See Jane Run WINNERS!

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Your comments, shares, likes, tweets and pins are in and I am happy to announce the winners of my Mother’s Day Giveaway for 3 race entries to the See Jane Run half marathon and 5K race for champagne and chocolate on June 8th, here in Alameda.

I just know the suspense is killing you but before I announce the winners, I want to explain how they were chosen… each person that left a comment was given a number on a spreadsheet- let’s say Amy was first, she got #1. Then Jane was second, left a comment and tweeted the link, so she got #2 and #3. Then Anna was third, left a comment, shared the link, liked my page AND pinned the post she got #4, 5, 6, and 7. And so on and so forth until my spreadsheet had over 70 entries total! Woo hoo!

... and a free race entry!

… and a free race entry!

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Race Recap: Nike Women’s Half Marathon, DC

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If you know me and/or if you read this blog, you know that I was honored to be chosen as a mentor for my 5th season with Team in Training and decided to fund raise for the inaugural Nike Women’s Half Marathon in Washington, DC. I raised the funds, and come April 26th, hopped on a plane from San Francisco and my next Adventure in Running began…

If you know me and/or if you read this blog, you also know I hate flying. Hate it. Last time I was on a plane was for the San Diego Rock n’ Roll marathon and that was just fine as it was short trip but SF to DC takes roughly 7-8 hours, one stopover included. Luckily, I attended a Bon Jovi concert the night before so equipped with one major hangover and 2 measly hours of sleep, I didn’t even have the energy to feel nervous and I think that may just be the key to flying for me!  Ha!

Thanks for a great time and hangover, Bon, baby! (Photo credit: BFF Amy)

Thanks for a great time and hangover, JBJ, baby! (Photo credit: BFF Amy)

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Mother’s Day Giveaway!

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This is what it's all about!

How I love my precious family- this is what it’s all about!

I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day- I had such a fantastic day relaxing and spending time with my wonderful hubby and gorgeous children. Whether you spent time with your mom or received much pampering as a mom, I hope you got to take advantage of the day and were reminded of just how special moms are, how we work to make sure the lives of our children are The Best, and how limitless our capacity for love can be.

While I love, love, love my family to bits, I also make sure to wish a Happy Day to my peer moms- the girlfriends I spent just about every day of the week with when my kids were just babies, the women who are there to reassure me when I doubt my ability as a mom, those sisters who offer lots of hugs on top of a couple hours of babysitting time with the occasional glass of wine and shoulder to cry on right when you need it most.

In 2009, I started a mommy running group and our first race together was the See Jane Run 5K and Half Marathon.  Today, to celebrate my fellow mommies, women, girlfriends, and sisters, I am giving away 3 entries to the upcoming See Jane Run race for Chocolate and Champagne here in the Bay Area! Read on to find out how to enter… Continue reading →

Race Recap: Santa Cruz Half Marathon

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Yes, I realize that this race was 4 weeks ago. I also ran the inaugural Nike DC half marathon since then and am really anxious to write that one up as it was so, so, SO much fun but my brain won’t let me do things out-of-order (I’m weird like that) so, without further ado… I FINALLY give you my version of the Santa Cruz half marathon!

Bright and early on Sunday, April 7th, I drove easily to Santa Cruz and parked in the lot across from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk just as easily. Grabbed my bib and waited in line for the porta potty. BFF Andrea warned that there weren’t enough porta potties at race start and I really should have listened to her and gotten there a tad bit earlier because the race began and I was barely able to escape the potty in time- thank goodness for timing chips!  Continue reading →

More For Boston

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Vigil at Snow Park in honor of the Boston Marathon (photo credit: See Jane Run)

Oakland’s candlelight vigil in honor of the Boston Marathon (photo credit: See Jane Run)

Last Thursday, I attended a 3 mile run (1 mile for each victim) followed by a candlelight vigil in honor of the Boston Marathon. The event was organized by See Jane Run and it was fantastic- we ran the streets of Oakland with police escorts, gave several moments of silence for all the victims within the supportive arms of our running community and found a bit of comfort therein. We brought awareness to our city and showed that we won’t be stopped- I felt so honored running through my hometown, people clapping as we ran by saying, “God bless you, runners, go Boston!”  It was moving, it was emotional and it was healing…

PLUS, yours truly got interviewed for the local news that night- click on this pic to catch the brief news segment… I said lots of deep and profound things about how the events in Boston have effected our tribe as a whole but they only used these 5 seconds- I’ll take it!

Click here to see the news clip- I'm at 1:20 :) (photo courtesy BFF Amy)

Click here to see the news clip- I’m at 1:20 (photo credit: BFF Amy)

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Today’s Reason: Boston

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As soon as I woke up on Monday morning, I started up my lap top, placed it on the stove in my kitchen, and began making my kids their school lunches while I watched the Boston Marathon. The elites were about an hour and a half in and on their way to victory, I was cheering on Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan and explaining to my children the importance of Boston and how much the event means to all running kind.

Just hours later, friends began texting me about the explosions at the finish line and I just couldn’t believe it… came home, turned on the TV and there it was, the horrifying images of this unbelievable tragedy… my heart broke and the tears came.

I haven’t really been able to find the words to describe how I feel- as a runner, marathoner, spectator, and American. But today, I will try my best… Continue reading →

Full of Half Excuses

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On Sunday I ran the Santa Cruz half marathon and even though this was my 11th half, YET AGAIN things didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I plan to write a recap for that race, of course, but I just wanted to vent a bit before that as it occured to me that I haven’t had a really great half marathon race experience since NWM in October 2012, and before that, Kaiser in February 2012.

Is it me or is it the half marathon??? I’m thinking a lot from column A, and a little bit from Column B. The half itself, I cannot control- 13.1 is what it is, the course and weather I am, unfortunatley, completely powerless over. Strength of mind, on the other hand, is what has earned me at least those 2 successful halfs and with yet another half in 3 weeks, I must find a way to keep running happy despite what Mother Nature and/or the race organizers throw my way.

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