Category Archives: fitness

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 →

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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Friday Favorites: Races

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My first race ever was in April 2009 and to date, I have run close to 50 different races- wow, that seems like a lot to me! I don’t like to repeat race courses and I really want to try them all (at least all the ones here in northern California) yet there are a couple that I will keep coming back to because they are so well organized and just plain fun- well, as much “fun” as one can have endurance running. Here are my 5 favorite races of all time… so far… Continue reading →

Race Recap: Oakland Half Marathon

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I know, I know, I am THE WORST blogger ever as it’s been over a month since I’ve posted. In my defense, life has been crazy/stressful/frustrating as of late and it is very difficult for me be creative/funny/insightful when I’m pissed at the whole world. More on that topic soon…

Well, all that negativity took me down and 3 days before the Oakland Running Festival’s half marathon, I got sick. Super sick. Head and chest cold, general malaise, constant fatigue and absolutely zero energy.  All my training leading up to this half- my tenth- had been successful. I had been doing everything right, I’ve been eating well, added in 2 hours of strength training each week, rotated hill work with speed work, hit all of my long runs 30-60 seconds slower than race pace and had my mind completely and totally set on a PR.

Until I got sick, that is.

I’ve learned over and over from my TNT coaches not to let ego overrule good judgement, I therefore knew that running with a chest cold wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do but, of course, I was going to do it anyway and anticipated that it would slow me down. And, of course, it did. Continue reading →

Guardsmen “Training” Run

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The Guardsmen is a non-profit, volunteer based group of Bay Area men that work together to assist and improve the lives of at-risk/inner-city youth through educational and outdoor activities. I found out about The Guardsmen last year when I ran their Presidio 10 fundraising race- it was, and is, one of my most favorite races to date! So when I caught their Free Training Run event on Facebook, I signed right up and anticipated a mellow 10 miler.

Yesterday morning, Andrea and I drove out to the Inn at the Presidio in San Francisco to run with The Guardsmen.  I’m not sure what those Guardsmen are training for but I haven’t run a course this difficult in… hmmmm… NEVER! Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: Places I Run

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My favorite running views!

2 blog posts in 2 days?!?!?!  I know, it’s a miracle!  Well, today is the the 3rd day in a row I’ve been stuck at home with my sick daughter- poor little thing! So, I figure, now is a great time to write more about my favorite topic in an effort to get a break from The Fresh Beat Band that my daughter seems to want to watch incessantly.

It’s Friday- YAY- and of course I am already thinking about where I want to log my 10-12 miles this weekend. There are so many awesome places to run here in the San Francisco Bay Area, here are just a few of my favorites… Continue reading →