Running Code 3

The countdown to CIM continues and you know what?  I’m still not worried.  This could be bad because I’m not sure it’s because I’m not worried or if I really don’t give a flying effff … err … flip!  I’m sure it’s because I really don’t give a crap about this stupid marathon.  It’s the wrong attitude, I know.  I know … I’m registered to run it.  I am already confirmed “IN.” So … in the interest of NOT DNF’ing … I will run it.  And in the interest of getting through it, I will change my piss poor attitude and become my own catalyst.  What am I talking about?  I means that I will be my own flame and fuel, and I will be driven by my own determination and persistence.  If you know me, then you know how tenacious I am and can be.  I will set my own self on FIRE!!!

Why?  Why am I so unmotivated and not excited to run this marathon?  This will be marathon number 4 for me.  I know what it takes to run the distance and I respect everything about it.  26.2 miles of running.  What the eff?  I know that I let myself be influenced by my friends, and I, in turn, asked others to run with me … It is because of this fact that I will run.  The fact that I feel “obligated” to run with my friends that I asked to run with me.  That and I’m not into seeing DNF or DNS by my name.  That is NOT me.  No, that is NOT me.  It’s okay.  I know that I will run with heart and that I WILL finish.  I know because that IS the me that I know.  I have lots of fuel.  LOTS of fuel!  That being said … Let’s go!  BRING IT!

Sunday:  Muddy Buddy San Jose!  Yeah!  I love this event.  7 miles of smiles – biking and running!  Yeah!  So much fun!  This is year 6 for me doing this event!  It’s year 4 of me and Rosa as partners, but it’s our first year with a team name that will stick throughout the years!  Team Nucking Futs!  Yep, don’t mix the letters up.

Once we got to San Jose, Claudia and I met Felisa at REI to pick up our packets and our shirts, and what other little things we needed – Gu, etc.  Felisa and her family was kind enough to take us to dinner at Bupa di Beppo where we carb loaded on yummy garlic bread and all kinds of yummy miscellaneous pasta dishes!

I was fortunate enough to be invited to stay with my friend, Felisa, who was partners with Claudia.  Felisa ended up staying with her husband who had gotten his own room, so Claudia and I had a room all to ourselves!  It was a great room at the San Jose Convention Center Plaza!  Claudia picked that room purely on the fact that they had “cool chandeliers,” so she says.  Lights out was at 2030!  Yep.  She laughed at me because I slept with the bathroom light on.  I’m a day sleeper okay?  I sleep in the light!  Hello?

We started our day at 0530!  We hit up Starbucks where we got these great Artesian breakfast sandwiches that Claudia introduced me too, and our coffeeeee! Yum!  The drive up to Mount Hamilton was beautiful, albeit on a VERY narrow, two lane road.  I was still sad that my hubby wasn’t going to be there, but when I looked on my Squawk I had seen that he was on his way!?!  What?  Really?  That totally made my day!  My hubby has only missed a few races (no more than 3) of mine in all these years.  I like having him there supporting me, so to see that he was coming to be with me was a HUGE BONUS!!!

It was a really nice day in San Jose!  The weather was perfect.  Claudia and I had a few issues with putting the tires back on our bikes.  We had a little panic attack as Claudia couldn’t figure out how to get her disc brakes open.  They were shut tight.  We asked maybe 6 different men, 2 straight up admitted that they didn’t know, while the other 4 tried to help us, but they really had no clue.  They tried though.  They were able to help me with mine which was a big help.  I knew how to do it, but I had to make sure … Who knew that there was a certain way that the tread went?  Felisa found us quickly and noticed Claudia’s panicked face.  We explained the situation to Joe who quickly assessed Claud’s bike and fixed the problem in less than 30 seconds!  Wow!!!  Claud’s mood quickly changed and we were all happy girls once again.

The event booths were just a short walk from our parking spot.  My buddy, Rosa, and her beautiful daughter, Ari, found us quickly and we got our bikes and selves “decorated.”  We got our numbers on, Felisa and Joe got brooms for our bike, and we had these really cool dri-fit shirts that I had our team name put on.  I finally found Chris and Grace prior to the start.  It was great to see them.  They were with Michael and Fern and their family.

The course had been the same every year.  We start the bikers start first then the runners.  I’m not sure whose idea it was to let our group (76-85) go last, but there we were … Wave 11 … the very LAST wave to go.  We start going uphill … No, really … UP a HUGE freakin’ MOUNTAIN!  1.2 miles.  It was almost impossible to navigate my bike because so many women stopped and got in my way!  Really?  Move the eff over!!!  It took some time to navigate through the sea of women walking their bikes up the mountain!  Finally at the halfway point, I was able to get back on my bike and ride!  Obstacle one was done, and I took off running, while Rosie took off on the bike!

It went on like this, leap-frogging and doing an obstacle course, for the next 4 more times.  I love the bike ride for my second biking leg as it’s ALL downhill and it’s an exhillarating ride down, all the time screaming for the runners to move to their right!  LOL!  I skipped the slide obstacle … for one, the line was long, and secondly, I have NEVER liked the slide … EVER!  My workout buddy, Becky, found me on my second run, and she thunked me on my shoulder.  I wanted her to run with me … and she did for a little while as I yelled, “Becky, where you at?” the entire time.  I encouraged every biker and runner that I passed or passed me.  It was a good time!

I got to the finish line at sub 60.  My goal was 49 minutes this year, but I was slightly off.  It’s okay.  It was FUN!  Rosie was slightly peeved that we didn’t make better time, but I told her that we really didn’t train at all!

Post race fun was had at Hot Pot in Milpitas.  We had a good time!  We met up with Felisa, Fern, Michael, Joe and their families and just had an all out great time trying to figure out how to cook our food.  I am very thankful for Felisa and Fern picking up the tab for my family and I.

Muddy Buddy 2011 in the bag.  Great fun.  Great atmosphere.  And a GREAT support crew this year!  I loved it!

Monday:  I’m not sure what I did to my left shoulder … Well … I know what I did – I injured it some how during the dumbbell thrusters last Thursday, and tweaked it a little while on the bike yesterday at Muddy Buddy.  My range of motion to my left arm and shoulder is pretty shot … I can only lift it 45 degrees laterally.  After that it’s painful.  I’ve had my husband massage it. I’ve rubbed analgesic/medicated ointment on it.  I’ve tried to keep moving it and rehabbing it myself.  By the end of the night I was able to move it more, to maybe 75 degrees, but it was still painful.  So … I made Monday a rest day.  I did go and get a flu shot and called for a deep tissue massage appointment.  I’m not worried about my arm.  I know that it’s more muscle than anything else.

Tuesday:  My left arm is better but it’s still painful to move it up and down laterally.  My plan for today is to do cardio, no weights, and to hit the Chiropractor.  Chris did massage it early in the morning which helped, but it was only 75%.  I whined about missing my workout but there was NO way I would be able to lift any weight.

I went to lunch with my girlfriend, Linda, then waited for my kiddos to get home from school so we could hit the Chiro.

Dr. Crawford adjusted me from head to toe and got my left shoulder to about 80%.  It still hurts, but I can move it more freely laterally.

As far as cardio goes … I hit the spin bike for a good hour and twenty minutes as I watched Biggest Loser.  I love Biggest Loser.

Wednesday:  I only went to go workout because my husband was tired of me “whining” about how I wasn’t working out.  So … he sent me out the door and into the doors of the box where I was greeted with a hearty, “Row.!  Where the hell have you been, girl?”  Alrighty then … Time to get started.

The Warm Up:
Run 800m
10 Catterpillars
10 Leg Swings Each Side
10 Squats

Strength:
Cleans to Over head Squats
We practiced the move until we got it down, then added weight and then did the move until perfected.

The Workout:
30-20-10
Pull-Ups
Burpees
Ground To Over head with the dumbbells.

It was an awesome workout and I really would have liked it better had my left shoulder not hurt so dang much. My trainer showed me some great stretches for it though and it really helped.

Thursday:  It’s my birthday!  Good excuse to skip out, right?  Uh huh!  No way!  I know that this may be my last workout for the week so I had to go.  But first … Gotta take care of business.  DEEP.  TISSUE.  MASSAGE!!!  Oh yeah!  I love my maseusse!  She is awesome!  She applies DEEP pressure how I like it!  I mean DEEP.  She hit my left shoulder with a vengence and attempted to work out that nasty kink that I have in my scapula.  I can feel it!  It’s there!  It felt much better after Marie worked on it, but my range of motion is still limited.

My workout … Oh yeah.  It was awesome!  AWESOME!  I drug Noah with me and off we went.  Chris thought he could get away with “hiding” in car … no way!  Our trainer spotted him and called him out! Our workout (mine and Noah’s) went something like this:

The Warm Up:
3X
Run 200m
10 Roll Up/Roll Jump Up/Roll Up Piston Jump
10 Toe Touch Jumping Jacks

The Work Out:
2 Minute Drills
– Max Double Unders (48 I could’ve done more but this hurt my shoulder to spin the rope)
– Max HSPU/Hold (1:05)
– Max Ab Mat Sit Ups (78)
– Max Push Ups (42 – I could’ve done more, but my shoulder)

The “Special” Workout – “The 43s”
43 Wall Ball Squats
43 KB Swings
43 Burpees
43 Broad Jumps
43 Cal Row …

OMG!!! I worked out with a bunch of kids today, My Noah included. They all whined, and all I could say was that I was an old lady, old enough to be their mother … so Suck it Up and do the work!!! We all laughed. It was a great day! =) Happy Birthday to Meeeee!!!

Friday:  I got no real data for you.  All I did today was rest and stretch.  I’ve been blah since getting my flu shot and I just feel as if I got my butt kicked.  Whoa!  It’s something else, but I probably need to rest and just get my mental game in order.

Saturday:  I am not 100%.  I am uber distracted with all this NWM buisness and everything that needs to be done in order to leave for SF today.  Our Party Bus broke down yesterday.  As Chris frantically worked to get it in working order, I can tell you that things went from bad … to badder … then better … then worse!  It took a massive dump.  I felt really bad for Chris because he had worked so hard to try and get it in working order, but it was not to be.  I called Cory to let her know that we were running late and why.  As we scrambled to come up with a Plan B – searching for rental cars, etc., Plan B kind of fell into our lap with Cory calling us to say she would drive.  Thank you, Jesus!  Within an hour, we were on our way to SF with Cory at the wheel!  Wheeeeee!

We were fortunate to find a safe parking garage quickly that was close to our hotel, and we hit the NWM Expotique (“expotique” because it’s sooooooo freakin’ small and soooooo freakin’ crowded).  We had a *tiny* SNAFU attempting to pick up one of the bibs, but we were able to quickly rectify it and get Linda’s bib from Kris!  Thank God!  Cory and I were feeling sooooo claustrophobic that we got our bibs, didn’t stay for anything in the expo, took a few pics, and hightailed it over to NikeTown!  We experienced more claustrophobia while in NikeTown and while at the Wall of Names.  We just got what we wanted and left … It was turning out to be a little bit crazy.  We trekked it back to the garage, got our stuff, and headed to check into the hotel.

So … all in all … maybe a mile and a half of walking total.  LOL!  That’s the mileage that I have for you for today.

We met Linda and Shiloh for dinner at Ti Piacera on Polk Street to carb load.  While there we called Judy to see if she was coming because she said that she was, but it turned out that although she picked up her packet, she said that she would meet us in the morning.  We kinda knew what would happen next, but that’s not my story to tell.  We had a great dinner, then I was surprised with a HUGE box of cupcakes from Shiloh for my birthday!  Fun times!

We had a good day … But I was physically and mentally exhausted.  I was not running on all cylinders and felt way less than 90%.  I was able to fall asleep pretty quick … but you know how that goes pre race … (To be continued …)

So … that’s my Week 15 recap.  Decent and fun, but my midweek could have been sooooo much better had I just sucked it up and done the work.  Instead, I felt very out of sorts.  Seriously, for my husband to “have to” shooo me out the door to go workout is pretty pathetic.  I’m not sure if it was the flu shot that I received, or if I was just “blah.”  Probably a combination of the flu shot, lack of sleep, and over-training.  I know that’s what it is.  Eh … excuses, excuses.  I have so many.  I could blame this, or say it was that … but seriously, it is what is is and that’s all.

NWM is an awesome race that raises funds and awareness for blood cancers.  I am fortunate enough to be running it again this year.  I am thankful that with the help of my friends, I was able to raise $1,000 on my own for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society!  I am so happy and proud of my friends.  They are so awesome in supporting me as I run in honor of my father!  I miss my Dad and I know that he will be with me as I run NWM.  Again … Thank you to all of my supporters!!!

So … as Week 16 lurks around the corner … I remind you that I have a lot of fuel, and that I also know the number to my local fire department … 9-1-1!!!  I am thankful to have survived another year, to have had a birthday so I could eat cake and ice cream and then cupcakes!  I am thankful to have had the opportunity to run NWM again.  And I’m thankful for my family and friends … especially my husband who works so hard to keep me crazy happy!  He is my rock, solid and strong!  Thanks, HPP, you’re my favorite.

If you see me out there “lagging,” I give you permission to find some fuel and throw a match on me to help me keep myself on FIRE.  I also give you permission to help me put some of the fire out if my hair happens to be on fire.  Okay … Go … Go get your training on.  Train hard.  Train smart.  Have fun!  See you next week!