowed the wet and cold weather to get the best of me. I am happy I did run that last race. It was such a beautiful course. I've been to Temecula before but never spent time around the wineries. Next year I plan to stick with the sentimental Irvine race and the Temecula race.
Running has helped all aspects of my Life. The self therapy during long runs is by far the most satisfying. I have learned to be my own best friend and therapist during the quiet miles. I no longer run in circles. Will I ever run Back to Back to Back Races again? Hell to the NO -- Praise!
