TIaRT: A Year in Review in 52 words or Less!

And, here is my contribution to Take It and Run Thursday at Runner's Lounge! Today's theme is .... A year In Review in 52 words or less:

Who'd have thought I would run 3 marathons this year and one under 4 hours? And, I ran one 5 days before my wedding in August. I *heart* running and so happy to have found an outlet to express it. AND, I found this amazing running community that seems to share my passion for running!

Ok, that wasn't exactly 52 words but hey, I'm close. And I am seriously sleep deprived right now.

Don't forget to leave a comment in my previous post to win a free pair of running shoes from Onlineshoes.tv! My giveaway ends on Monday at midnight! Seriously, your chances of winning are pretty good! :-)

I came home and found this in our front living room!!Duane and I have been talking about getting a Christmas tree but we haven't gotten around to it and didn't think we were going to really get one! It's a bit bare right now but we'll decorate it tomorrow. He put up 1 ornament up with the lights. :-)

The ONE ornament on the tree. (From Duane's sister)

I think it's the most beautiful Christmas tree ... ever! Even if it's only got one ornament on the tree!

Went on a 7 miler during my lunch time today. It was a terrible run but glad I went out there. I need to rack up some points for the HBBC! 31 points to date! Oh and I'm on vacation for 2 weeks starting tomorrow! Yay!

Don't you wish all my posts were this short? :-)
(Don't answer that! It's relatively shorter than my usual posts, right? Don't answer that, either!)

Insert Witty Post Title Here

So here's what happened yesterday and today:

Monday: Elliptical for 20 min & Spinning for 50 min
Tuesday: Lunch time 7 miler @ 9:28 min pace

I haven't gone spinning in a really long time and I forgot what tough workout it can be. I sweat so much when I go spinning, too. Last night was no exception! I got to the gym a little early so I also hit the elliptical machine for a little bit. As for today, it felt so good to run at lunch time. It's a pain to change, shower and get ready AGAIN but it was totally worth it. (I'm not the au-naturale kinda gal. I'm all about full-on make up and hair kinda chick so anytime I get sweaty is a huge issue.) Good thing it's a slow week at work!

Here's what's up for the rest of the week.

Wednesday: Track Workout!
Thursday: Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k
Friday: Rest & Recover!!
Saturday: 8 Miler... somewhere
Sunday: 6 Miler or Cross Train?

I am totally looking forward to the smoked turkey that Duane is planning on making!! I am also contributing to the Thanksgiving faire by making Sugar Free Cranberry Chutney and Low-Carb Pumpkin Cheesecake! Part of my low-carb endeavor to shed unwanted pounds. I'll report back on the food later. Especially since I don't cook very much it will be interesting to see how these turn out! We're doing Thanksgiving Potluck at my parent's house in San Jose this year and I can't wait to show off my "new" cooking skills.

Also, if any of you are planning to send out photo holiday cards this year, I have a Friends and Family coupon code for Tiny Prints for 20% off! Type in "FAM121" without the quotes when you check out. Seriously, they have the cutest cards! I just ordered ours today... Here's our holiday card preview. Too bad we did not have any good running photos together!

The message says: We went "green on our honeymoon and
planted a tree in Costa Rica! (Duane did all the work! Phew!)

Love, Julianne & Duane

Of course, if you're like my super duper crafty friend Heather, you can make your own but I'm not really a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) kind of a gal. Also, if you're looking for an amazing photographer for your special event in IDAHO, you should check out her photography blog!

Happy Turkey Day tomorrow everyone!!

My Run with Dean

My run with Dean Karnazes tonight was really awesome! I left work around 4:30pm today because I really wanted to be on time for the 6pm start. Traffic wasn't too bad since it was Veteran's day but it still takes time to trek through the Bay Area around rush hour. Especially trekking 50 something miles! Anyway, I knew I was going to cut it close when I was about half way there... When I finally got to Berkeley, I had 5 minutes to spare. I quickly changed in the car and rushed over the Fleet Feet store on Solano Avenue. I saw couple of dozen people already standing outside. Apparently, Dean was a running a little late, too! He showed up a few minutes after. Dean is a bit shorter than I imagined and looks even thinner in person. I have run in couple of races that he's hosted but I had never actually seen him! Once he arrived, it didn't take us long to set off. Fleet Feet told us we were going to do a 6 miler on the program but we ended up doing only 5. It was an out and back route from the store to the UC Berkeley campus.

Here's our group photo before the run. I had positioned myself right up in the front but some guy showed up last minute and ended up standing right in front me. With his bright reflector vest. Grrrr.

The run was relatively easy even though, I did keep up with him most of the time. Ok, let me rephrase that. He ran slow. Apparently, he just got back from the Sahara Desert on a 150 miler run. More on that later. I did get to admire his muscular calves for most of the run. Man, he has ropes of muscles for legs. I was just amazed at his powerful legs. (And, I usually check out other runner's legs. I have a thing for calves!) We got back and noticed that I was running about 8:20 min mile pace! Ok, so we weren't running so slow after all! (Well, "slow" and "fast" are relative words!!) Once we got back and stretched, Dean got settled in his spot and gave a short talk about his book. He was a great speaker and I really enjoyed his 50 marathons in 50 days synopsis. I cannot wait to read this book.

Here he is talking about his new book...

I had asked him what his latest challenge was and he shared with us that he is running "five of the planet’s most inhospitable places on five different continents, all in one year." He's finished 4 deserts and has one more left: Antartica in 2 weeks!! And, he just finished running 150 mies of the Sahara Desert and just flew home yesterday. You can read more about his Desert Grand Slam here and about the desert race series here.

He is just amazing! After his talk, the book signing began and I made a bee line to the table. Here is Dean signing... (for someone else!)

And finally, here is Dean and me. Omg, I *heart* Dean!!!

I love how we're right in front of the sports bras. Hehe. And he is such a cutie!

Meeting Dean Karnazes was quite an experience today. I am truly inspired and motivated. He said that if his book helps someone reach their dream then and "go far", he's done his job. Or something like that! I was so inspired, I went for another 2 mile run around my neighborhood after the book signing. I was supposed to get 7 miles in today. I didn't want to short change myself!

Dear Julianne,

Keep on smiling. & keep on running! May you go far...

Dean

11-11-08

Recovery Run & More Nike News

I went for my first recovery run since the marathon last night. I went for a slow 7 mile jog after work and it felt so good. It's time for CIM training! I mean, I'm still sore. I had to stop at mile 4 and 6 just to catch my breath! But, moving my legs and pumping my arms, being out there just felt soooooo good! I felt so alive and purposeful. I don't know what it was. It made me so happy to be running again. Maybe I was just happy to run alone without the crowd?? But, it reminded me again that I really *heart* running! (And why I run marathons!)

In other news, did you hear about this woman who ran the fastest time in the Nike Marathon on Sunday but didn't win? Apparently, 24-year-old Arien O'Connell ran the fastest time of any of the women but because she didn't run with the Elites, she wasn't awarded a prize! Amazing and totally lame!! You can get the rest of the story here. I picked this story up from Erik and Leslie's blog. And you can do something about it here, if you think she deserves to recognition of the win: