Canadian Runner in Exile

It's been a while......

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sat, 22 Nov 2014 21:57:00 +0000

I am still here.
It's been months since my last post.
A whole summer has passed and almost all of this fall also.

Life got hard for a minute.
We went through difficult months as a family.
Running was not at the top of the list and time for it was well...hard to find.
I did what I could but it was never enough.
I lost my balance trying to keep the one of my 2 boys intact.
I succeeded in doing that and that is my job as their mom.

I now have a job.
Its part time but it is every day and it is during the time I used to have to run.

I have done a few races since my last post, most of them were with the kids.

I have lost a lot of fitness since June. It is difficult to face starting over.
Starting over is hard.
Starting over when you are 45 years old is REALLY hard.

Right now every run hurts, every steps is painful.
I don't enjoy any of my runs because I know where I was and what I could do and now well I suck. Big time.
But.
I refuse to give it all up.

The proof is a signed up for a half marathon that is in June.

DNS.....

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Wed, 28 May 2014 08:58:00 +0000

DNS

Not a runner favorite 3 letters put together.

It's happening this weekend for me.

No RnR San Diego. I had to pull out.

I am not injured. I am not trained but that is not the reason for the DNS.

Reason : husband crazy job schedule.

He is once again in a crappy overworked situation working an average of 16 hrs per day and getting paid for half of these:(

The last few months have been difficult.

I have been doing everything alone...house, kids, puppy...working...

Time for me and for running has been limited. It is not a priority and I have to sacrifice for now.

I am grateful he does have a job yes...of course...but we have zero quality of family life.

We are both exhausted and stressed out. So time to look for a better situation, much easier to look for another job while having one.

I feel lost without running. No balance and pretty frustrated. That DNS is hard to take.

I won't be in the best of mood come Sunday I know that for sure.

So now I am not training for anything. It's weird. I don't like it. I run when I can even if it's just 3 miles. I take all the miles I can get in.

I will go in summer racing mode: 5 and 10k only. The 5k with the kids and the 10k for me.

Hopefully things will get better at home over the summer and we will have some "normal" back in our lives soon.

School has been out for a week now.

I could not be more proud of my two sons.

They both had excellent school year again.

My older son had a really hard and demanding year..way too much work and a very strict teacher..it was hard...and he got straight As all 3 trimesters, one of only 3 kids in his class who achieved that out of 34 kids. I am amazed and relieved that he still loves school :). Both my kids were very sad on the last day of school....they both love school and that makes me so happy and hopeful for their future.

End of school means no working for me until at least August 4th. I am not sure what will happen with work...I am hoping that I will continue to work at the school, I really like it a lot. I was sad to see the 6th graders leave...some of them are really great interesting cool kids.

Because of Bill's work situation we cannot go back to visit my family this year....2 years in a row of not going back..that is not easy... We have decided to stay in California and take a short vacation next week. The days were approved for Bill so we are going to San Francisco and Yosemite for 5 days. Road trip! I am looking forward to just be together and making new happy memories. I have been to SF only once and it was 14 years ago and I have never been to Yosemite so it will be great.

The boys are vey excited, Will learned all about the gold rush so he is looking forward to this trip!

I read blogs still....I am there even if I don't comment much....still following your adventures and your steps ....

Thanks for sticking around and for reading...

What are your summer plans?

Cheers!

OC Half Marathon Race Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Tue, 06 May 2014 06:08:00 +0000

I ran the OC half marathon Sunday morning.

It was my third time running this race.

This year was the 10th anniversary of the race.

I was so not prepared for a half marathon...the training has been mediocre at best.

I went to the Expo Saturday with the whole family.

Nothing special to report about the Expo...same old same old....

I think that this year shirt is really ugly. The colors are aweful and for a blonde well it is the worst ..

Cantaloupe and very light green

We made a stop at the NUUN booth to say hello. Lots of people were trying the new NUUN ENERGY. Have you tried it ?

The kids and my husband were supposed to come and support me like they always do but with a 6:15 am start and the guarantee that this would be a slow time I thought it'd be selfish of me to let them come.

I got maybe 4 hrs of sleep....we are dealing with a barking dog right now....not fun....very frustrating...I can tolerate the puppy biting and jumping..but barking no.

So anyway I got up at 3:45 am and went to Newport alone. This is a point to point course so we needed to take a shuttle to get to the start. I got there just in time. Got to the starting line and waited 30 min for porta potty...the race started I was still in line.....I ended up not going....it was so nasty..I could not get in.

I jumped in my coral and we were off.

I felt ok for the first 6 miles. Because I was not trained for this and I did not want to spend the summer at PT like I did last summer I decided to do run/walk right from the start 2:1. I skipped the walking part on the downhill sections and I did not run any of the uphill parts.

Beautiful parts do the course

At mile 7 I felt sharp pain in my knee and I knew that walking was the smartest choice so I did that for most of the rest of the race. It sucks but I kept telling myself that it's better that than go back to being injured. I also kept telling myself "there's no barking here, enjoy this moment" :)

I knew I would see one of my hood to coast teammate at mile 11.5 and I focused on that "just get to Sarah". Eventually I saw this:

I tried to think of the last time I ran 10 miles.....way too long ago obviously.

The course is mean to the runners....yes MEAN....

At mile 11 comes the longest hill of the course.....yikes.....

I knew it was coming I just did not remember how long it was...at the top I starred to run because well I do have some pride and I was. to going to walk pass Sarah...no no.

Mile 11.5 no Sarah.....I thought I had missed her and she left her cheering spot.

I kept running and soon I saw her....was nice to see someone I knew. :)

I find it hard mentally to not have my family there...knowing I will see them at certain mile markers helps.

So I finished. I did better than last year but still very crappy.

It's ok.

I got this nice bling

I am happy that I did it. I almost talked myself into a DNS. I would have regreted not going I know it.

So it's still necessary to train for a half marathon because well it is not easy.

I need to figure out a way to move up on the priority list in my family because right now this is the order

Kids

Husband

Dog

Cleaning, cooking

Caroline

My next race is the RnR San Diego half marathon June 1st.

I need to train a lot better.

I have about 2 more weeks of working and then it's summer vacation.

We cannot take a long trip this year so we will go on a road trip: San Francisco and Yosemite!

Kids 4 kids run race recap

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Thu, 01 May 2014 07:06:00 +0000

Last weekend I ran another 5k with my kids.

We ran the Kids 4 kids run that benefits cancer researchi.

This race is in Los Angeles, at LA Live where Staples Center is. ( GO KINGS!)

Start of the race is pretty late at 8:30 am..for a 5k that is ok only if it's not too hot.

Race offered free parking and that is pretty good for an event at LA LIVE.

They also offer race day packet pick up.

Website for the race could use some improvement...information about road closure would have been helpful. We were not late so that was good. Here's something that was not good: being pre-registered, being on time and getting 4 adults XL shirts! That is way too big for me ..imagine for my kids! I was not happy with that at all. Normally I don't complain for shirt size but this was ridiculous. The person handing out bibs and shirts said "sorry that's all we have!" I get that it's not her fault so I did to get mad at her of course but I did tell her that I thought this was not OK and asked to speak to someone because well we paid and we filled out the forms with the sizes and the boys should not end up with adult XL. I found someone and explained my problem, she was holding a kids shirt in her hands and gave that one to me...and some super nice lady heard what I said and had gone on the hunt for a kid shirt returned with another one ! This was the 9th year that they have this race, you'd think they would have the shirt situation under control after that many years.

Anyway the race was fun. Several families were running, it was great to see so many kids on the course. The course is out snd back...going slightly downhill on the way out and up to finish. We were chasing the kids' PR and they crushed their previous time by almost 2 minutes!

I am very proud of them.

They improved a lot and with no training....I know they can do even better.

Will near the finish line...he finished ahead of Jonathan this time.

Jonathan was about 12 sec behind

At the finish line they had several activities set up for the kids but we needed to buy tickets for these and I never carry any cash on me during a race so we did not stay. Another info that could be added to the race website.:)

Next up is supposed to be the OC half marathon this weekend.

I am not ready.

Completely out of shape.

Long run was skipped again last weekend. Saturday I coached the track team at the track meet all day and I was very tired at the end of that day so I did not run 10 miles like I should have and Sunday was race day and homework.

So my longest run leading up to the OC half is 8 miles.

That is not enough.

That is making me very worried.

I don't know what to do.

Switch to the 5K? Run and mostly walk the half? Get a DNS... I really don't want to do that....

I have just a couple days to decide.....

Track team!

Santa Anita derby 5K race

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 06:33:00 +0000

Last weekend I ran the Santa Anita Derby 5K with my kids.

It is my new favorite 5K!

I loved this course! Beautiful views and we got to run on the actual race track, in the sand. Very cool!

Race was super organized, free parking and right on time.

We had great weather this time.

The kids are still on a 2:1 ratio so I did that with them. They got a PR! Not huge but still their best time!

Here they are before the race sipping some Watermelon NUUN.

At the start we went through the real derby race gate

This is an easy and really fun course. We saw the house from "fantasy island" if you are old like me you"ll remember that show:)

Here running on the race track

Getting to the end

This is my new favorite race picture

We had a blast.

I think the kids can do better than this.

Run faster the running parts.

This was the 20th year that the race was held. The medal is really nice, medal/bottle opener/key chain

Kids if front of Seabiscuit statue

They had a really impressive quantity and quality of snacks for the runners after the race, all this for each of us plus fruit and water oh and 2 beers!

So we will be back for this one for sure.

Training this past week has been awful

I got up early just once. Major fail on this plan.

Allergies kicked my behind..we had some really hot days and that made things worst. My husband's work schedule is once again out of control so I am on my own for everyhting and by Thursday I ran out of gas. :( Ran a 6 miler and a short 3 miles over the weekend, both on the treadmill because I was alone with the kids. So my training for the OC half marathon is not going well at all. Here's to hoping for better numbers this week!

Need days of 28 hrs

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 15:09:00 +0000

4 extra hours per day

That is not too much to ask right

I need them

I have zero time to run

I am so frustrated these days it's not even funny

Yes yes I am complaining like a 1st grade girl ( in my experience the ones who complains and whine the most)

I am single parent mode again.

I am still working every day.

The amount of work in 4th class keeps pilling

One night this week homework was to write a 5 paragraph text, answers 6-7 development questions on a chapter from Charlotte's web book, write a summary of Charlotte's web chapter, geography, study vocabulary test, finish math, reading log and oh yes we still have the mission project to complete in the middle of this.

Plus well there is this little one in the middle

She needs to be walked 2-3 times a day

She is cute and we love her but right now she is taking my running time away

I could run after 9 PM... Maybe....but I am afraid Ruby would bark and wake the kids up

Nobody is home to keep her quiet at that time.

So I have ran a big 6 miles so far this week.

I could get up at 5

I should get up at 5

I stay up late to prevent Ruby needing to go outside in the middle of the night

Right now I take her put at 11 pm and she goes until 6:45 am

I could get up at 5.....

I should get up at 5

Next week same thing again

I will need to get up at 5

Ok.

That is the goal.

Tomorrow race day

5k with the kids.

Have a good weekend everybody

Thanks for reading

Updates on stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 00:35:00 +0000

I have not been the best blogger once again.

I am chasing time.

So updates on life in my corner of the globe...

Let's start with a big one.

We now have one puppy.

If you are my Facebook friend you know about all of this already.

We made the difficult decision to find a good home for Duke and keep Ruby with us.

We talked to two different dog trainers who came to our home to see the dogs. We needed help because they were fighting a lot, not playing rough, fighting. It got pretty bad. They also starrtd to develop littermate syndrome. They were not interacting with any of us and they were fighting a lot. Nasty fights. We were told that we would have to raise them separately. Walk them separately, feed them seperatly, have them sleep in different rooms, going to the park with just one at the time..everything separate. I wish we would have known all this before adopting two puppies. I felt so guilty and sad. We decided to do the best thig for both dogs and for our family. Duke is now with a good family and Ruby is very happy. The change was instant.

This happened a few weeks ago and I now know we did the right thing.

I have worked a lot lately. I worked every day the week before spring break and I will work every day next week also. I love this job and being with the kids every day. I wish it was a permanent position instead of being a sub. Getting to know so many kids at the school makes me appreciate mine a lot more. :) There are not perfect that's for sure but I think they are on the right track. I feel sad for some kids at the school who clearly need help and also just attention...someone to listen to them.

Working every days means less free time and less time for running. I try to get up an hour before the kids and run on the treadmill before starting the day. I have not done as much as I would like. I have had health problems...still need to figure some stuff out for that and I am hoping its nothing serious. I don't think it is.

March Madness.... Oh boy......well my bracket is bleeding....

Duke lost in the first round... Depressing....watched that yesterday while running 6 miles on the treadmill... :(

We have discovered the rainbow loom.

We is me and my kids.

We have made all kinds of stuff this week during spring break.

It's really fun!

This might be my favorite: Our school is deer canyon and the colors are blue and yellow and we are the eagles so we made these

We went to see the Kings play on St Patricks day. They lost but it was a great game.

Everyone got a special green LA Kings hat.

J Quick: the kids' favorite! He is pretty awesome!

Coaster 5k - Knotts Berry Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 22:28:00 +0000

Oh I have been a bad blogger.

We had a tough couple of weeks over here..

I feel like my family went through a storm and now the calm is back.

Last weekend I ran the Coaster 5K race at Knotts Berry Farm with my boys.

I thought this would be fun for the kids. We had never been there before.

The only little problem was that last week we got 2 huge rain storms where I live and well race morning came and the rain was not over.

We decided to go to the race because when we got up it was not raining. All the way driving there also no rain. We got there with zero minute to spare. I have never late to a race before and in my book we were late. We had to run to get the bibs and while I was standing in line to get bibs and time chips....it started to rain pretty hard. Darn it.

We had left out rain coats in the car and had no time to go back.

My kids were awesome, they did not complain once.

I gave them the choice to back out and they both said no way.

We were late at the start and ended up starting in a different coral further behind.

No big deal...except that we had to pass a bunch of walkers...

It poured the whole race. Of course.

The course is all in the park and that is fun.

It would have been a lot more fun if we were not soaking wet.

I would like to do this one again.

They offer a 5k and a 10k.

T-shirt and medal for everyone AND a piece of the best pie I have ever tasted. I am not supposed to eat pie but I had to have a bite!

The boys did great considering the conditions. They would have PR without this crazy weather and without having to pass all the walkers in the beginning. They ended up short a few seconds. Next time we will get it:)

Check out my son's perfect form compare to my heel striking...:)

Next race with the kids is April 27 in Los Angeles at Staple Center : Kids 4 Kids. Race to raise money for kids who have cancer.

Warning:

Parental bragging section

Yesterday was award day at the school!

2nd trimester awards!

I am so proud of both my sons.

William (4th grade) received Math Champ award, Master reader award (highest reading award) and the Principal's Honor Roll. That one is huge: straight As and also good behavior. In Will's crazy hard class that is so so hard to get.

Only 4 kids got this out of 34 in his class. I think more kids in his class would have received this award if they were in one of the two other 4th grade classes. All I can say is I am proud of Will for getting this 2 trimester in a row and hmmm ONE MORE TO GO. We can do this...... Right?!

Here he is with his BFF...she is a doll, they have been in the same class for 4 yrs now. (They are the exact same age:))

And my Jonathan did great also!

Math Champ and master reader like his brother!!

(No honor or principal honor roll in 2nd grade)

A good reason to skip a long run

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 20:49:00 +0000

Well being sick is usually the only reason I would skip a long run on a Sunday am.

This week I am skipping it because of 2 really good reasons.

Presenting Ruby and Duke Eakle

They arrivent yesterday.

I ran a quick one in the morning before going to get them and I have been on potty training mode ever since.

They are doing pretty good. 3 accidents total in 24 hrs plus...that is. to bad. Zero #2 accident. That is A+ in my book. They slept 7 hours last night. No crying.

We are using a crate, we have 2 but they slept in the same one last night. Not sure if it is good to do that. Open to ANY advices you have if you have 2 dogs.

They are super soft and cute. Ruby is more playful. Duke has a better appetite. She is ok with leash and he hates it.

They sleep like this

Yes it is a lot of work....today is crazy because I am home alone with them and with my boys who are not always helping the "working" part...potty training...letting them rest when they are tired....it is just like having newborns!!! But we could not be happier to have them home.

Wonder how the running will go this week. I think on the treadmill while they sleep will be the way to go. I don't want to leave them alone for too long this week. They will have their first home alone big test on Friday night when we go to a hockey game......

So if you have any advices for me...please comment!!!

Today...best day of the Olympic Games!!!!!!

Oh Canada!!!!! I mean come on!!! How great was this game!!!

That pacing thing and NUUN discount code!

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 19:13:00 +0000

Let's start with the good stuff! I got a NUUN discount code for you my friends!

CODE: FEB14NUUNLOVE

DISCOUNT: 20% off

GOOD THRU: Friday, February 28th

Also right now you can get free shipping on your NUUN orders!

Free shipping now until February 21st.

Now THAT is a pretty sweet deal all together!

Shop Now right HERE!!!

I have been spending my early Wednesday mornings helping coaching the track team at my kids' school. I am in charge of the running section....and the concept of PACING is not one that is easy to teach kids aged 9-12. They all have 2 speed: Too fast followed shortly by walking. To be fair a rare few are fast and don't crash before the second lap but the majority just go out way to fast and crash before the end of the first lap. Now one lap is only 0.25 mile! I am trying to explain to them the idea of pacing and how they could benefit from it..starting slower and finishing strong but they struggle with the starting slow part. To force them to start slower I don't allow them to pass me during the first lap and most of them are not happy with this rule. Today I decided to test them and let them go. Oh that was a huge disaster...most of them crashed before reaching the half way point of the first lap. I got a few kids who also like cutting corners....trying to teach them that cheating is not going to do them any good in the long run for everything in their lives. Work in progress. If I get through 5 kids that will be a success!

My running has been ok....until today. I was awaken with sharp pain in my darn knee. I have no idea where it was coming from I got up and put weight on my leg and felt the pain. I ran with the kids and it was ok but I decided to not push it and not complete the mileage after track practice like I usually do. Here's to hoping it will do the trick!

Puppy news...

Well it is actually Puppies news

Meet Ruby AND her brother Duke!

That's right 2 puppies are coming home!

We adopted a boy also!

Last week I got an email from the breeder with an update on Ruby and I asked if they had found families for all the puppies. She told me they still had 3 males. I asked if one of them was more laid back and she said yes and sent me his picture....that was enough for me...

All I needed is to convince Bill.

It was actually pretty easy. His main concern was and is what to do when we go on vacation. I agree that it will be harder to get help with 2 dogs but vacation is not a huge part of our lives. We don't take long vacation every year. Obviously this year would be a year where we would likely skip a visit to Quebec...

The next scheduled night away from home is in June for the San Diego RnR half marathon. I got some time to figure out what to do.

Ruby and Duke will be here Saturday morning and I cannot wait!!!!

Tomorrow I am going on an all day field trip with my son who is in the 4th grade. He is the one who has the over the top teacher I mentioned before. She sent a note to the parents who are coming to help for this to remind us that field trips are not a vacation. No fun allowed...that would be a real shame for 9 yrs old kids to have a little fun. Seriously. She told the kids that they can bring hats because we will be walking outside in the sun all day..BUT they are not allowed to wear the hats in the bus. What?...I cannot wait for this year to end. I cannot even keep up with all the rules that she has. Maybe I should wear a hat just to see if she will make me take it off when I am on the bus.... :)

OK got to run....working in an hour and I am watching team Canada men's hockey and the score is 1-1 in the 3rd....making me really nervous.... come on now! They have the worst referee for this game... Russia is out....that is good...its looking like team USA will win that is also good.

And SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as I type this!!!! Oh Canada!!!!

Tomorrow big day: USA-CANADA for the gold in women's hockey...this should be epic...wonder if the teacher will allow me to look at the score on my phone while we are in the bus.... :)

Do you Scorebig?

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 21:42:00 +0000

So I don't have much to report on the running front.
I have been sick.
Some kind of flu I guess...I don't know. I felt like all the energy was sucked out of me.
I am better this week.
I ran 6 miles on Saturday. Was slow but at least it was something.
Ran 4 this morning and it will a little better.
My knee is a little sore...
It may be because I have not ran much for about 10 days and it got stiff...or it may be because I have been very bad at doing my PT exercises. By bad I mean BAD. As in...not doing anything.

So last post I mentioned Jonathan's birthday.
He turned 8 in Super Bowl day.
I have decided that I am don't doing big birthday parties. We have tried everything in our town and it is time to downsize the production for these days.
So this year we decided to take the kids to a hockey game.
Usually we go see the Kings in LA but there was no game that weekend so we cheated on our team and went to see the Ducks in Anaheim.... They are number 1 in the league so that was pretty cool to see them.

We have been able to take the kids to see a few games this season because Bill found this fantastic website called SCOREBIG. They have tickets to sports, concerts and other events. We have used it 6 times so far and I have only good things to say. They have no fees or shipping charges. It works like Priceline. You make an offer and if they accept it you get your tickets and if they don't well you can try again in 24 hrs. We never know exactly where the seats will be, we know the section before making an offer. Each time we got great seats. Last game we were 12 rows behind the goal!

It was awesome! There is no way we could pay the full price for tickets like that but with scorebig we got really good tickets for a lot less.

Try it! I highly recommend it!
Next game for us is Feb 28!

Today I got a new picture of my little Ruby.
12 more days and she will be home!

During the days I was feeling crappy I made a photo memory book of my Maggie.
It was hard and emotional for me but I am so happy I will have this to remember her.
I cannot wait for the book to arrive.

Here's to hoping for a decent running week!
Time to go work on PT...and watch my homeland kick some behinds in Sochi!
Oh Canada!!!!
Cannot wait for good hockey games!

Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 15:10:00 +0000

I have been sick... Like a lot of people in town....

So no running

4 days of NOTHING and I am not sure today is the day I will get to run a little.

I have had some kind of cold or flu. Not the stomach flu but I feel like I have been hit by a truck.

No energy at all.

Bad headache and horrible sinus congestion.

And yesterday was my youngest son's birthday....

He turned 8.

Already 8 how can that be....

We did not do a big party instead we went to an NHL game on Saturday night. We cheated on the LA KINGS and went to see the Anaheim Ducks who are #1 in the league right now. They played Dallas and ended up loosing 2-0 but it was a great game. Last goal was in an empty net.

Yesterday ittook everything I had to get out and go to lunch. We had promise he could pick a place and I wanted to be there for him.

I spent the rest of the day in bed.

No Super Bowl watching for me.

I don't really care about that part of the day but I do feel bad about not spending more time with Jonathan though.

I have been really tired and in a funk since I lost Maggie.

I sleep bad and very little and I have no motivation for anything really. I got out for a few runs last week but it was not great. I had pain In my IT band and knee. I feel like I am loosing the running mojo. I know it happens to everyone...I just worry a little. I want to get it back. I feel sluggish and out of shape these days.

I need to snap out of the funk!

We found a new puppy!

Her name is Ruby and she will be home on February 22.

I cannot wait!

She will not replace my Maggie. It is impossible,

But our hearts and home are open to loving and welcoming another dog.

We were lucky to find her so fast.

It will be a new experience for the kids..they did not get to see Maggie as a puppy. They helped naming Ruby and that is fun for them.

New beginnings.

Have you been in a running funk?

For how long?

How did you snap out of it....

I want to want to run...I want to run right now as I type this...but I feel like crap....really like someone had punched me in the face...

Ok end of the pitty party.

Ontario Mills 5k Race and a special visit from home

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 07:16:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who left comments and who sent me emails about my Maggie. I appreciate all of them.

The days are very hard. I miss my dog, my house is too quiet and I just feel sad. I know it will take time for this sadness to go away.

This weekend we had a lot of things planned and that was good for all of us.

Saturday I ran a 5k race with my sons. This was a small local race very close to where I live.

They did awesome, much better than they did at the Turkey Trot. They got a 4 min PR! We followed a 2 min run / 1 min walk plan. I am going with the time on my Garmin because there was no mat at the start only at the finish so the chrono was only accurate for the first people...first time I see this at a race. It was ok because I did this one with the boys and not "for real".

Will the mini ambassador for NUUN!

I am really proud of them and of how well they did.

They were really happy to get a big medal!

We are already signed up for our 3rd one in March at Knotts Berry Farm!

So that was a good distraction for us but not as good as what came next.

One of my best and dearest friend from Quebec came for a surprise visit over the weekend!

That is crazy I know.

She has been there for me for every big moment in my life; she was my maid of honor, she came here when I had my kids. We met on the first day of high school and we have been great friends for more than 30 years, we were even roomates in College. Man I am old:). She called me last week asking if I was busy during the weekend. She said she realized turning 45 was a big deal (she is 6 mos younger than me so her turn is coming!) and she wanted to come for the weekend! She has 3 kids and she came with her youngest who is the same age as Jonathan ( they are just one month apart)

It was so great to see her and just have a fun time. It was just what we all needed. I am lucky to have great friends like her.

Pictures taken at the Los Angeles Farmer's Market.

RIP my sweet, beautiful Maggie

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 07:35:00 +0000

Today was the hardest day.

I lost a piece of my heart.

My beloved Golden Retriever Maggie left us.

She was my first dog.

I waited more than 30 yrs for her.

She was with us for 12 wonderful years.

She was the sweetest most loving dog and so smart.

I loved her so so much.

She had stopped eating for a few days and today she was getting worst...very lethargic and not herself. I got very worried, called Bill and said it was time to go to the vet.

He came home and around 4 pm we all went to the vet. I wanted to be there and so all 4 of us went.

I was very worried. I had explained to the boys that it was possible that Maggie was very sick and that we needed to be prepared for bad news.

We had time at home to give her hugs and kisses. We were all so heartbroken.

We drove to the vet.

He was so nice.

He took blood test and we waited for results.....it was not good.

He told us that he needed to take an X-ray to see if her spleen was enlarged and that if it was then there would be nothing we could do.

The spleen was extremely large pushing the stomach out of where it should be. She had a large tumor. It was horrible to see the images. She was bleeding internally and was in a lot of pain.

We has to make the hard decsion to follow the doctor's advice and put her to sleep.

I stayed with her until the end.

I could not leave her,

I feel so lost and empty now.

I have been a stay at home mom for 9.5 yrs now and she has been my buddy all this time.

I was never alone.

Now I will be.

And so we came home 3 hours later.

Without our beloved Maggie.

All four of us completely heartbroken.

Rest in peace my sweet Maggie.

You were so loved.

Aurevoir mon beau gros chien-chien, je t'aimais tellement

Citrus heritage half marathon aka the birthday race

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 20:27:00 +0000

Soooo here is something for you...

Running 13.1 miles is not easy.

It is highly recommanded to actually TRAIN before running a half marathon.

Some rock star can "swig it"

Not this old gal over here.

Oh boy this one quicked my 45 yrs old butt.

I knew it would be hard.

I knew the course was hilly because I ran the 10k last year and it was full of hills. I also knew I was not prepared for 13.1 miles. In all honesty it was pretty stupid of me to do this but how could I pass this?

Half marathon #25 and on my birthday.

This was an inaugural race and very close to home.

Beautiful part of Riverside where the orange groves are.

This race offered race day packet pick up and I love love that.

The start was rather late at 8 am..sun was out early but it was not warm so it was ok.

I met with my good friend Sandy (boston bound brunette sorry don't know how to link using the blogger app) and also Megan (Run Megan) and her friend Suzanne before the start. Sandy bought me a pink sash for my birthday! A FABULOUS sash! I thought OK lets put this on for a quick picture but she had other plans...she came prepared with safety pins and next thing I know this thing was pinned for the race!

Soon after that it was starting time!

I lined up towards the back...super speedy Sandy dissapeered and left the dust behind...I started with Megan and her friend but it was not long before I lost them as well. I needed to take walking break more often because the lack of training was worrying me and I did not want to get injured again.

This course is beautiful and full of surprises....hills, trail...mud...orange groves, hills, roses, palm trees, wild animals, did I say hills.... This course is no joke.

Wearing that sash ended up really fun. I had so many people wishing me happy birthday..one guy even sang to me..it was great. There was this one guy who said it maybe 15 times...every time he would pass me..."happy birthday!"

I got a lot of nice compliments also...I guess people get delirious with the hard effort because I got a lot of "you don't look 45!" Love all of these crazy people!! My new BFFs!!

Here is mile 3 where I let go of my gloves and phone. Did not want to have the distraction this time.

I had to walk a lot once again...at least half of it for sure.

Better than than nothing at all is what I kept telling myself.

I tried to not worry too much about my poor performance and just enjoy the views and the people around me.

The hills...some were hard and I could feel the sharp pinch I my knee when I would start running.

Had to stop twice for bathroom and at least 5 times to stretch..hip and calf.

Here mile 7 I think (pics taken by Sandy's husband..thank you)

The support on the course was great...lots of volunteers and everyone was so nice! Course was also well marked.

Mile 9

I wanted to quit here.

I told Bill "I want to quit!"

He said the best thing he could have said "see you at the FINISH line!"

Got a hug from the kids

And I did not quit.

I am glad I did not.

Last few miles were hard but I talked to a very nice woman and that helped a lot.

The course finishes UPHILL. That is hard people.

I caught up to that woman in front of me in the end

And I was so done.....I almost passed out at then end....felt so dizzy for a minute..Bill caught me right in time...

The medal is awesome, I love it...super shiny!

Kids were pretty impressed to see the Batmobile parked near the finish line

So that is it for this one...my time is terrible of course.

I am resting a few days because I am hurting a lot and then I go back to real training with my brand new Garmin!

This was my birthday gift!

Cannot wait to use it!

Next up is a 5k with my kids so no real racing for that one, running more outside and increasing the mileage.

Number 25 and number 45 = Birthday Race

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 20:05:00 +0000

Tomorrow is my birthday.

I will be turning 45.

FORTY-FIVE...that is crazy... I don't feel 45 at all...I guess that is a good thing right...

All I want for my birthday is to be healthy.

Oh and no kids fighting at my house would also be nice.

So what does a normal person do for their birthday....running a half marathon of course.

What's better than to put myself through misery and facing the strong possibility of having stomach problems?

I could not pass this up. The race is on my birthday and it will be my 25th half marathon!

Here is the problem and it is a big one...I am NOT ready for 13 miles.

Not even close...

My last real long run was well my last half marathon....and that was a month ago...yikes...

So I have no goals other to finish. There will be a lot of walking.

I just want to have a good time.

After that race I need to get back on a running schedule and increase the mileage.

I want to go back to how things were before my injury.

I still have bad days with the pain coming back and I guess it will always be like this. I won't go back to running 5 days with no rest, that is a sure way to returning to the PT and I don't want that.

This was my mileage for 2013 (plus 1 mile)

960 miles

I signed up for a local 5K race for next weekend. I will do it with my kids.

I decided to do a few of those for the winter/spring season because I did not signed them up for soccer or basketball because my older son work load in class is too much and he missed too many practices last season. I hate to do that and it is the first time that they won't be on a team for a whole season but school is number 1 and I don't want to sign them up and miss most of the activities..waste of money and also does not make good teammates.

Will is on the track team and we started this week. For now it is only once a week; Wednesday morning before school. I volunteered to help the teacher who is coaching the team. We had 65 kids and I hope they will all come back. I will help with the running part... We did very little running for the first day. All the kids made the same mistake: going put way too fast and crashing before the end of the lap :) For the second lap I told them they could not pass me. It was funny because this lap is short and some kids were trying to cheat and cut the course short. This is not PE! Nobody is forcing them to come to this so why cheat?! It's the "I have to be first" thing I guess. After the second lap I asked some of the older kids to guess how far we had ran. "1 mile!" Hmmm no not even close. "1/2 a mile!" Nope. The lap is only 0.16 mile! I was wearing my Garmin so I had the exact distance. :). So in the end a big workout of 0.32 mile:). I would spend a lot less time on stretching exercises and more on actually moving.

They will have one meet in April and I am looking forward to that!

I am looking for races to fill up my calendar! If you are local and have suggestions please leave a comment!

Check out the cool running stickers I found yesterday! I have a scrapbook for all my races with bibs and other stuff.

Have a good weekend!

Happy 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 02:04:00 +0000

Oh I have been a bad blogger over the holidays.

My parents were here for 2 weeks and I chose to spend quality time with them.

Almost No blogging and No blog reading.

They left yesterday and it was very difficult once again to see them go. My kids were completely heartbroken, it was so sad to see them say goodbye...and it is also very hard for me...they are not getting any younger..my dad is 80 yrs old and I worry about when will I see the next.

It is by far the hardest part of living so far away from my hometown.

We had a great time.

We went to see Disney on Ice

I bought tickets to Cirque du Soleil for my mom for Christmas and it was awesome!!

We did our hostduty and drove to Hollywood

On the 1st we got up super early and drove to Pasadena for the Rose parade!

It was fantastic! A bucket list type event for sure!

We have played board games

Running...

Well I have done some but. It enough to be ready for my birthday half marathon in 8 days

Yikes....

Oh well...I was not about to leave my parents for 2 hours to go running...their last visit was 3 yrs ago.

My husband just announced to me that he might be working on my birthday race day so this kind of sucks... This means I would have to drop to the 5K and do it with my kids...we will see...

My oldest son is starting track team on Wednesday and guess who volunteered to help the teacher who is in charge of the team? This should be f u n ! :)

New shoes to run fast

I ended 2013 with 960 miles.

First time not reaching 1000 miles.

Injury sucks. I was out for about 4 mos this year.

Here to hoping 2014 will be better.

I am not doing the goal thing.

I only have 1 WISH: to be healthy.

In 8 days I will be 45 years old. I don't feel that old.

I still hope that this will be the year of the marathon.

Happy healthy new year to all of you!

Cheers!

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 05:21:00 +0000

Merry Christmas to all of you who keep reading my stories!

I wish you all happiness and health!

Spending the holidays with my parents who are visiting from Canada!

I try to run but it is not the top priority since I don't get to see them often and I want to enjoy their visit and not be rude and leave for long period of times..so all is done on the treadmill at home and nothing over 5 miles.

Went to see 2 movies already

First one for grown ups: American hustlers. It is excellent go see it.

Second one: magical: go see it.

Got my newest ornament

Enjoy your family!

Hope Santa will be good to you...me really all I want for real is to be healthy and that my kids will not fight for one day...or two!! :)

Joyeux Noel!

Holiday half marathon race recap

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 03:07:00 +0000

Holiday half marathon in Pomona.

Half marathon number 24.

I cannot believe this...that is a lot of miles..

Ok the race...

It was my third year in a row running this crazy hilly course.

The first year I PRd there, this year I did not....I died instead...

It was rough.

This race starts at 8 am and I think that it is too late. Last year it was cold on race day and this year it was super hot.....heat and hills...talk about hell right there.

I knew I would not do great but I did not expect to struggle that much. I went to the race by myself, I told Bill to stay home and skip that one. I regretted that as soon as I left...I like having my family supporting me and it helps me to know I will see them on the course. This race is pretty close to home so the drive there is short. It was nice and cold in the morning but I knew that it would get warm and it did. Race started at 8:05. I felt OK at first and I was hopefull that this would be a good day on the course.

The first hill came way too soon....it was like "wake up everybody!"

Before mile 6 my knee was done. I could not run on it..it was too painful. I power walked. I was frustrated. Darn injury. I kept trying to run for short stretches but it was not going to get better. I started to get a lot of muscle cramps. My right hip was on fire. I had my phone and I posted about my troubles and I have to thank all of you who kept me in the race. I was wondering why Bill was not texting me. I thought that maybe the boys were not behaving well at home and he did not want me to worry about that or he just forgot...either way it was not good for my spirit! But my Instagram and Facebook friends you were all the bestest of the best! Thank you! Good thing I did carry my phone!!

The hills are part of the course up until around mile 11 I think. I could not wait to be DONE. It was also hot and I lost a lot of salt...even with taking salt tablets and my stomach was not great once again. I don't remember the last miles...I know I wanted to stop many times...I am so happy I did not.

Here I could see the finish line

And then......I got a huge surprise....

See this was my reaction

Bill and the boys were there at the finish!!!!

I was so happy to see them...

What a hard half marathon this was...possibly the hardest with my very first one.

It was hard physically and mentally.

I am glad that I did not give up.

I would say I ran 30% and walked 70%.

I came in 2:43:xx a terrible time but with all that walking how can it not be...

I almost collapsed at the end...some guy caught me just in time...

I refused the wheel chair and the trip to the medic tent....kids were watching...no need to scare them.

I saw the best sign ever around mile 9:

Seriously....custom made for me...

I got 2 medals this year...second one for completing this thing 3 years in a row.

I am resting for a few days. My body is hurting from this one.

My parents are getting here tonight and it is the last week of school before the Holiday break...got a lot to do...

Holiday kids race!

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 19:25:00 +0000

Saturday was the annual Holiday Kids Race. That 1 mile race is part of the activities around the Holiday Half Marathon.

This was our third year at that race. Run Racing always have great events. The kids races are all 1 mile, they are FREE and they the kids get nice medals. They have 3 waves for the kids race and Rudy the MC is there for that race just like he is for the 5k and half marathon. The 5K is right before the kids race so we got to see the end of that race while we were waiting....up until the very last walkers.

Will and Jonathan both said that next year they want to do the 5K and I said ok.

They want the "snowflake" medal instead of the penguin !

Will's soccer team was still in the playoffs so we were rushed a little and I made the boys line up at the back of wave 1. One wave ahead of the one they should have been in. It was that or miss the race.

It ended up being just fine. They came in ahead of the middle pack in around 9:00.

Before the start:

Start

Coming to the finish, Will save the big brother honor and came in first....did not want to be beaten by Jonathan who reminded him that he beat him one year on the way there!!!!

Military men were there to give the medals for the whole weekend and that was awesome

Last race of 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 01:40:00 +0000

Sunday is my last race for 2013.

The Holiday Half marathon on Sunday.

This year has been one of ups (Ragnar) and downs... (Injury) and overall not my best one as far as running goes....low mileage, set backs, not many good races...

Last Sunday I ran 10 miles on the treadmill and it was not pretty. It was hard and I ended up in pain...in the knee....yep....not awesome....

It hurt for the rest of the day...just walking ...

And Monday also...

And Tuesday...

And I got really frustrated.

Race week is not a good time to be feeling pain....

Race week of a really really hilly course

Wednesday I decided to try a short run. Well....it was short alright...3 miles.

It was not great.

And so I have rested the rest of the week. The whole week.

So it is safe to say that I am not ready to race any distance ...but I am still going to do it. It's my third year doing that race and I will get a special extra medal for that.

The kids are running the kids race tomorrow, it is always super fun and they get really nice medals. It is super well organized, just one mile and it is FREE!

The boys have one more week to go before the Christmas break and I can tell that my oldest son is ready for a break from all the work he has this year, he is tired and done. I sure hope his teacher is not sending the kids on Christmas vacation with homework or projects to do.

We need a real break:) My parents will be here in less than week and once they are here it will feel like the Holiday Season!

The kids are really really excited! My mom will even get to come to their school for their Christmas party!

The kids had concert at our school and it was fantastic. They had a music teacher for the first half of the year and they learned songs in different languages. I was very impressed with how much they learned in such a short time. I was even more impressed that one song was in French!

Oh and look I managed to start decorating!

I love anything that says NOEL!

Are you done racing for the year?

"The most wonderful time of the year" ...is it?

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 03:47:00 +0000

Ah the Holiday season is here....

It is supposed to be joyous and wonderful....

Why does it feel so stressful to me???

I feel like I am chasing time at this time of the year

I am sure I am not the only one like that..,

Buying presents....that is so overwhelming to me.. I absolutely HATE shopping...and so this is pure hell for me.

I want to find great gifts for everyone on the list. I over think everything.

For the kids it's easy...they have lists that are endless...I just have to pick what fits the budget and make it even...

Even that though....I am bombarded with emails theses days... Each has "The best deal of the year!"

I cannot read one more of those...it is just tooooooo much!

I think I am done. I even wrapped everything ...

What is not done is decorating my house. No mommy points for that...:(

I planned on doing it this week but I ended up working 3 days...so I did nothing and tomorrow is my day to volunteer at the school and my older son has a concert that I cannot miss!

So it will have to be this weekend.

I am also behind in my Christmas cards...I have them but I still have to write them...

I need more time in the day!!!

I need to get my house ready because my parents will be here soon!!!

That is awesome but right now I could not have my mom see my house... I would get "the look".

How about you? Overwhelmed? In the holiday spirit? Numb?

Running this week was not stellar....one day only.... So not good. I am worried about my up coming half marathon.....

I have had several emails about my kids lately...all about the same thing...how did I make them like reading so much ....I get asked that a lot at school also....

I always say the same...I did not make them like reading. They genuinely love to read. We have a lot of books in the house. Books are the only thing I buy for them for no special reason..like birthday or Christmas. I started reading to them when they were babies and I started taking them to the public library when they were very young. They thought it was the best thing to bring back 25 books at home! I love to read and they see that also. One thing that is important I think is I listen to them talking about the stories they read...sometimes it is too much details for me but I still listen to them...my oldest son reads these really thick books about mythology ..they are novels with many caracter and he can talk about the stories for hours if you let him...Showing interest in their reading is important. I have a 2nd and a 4th grader and they often read the same books...the younger one wants to be like big brother...and it is really nice to have them talk about the stories they read. I love it. So my advices are have books in your home..if you don't want to buy some..go to the public library. Read to your kids if they are little ones, if they are in school read WITH them (your own book). Ask them about their readings..what book they like...why... They will read if they like the stories. My kids don't "count" reading as homework...they read just as much during the winter break or summer vacation. They wrote lists for Santa and on Jonathan's list the number 1 thing is the box set of the Wizard of Oz books....it is above his reading level...but I had to get it anyway because well Santa would approve this as a number 1 choice right?

What are YOU reading these days?

I am finishing You before me right now....

This is where you find my sons after dinner...:)

Claremont Sunrise Rotary Turkey Trot 5K Race Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!

I ran a 5K with my whole family yesterday!
It was the first time my kids ran a 5K and it was the fist race that my husband did!
A historical day!

We met with Sandy and Megan!

The boys were REALLY excited to run their first 5K. I told Bill he did not have to stay with us and that he could do his thing if he wanted. I told the boys that they needed to listen to me and walk when I say walk. They always go out too fast when they run kids race and I knew they would crash before mile 2 if I let them do whatever they want!! We lined up at the back of the pack and waited for the start.

Sandy's husband was there and he was so nice and took pictures of us!

Here we are at the start!

The boys did really good. I think they could have done even better. Walk less. But for a first 5K I think it was good. They had a great time and they did not complain once!

The weather was perfect ..although I wanted and I was happy to stay with my kids...it was hard to resist going ahead :) Bill stayed close to us for maybe 2 miles and then he went ahead for the downhill finish.

He did 36:53.. (I know he can do better than that with a little training)

We came in about 3 minutes after him.

So Fun!

The kids were a little tired after that but still smiling!

This was my third time doing this race and I think from now on it will be one for the family!

We made the mandatory stop to Starbukcs after the race and I ran into my PT there! She advised me to come in and see her...its been a while...I guess I should..

We had no plans with other people for Thanksgiving so we went to the movies...the boys went to see FREE BIRDS with Bill and I went to see Dallas Buyer's Club. This movie is excellent. It is not a feel good movie that is for sure but Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto are fantastic in it. They better be nominated for the Oscars.

Did you go shopping?

I did not get out of my house.

I stayed in my pjs and did all the shopping online!

My GERD is not better. This sucks big time. I ran a 6 miler on Tuesday and I am planning on running both Saturday and Sunday...hopefully Sunday I can do at least 8 miles.

Tomorrow we are going to the LA KINGS game!

It is to celebrate my kids excellent report cards and all the awards they received last week.

My real age is.....

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 18:01:00 +0000

41.1 years old!

Real age: almost 45 actually...tic toc tic toc ...it's coming....

Well thank you.

I prefer the 26 some 6th grader said I was when I was working last week...but 41.1 after taking a detailed test is ok too.

Did you take that test?

What was your age?

Of course this is just a bunch of numbers and info mashed up but it gives an idea.

What makes me older?

1. Cholesterol that is too low. Recommandation: drinking wine!!!! I would love to but I can't because I have stupid GERD.

2. Avoid smoking area. I do that already. That part of the test is where I should have answered differently I think. It asked if I was ever exposed to second hand smoking... As a child I was because my parents were both smokers but that was over 30 yrs ago now....

I have has a rough couple of days.

A GERD relapse. Full blown gastritis and I don't know why.

The only thing that can explain it is stress.

I did not cheat on my crazy diet.

It is so frustrating.

I cannot sleep..the burning and the pain is pretty bad.

3 nights awake...

That led to no long run yesterday...I did just 3 lame miles.

I feel so weak because I am not eating much or sleeping.

Not much food is going down... Oeasophagus is pretty irritated so it hurts to eat.

This, my friends SUCKS so bad.

But many people are worst than me I know this.

I am back on meds and drinking the ACV ...that part worries me because for me it means weight loss.

Anyway I hope it will calm down soon.

At least I got a 6 miler in on Thursday.

Turkey trot for the whole family is coming up!

I am doing it with my kids!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

I am thankful for a lot of things

My family

That I have a great husband

2 Wonderful boys

That my parents are still with me and that they will be here in a month

That I am here!

That my kids are healthy

That they love love love school

Bragging portion:

First trimester awards: Will: principal honor roll (straigh As, only 4 kids in his crazy demanding class got this), achievement award (science and mats), Eagle reader (highest this trimester) and perfect score in state test award. Needs more hands!!

Jonathan: math fact champ (1 out of 7 in his grade), achievement award in Reading and science and honor reader award (highest in his grade and only one who got this one)

That they have great teachers

For my old Maggie who is the sweetest dog on the planet..she IS.

That Bill is working

That I have great friends

That I have a part time job....and that I am getting some calls for it!

For books

That my boys love books as much as I do..maybe even more

For coffee ( my only real vice)

For running

Christmas shopping is done. Done. Done. Done. ( me no liking shopping)

That someone invented Claritin D and Halls.

To NUUN for great running adventure in Vegas

Running friends.

That you are reading this and continue to follow my journey

That other than GERD I am pretty healthy

That my kids still want to hang out with me...hope this will not change any time soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Take a bite of pie for me!!

Cheers!

Ragnar Las Vegas with team NUUN-PRO COMPRESSION part deux

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline) — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 03:54:00 +0000

Cannot believe one week ago I was in Vegas and Ragnar Relay had already started...heck I think I was actually running at this time...!

This is my second post on Ragnar Vegas...First one is here and where you can read about my fantastic teammates...seriously they were all so great and nice and funny...and well we were a perfect match I think...! See our brand new Pro Compression socks..made special just for this race!! I love them!

So OK the weekend...

I flew to Vegas with Sandy...we live in the same town and we booked the same flights. It was nice to have a good friend to travel with. We got there in the early evening and met the others at the Luxor where we were staying (that's the pyramid hotel on the strip). We met Vanessa and went looking for something rare and impossible to find in Vegas...reasonably priced water....! We met with Brennan and Hyla from Van 2 and I am glad I had a chance to chat with them that night because during the relay we did not see Van 2 a lot. We saw them at the main exchanges but that was super quick and most of the time not everyone was present... Here we were 11 out of 12...with one on the course..this was taken early Saturday morning..before 6:45 am because we are still wearing our reflective vests....

Friday morning we left for Mt. Charleston and the start of this 187 miles relay. I could feel my ears pop as we kept going all the way up to 8500 ft high! I was hoping to see some snow and I got my wish! There it was nice white snow !!!

We went to register and get our race shirt and listen to the security rules speech and then we did some van decorating before it was Nicole's time to start this thing.

We had a late start at 12:30...only one other start time was after us and that meant that we had long stretches where we were isolated on the course. I wish we had started a little earlier for that reason. I was alone for 90% of all my 3 legs. My first leg was 4.7 miles on the 95 freeway! It was flat with a mild head wind. It was a little crazy to be running ON the freeway. This was a leg with no van support. There were some orange cones and barrels and we were told to run as close to the shoulder as possible...well yes of course.... one truck hit one of the barrels when I was running...that was scary...I was glad this leg was in the daylight!! It went OK...felt a little pain in the knee nothing too bad ...stomach...hmmm one incident.

We had dinner after everyone had ran their first leg and this time was better than at HTC because we went somewhere I could find something to eat! The vibe in our van was upbeat and positive the whole time. No drama, no problems, all happy and having a good time.

My second leg was at night and was my shortest one at 2.85 miles. I had to stop several times at stop lights. It is the rule and I am a rule follower. One guy went on a red light in front of me and the race volunteer blew the whistle at him and made him comeback. The leg started with a 1.25 mile hill. Another leg with no van support and where I was alone almost the whole time. Instructions for this leg said "runners are highly encouraged to carry leg map" so I did. It turned out the directions had changed a little so I followed the signs on the course.

After the van exchange we parked and tried to get some sleep. I slept maybe one hour. I was so cold and I had really bad muscles cramps in my legs. I tried to rest even if I was not sleeping...I listen to the snoring concert that was going in the van :) ha ha!!

Saturday morning I made a bad decision and I had coffee...black coffee...I cannot drink black coffee but I had a bad headache and I thought coffee would fix that so I had a small cup. My headache got better but I started having bad heartburn and I knew I would pay for this choice and boy did I....
I got worried about my last and longest run.
The sun was out and I was hoping there would be shade on the course.
No shade. All full sun.

This leg ended up being longer than it was supposed to be: 5.4 miles total.
It was difficult for me.
I puked 3 times and I was in pain..every time I would start running my stomach would cramp...it sucked. I felt sooo bad that I had to walk so much but I did not have a choice it was walk or stop. I walk run and It was hot and I was alone..again no van support because the majority of this leg was on a trail. I kept texting my team to let them know what was going on so they knew when to expect me. My body was not happy but my spirit was not down at all except from worrying about taking so long to finish.

Last few steps:

And then this:

But I got over it:

After that it was all about supporting my teammates and enjoying this fantastic experience!

After Vanessa was done with her final leg we headed to the finish line and waited for van 2 so that we could all cross the finish line together!

And finally runner 12 was in sight and we got to finish all 12 of us together!
I stole that pic from Hyla's blog, I am assuming her husband (who was van 2's driver) took it.

I truly had the best time and I am very thankful for this fantastic opportunity.

Thank you NUUN and PRO COMPRESSION!

My fitness is still not back and my stupid stomach got reminded that I still like to run and it needs to get used to it. It is frustrating to come back from injury but I am thankful I was able to do this and that my team was so supportive. I did not win the speed contest but I was the queen of puking on the course and at the end of my legs! What else is new....

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