It's Showtime!

September is over, which means tomorrow is October 1st and I get to have my bunion removed from my right foot. 

I definitely took advantage of September, spending a lot of time on my feet - 116 miles, to be exact (plus walking 1.5 days at Disneyland). 

It stacks up like this:  Running:  75 miles
                                 Walking:  41.7 miles
I also attended 11 classes at the gym.

How did I spend my last few days?

09/28 - 3.5 mile walk

Yesterday (09/29) I went to Garin and enjoyed a lovely 4.25 miles with Boomer.  I took a few pictures of my favorite spots.  I want to see how different it looks the next time I'm out there, in about six weeks.

Today (09/30) I drove up to Oakland to run at Joaquin Miller Park.  I took my time, hiked when I felt like it and took in all the sights I could.  I took a ton of pictures to upload on my computer and will look at them whenever I need a sense of serenity.  Here's a few of my favorites from today.

It's not called "Fern Trail" for nothing

And, my favorite of all: 

Keith and I had dinner tonight with Sara and Sterling, instead of going to the gym.  I am trying to get all the laundry done and put away and things in order.  I went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on everything I may need for the next week. 

I need to be at the hospital at 8:00 tomorrow morning and my surgery will begin by 9:30.  Naturally, Keith and Sara have both taken the day off to be there for me.  I plan on waking up early to have a nice walk with Boomer and then shower and wash my hair before I go.  Bummer though, I can't have anything to drink after midnight tonight - NO COFFEE!  I LOVE my coffee.  Maybe I'll have a cup when I get home.  We'll see.

So, that's it on the running front for now.

I'll keep you posted on my healing.


Until later..............

The final countdown

I had my pre-op appointment this morning.  Finally.  I had questions and concerns that I was dying to talk to him about.  I received good news and also bad news. 

Good news:  I will be sedated prior to getting FIVE injections in my foot to give me an ankle block.  I will feel no pain.  Phew. 

Bad news:  He does have to cut my toe and insert screws to straighten it out.  Bummer.  I have been looking at photos on the internet and my bunion just doesn't look as bad as some of those I've seen.  Apparently he feels differently.  :( 
Also, I thought I would be going back to work after 14 days.  Today he told me I should take six weeks off.  We compromised at 3.5 weeks.  We'll see how I'm healing at my post-op (~2 weeks) and maybe that will change. 

Now I wait for 8:00 a.m. Friday morning to arrive.

I have been doing more of the things I love, trying to keep my mind off the inevitable.

Sara and I went to Disneyland Tuesday to see it decorated for Halloween.  We had a great time.  It was colder than we expected.  I only had my sweater off for about 45 minutes the entire day we were there.

 
Friday I took Leanne to Garin for a "5 or 6 mile run" that ended up being 8.62 miles.  Oopsie!  According to Leanne, I do this every time we go out - underestimate the mileage.  She doesn't mind though, she is loving trail running.  I wanted to do the northern loop that I haven't done since Winter.  I love the single track trails over that way and as soon as we got to them, I was so happy I had chosen that route.  It's just beautiful.  We saw two coyotes so I ended up leashing Boomer in the open areas so he wouldn't be tempted to go play with them.  :-/

I am taking Thursday off to get in one more long run with Boomer.  I'm trying to decide the best place to go.  Some place that will leave me satisfied for the long recovery period that will begin the next day.  I will be sure to post Thursday night with my September totals (highest running mileage of the year!) and photos of where I chose to do my final run.

"MED2010" Accountability:
09/23 - 1.65 mile walk, "24LIFT" class
09/24 - 8.62 mile trail run
09/25 - 1.5 mile walk
09/26 - 2 mile walk
09/27 - 3.65 mile walk, Yoga

Until later.............

Coastal Trail Runs Mount Diablo Half Marathon - September 19, 2010

In case you didn't know, I don't race.  I run for fun.  If it wasn't fun, I wouldn't do it.  I will also admit that having fun company is *always* part of my success in finishing the organized runs I do. 

That being said, how lucky was I to get this company last Sunday?  That's right - RBR (Stacey) herself.  She ran a 50k a week before this run and it blistered her feet horribly.  But, being the great friend she is, she agreed to come help me along.  The fact that she had never been to Mount Diablo did make her decision a bit easier.

Along with the half marathon this day, Coastal Trail Runs was also having a four  mile, 10-mile, marathon and ultra-marathon (50k).  We all started at 8:00 am and followed along the same course for the first five miles.  The first two miles was a slight, steady incline.  We ran for a while until Stacey's shins became on fire.  We started hiking and ran when she felt well enough.  But, as luck would have it - as soon as her shins stretched out, the steep climbs started.  From mile two to the summit was 99% steep with a few yards that were runnable.  There is over 3,800 feet of climb in this "run".  We did the best we could but stopped as often as we wanted to take pictures and enjoy the views. 

You see, this run was on my "bucket list" for more than one reason.  Last year I did two organized runs on Mount Diablo.  The first one was a marathon which I absolutely LOVED!  The second one was a 25k that took me DOWN!  I really wanted to get that "loving feeling" back about Mount Diablo.  I did it!

So anyway, back to the run.

After the aid station at mile five we got to enjoy some beautiful single track trails.  Tough single track but beautiful none-the-less. 

We wound our way through to the summit.  Where it was completely socked in with fog.  Great!  Luckily on the way up we stopped quite a bit to take in the beautiful views because there was nothing to see from the top.  We asked someone to take a couple photos of us and we turned around to start our way back down to Mitchell Canyon. 

I was a bit concerned about Stacey's blisters at this point because they were on the balls of her feet and the next 6.9 miles were going to be 99% downhill.  But, as she does, she accompanied me for every step of the way back down the hill.  What took us two hours and 45 minutes to get up took us one hour and 10 minutes to get down.  We finished in 4:22 - a minute behind the first female marathon finisher.  Yes, you read that right.  But like Stacey says in her report, we're used to it.  If you question this, refer back to paragraph 1.  :)

We may be slower but I guarantee we saw a lot more than she did!!!  Here's some more pictures for you to enjoy.

Happy girls at the finish

I am just back from a two day Disneyland trip with Sara.  Walking around yesterday, my quads were KILLING me from all the downhill running.  They are feeling much better today and I will hopefully get a run in tomorrow morning before work.

"MED2010" Accountability:
09/19 - 14 mile trail run
09/20 - 2.75 mile walk
09/21 - 10 hours of walking at Disneyland
09/22 - 3 hours of walking at Downtown Disney


Until later.............

Running, running and more running!

I know people in Blogger world don't sit around and read blogs on weekends but if I don't post now then after tomorrow I will have too much for one blog post.

I'm filled up with carbohydrates from my pasta dinner last night.  I had my normal pre-race salmon and sweet potato dinner tonight.  This can only mean one thing.  Tomorrow I run a trail half-marathon!!  On Mount Diablo!  Yes, one more thing off my bucket list.

The surgery date is getting closer and closer.  As it should, right?  Less than two weeks now - 13 days to be exact.

As I told you in my previous post, I put Boomer on a diet Sunday.  I am proud to report, as of Thursday he had lost one pound.  He's now at 38 pounds.  He has three more to lose.  ;)

Last week I did a lot of fun stuff and crossed one thing off my bucket list.  I ran in the Oakland hills at Joaquin Miller Park.  I invited Leanne and she answered with a very enthusiastic "HELL YEAH!"  This girl has become addicted quite fond of trail running in the past month.  Who can blame her though.  Just look at the places I've taken her.  She said this park has been her favorite, as far as scenery goes.

This morning I got to run with Kristi at my beloved Garin.  She had a 50-60 minute fun trail run on her training schedule so she asked me to join her.  I love that she asks ME to go out with her on these runs.  She and Boomer have a nice little bond, it's fun to watch. 

It was sprinkling on our entire run.  This is Boomer's absolute favorite kind of surface to run on - soft and damp.  We rounded a corner and saw a bunch of turkeys on the road.  He took off running to clear the road for us.  Some of the turkeys took off running while others took to the sky.  Boomer kind of looks like a jack rabbit here, doesn't he?  If you enlare the picture, you can see the turkeys.

Kristi and I had to stop a few times to remove mud, yes mud, from the bottom of our shoes.  At times it felt like we were wearing high heels. 

After our run I came home and got ready for work.  My head was hurting last night when I went to bed and it was still hurting this morning.  Interesting though, I didn't notice it when I was running.  Anyway, I had to work at 9:45.  I took some Advil at about 11:00 and ate a snack at work.  At 2:30 I took my lunch break and ate some of my lunch.  My head was still pounding and it had moved into my neck and shoulders.  I was scheduled to work until 5:00 but ended up leaving work at 3:10.  I was worried it was going to turn into a migraine and I didn't have my medication with me.  I came home and slept for a good 90 minutes in our recliner with a kitty-cat on my chest.  When I woke up it was finally gone.  Thank God!  I'm sure this is just stress related. 

I did sucker talk this girl into running with me at Mount Diablo tomorrow so you know I will have good pictures and stories to tell you afterwards.  It's always so fun to suffer with her!

"MED2010" Accountability:
09/14 - Pilates, 1.5 mile walk, "24SET"
09/15 - 7 mile trail run
09/16 - Pilates, 2 mile walk, "24SET"
09/17 - 2 mile walk
09/18 - 3.75 mile trail run


Until later............

Gettin' it done

I think blogging about my not getting anything done really helped me get things done!  I am caught up on my laundry, I seem to be sleeping better, I haven't had a headache in days.  I am getting items crossed off  of my "bucket list" and it makes me quite happy.  And, it is making the time go by fast and easy leading up to my surgery.

Let's see.  We already went over the run on Angel Island, right?  Right.

Okay, then next was the 8.5 mile loop at Lake Chabot. 

I took Leanne with me.  Remember, the longest run she had ever been on was the 6 point something I took her on a bit ago in the Oakland hills.  She was hesitant to do the 8.5 miles but I told her she would have no problem with it.  Naturally, she no problem and absolutely LOVED it.

The run ended up being 8.75 miles and Leanne felt like a superstar when she finished!!  Needless to say, I was very proud of her. 

I bought the doggies their normal post-run burger at the marina and called it a day. 

I will be crossing a couple more things off the list this week.  I'm going up to Joaquin Miller Park to run in the tall, beautiful Redwood trees on the nice, soft trails and I have signed up for the Mount Diablo half marathon on the 19th.  Then next week I get to go to Disneyland for two days! 

Yup, I'm gettin' it done!!


I started Boomer on a diet yesterday.  A few people lately have said he looks like he's put on weight.  I'm not sure if it's that he turned six years old or if he is fed too many snacks.  He has always been free-fed and never has a problem over-eating the food in his bowl.  But as of yesterday, I am just giving him small amounts, morning and night.  I think the problem is that he gets a treat every time Keith or I walk in the door.  I used to just give him Charlie Bear treats but then I bought the little Milkbone treats.  Then recently I found these rawhide sticks that are wrapped in chicken.  Yeah, those might be the issue.  He does love them and I tend to give him quite a few each day.  SO, today was his second "snack-free" day.  I feel like I'm depriving him and he may think he's not being good since he's not getting treats.  I'm afraid he's going to go to bed hungry, even though there is still food in his bowl. 

I know how good I feel when I'm at a healthy weight so I just keep telling myself he will feel better when he drops a couple of pounds too.  Lord knows he gets enough exercise, so eliminating snacks will hopefully do the trick.

"MED2010" Accountability:
09/07 - Pilates, 1.25 mile walk, "24SET" class
09/08 - 8.75 mile trail run
09/09 - 2 mile walk, "24LIFT" class
09/10 - 2 mile walk, "24SET" class
09/11 - 3.25 mile trail run
09/12 - 2 mile walk
09/13 - 3 mile walk, Yoga


Until later.............

The "Bucket List"

I feel like I'm failing at so much right now.  All I can think of is my surgery and what's going to happen after it.  I'm not reading and posting comments on blogs, my laundry is piling up, my sleep is suffering, I'm not attending classes at the gym, I'm not riding my bike.  I'm having trouble concentrating.  I have a constant headache and kink in my neck. 

Gah! 

I feel like all I want to do is run or walk when I have any free time at all.  Of course running and walking isn't bad for me but it's consuming my time.  I'm probably using it as an escape. 

I have a "bucket list" of sorts - a list of things I want to do in September, prior to my surgery date of October first. 

One of the things on this list was to run on Angel Island.  I did a 50k run there in June of last year, right before I was diagnosed with arthritis in my knee and told I'd never run again.  Fooey on that, by the way!!  So, last Thursday I convinced Theresa to take the day off and join me on my little Angel Island adventure.  She and I did the 50k together last year so how perfect we should go out there together again. 

We both took BART from our hometown and met in San Francisco.  We walked a short way to the Ferry Building, bought a yummy treat and took the ferry to Angel Island.

It was a perfect day to be there.  Well, it was HOT - 83 degrees to be exact.  That's hot for San Francisco.  What I mean by perfect is there was nobody out there because it was Thursday.  I've only been there for an organized race on a weekend and it's packed with tourists.  We had the trails all to ourselves.

We stayed off the perimeter loop of the island because it is all paved.  We stuck to the inside trails which were beautiful single track, and we still had marvelous views.

Look closely, you can see the paved perimeter loop

The dirt trail we came up

At the summit!

After completing 10.25 miles, we had lunch and caught the 2:00 ferry back to San Francisco.  It was a GREAT DAY!

At 7:30 this morning I participated in the lululemon Vasona Lake 5-Mile Run put on by Coastal Trail Runs.

The lululemon van

Yes, totally not something I would *usually* sign up for but I was reeled in by the fact we were getting a lululemon tech shirt.  I'm a sucker for things like that.  I mentioned this race to Theresa a week ago and was shocked when she actually signed up.  She ran a 50k yesterday!!!  She was already signed up for that but said she would treat the run today like a "recovery run".  Yeah, right!  That didn't happen. 

Before the start

I was very happy to finish the run pain free this morning.  No knee pain, no bunion or foot pain.  I looked at this run as "just a run" so I didn't bother wearing my Garmin.  I knew there was an aid station with water at mile 2.5 so I didn't carry water.  I also ran without my camera.  I will admit, running without all that crap is a bit easier.  And I finished in a pretty good time of 50:33.  Theresa and I ran together for the first 2.5 miles.  This was the turn-around point.  She said she was going to hang around the aid station for a while.  I was feeling really good so I went ahead and took off running.  When I finished, I was very happy to see her come in 1:20 after me.  I was still trying to catch my breath and find a cup of water and here she came up the hill to the finish line. 

We gathered up our shirts and came back up to Fremont for breakfast.  After breakfast I took Boomer for a two mile walk and sorted some laundry.  By the time I sat down and decided to upload photos, it was only 11:45.  You can sure get a lot done when you start your day off early.  ;)

What else is on the bucket list?  I'm not asking for any days off from work because I am taking two weeks off after my surgery and I really don't want to inconvenience them any more than I already am.  So, getting some of the things done will depend on if I work or not.

*September 19 - Mt. Diablo 1/2 marathon
*September 25 - HERS Breast Cancer 5k with Sara
*Any time - Lake Chabot 8.5 mile loop
*Any time - Palomares/Foothill 40-mile loop on the bike
*Any time - Run in the redwoods in the Oakland hills
*September 21-22 - Disneyland with Sara (already booked)

I think there's more but I just can't remember right this moment.  Like I said, I'm having a little trouble concentrating these days.

"MED2010" Accountability:
09/02 - 10.25 mile trail run, 1.5 mile walk
09/03 - 3.25 mile walk
09/04 - 2.5 mile run
09/05 - 1.65 mile walk
09/06 - 5 mile run, 2 mile walk, 1.5 mile walk


Until later.............