I Survived Christmas!

Phew! Survived first official Christmas with the in-laws! And it wasn't too bad. Actually, it was really really fun. There were lots of food, merry-making and laughter. My parents, sister and her husband joined us for dinner, too. It was quite a great day, overall. :-) And no, I didn't get a Garmin for Christmas. I didn't ask for one, actually. (I got something shiny instead!) But reading about all of you who did get one, I'm thinking maybe I should have? Hehe. Ok, I'm going to stick with my NikePlus for now but who knows... maybe when my birthday comes around?? Duane, baby, are you reading this? ;-)

I'm not quite ready to post my 2008 running recap, just yet... Still a few days left to get a few more runs in! (Besides, I'm quite attached to 2008 and not quite ready to let it go!!)

But, here's my race list for 2009:

February 1: Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon
February 7: Jed Smith Ultra Classic 50k (Maybe?)
March 1: Napa Valley Marathon
March 15: Across the Bay 12 K
April 26 : Big Sur Marathon (Maybe?)
May 30: See Jane Run Half Marathon
July 19: Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon
July 26: San Francisco Marathon (5th year in a row!!)
October 11: Chicago Marathon
October 18: Nike Women's Marathon
November 1: ING New York City Marathon (Lottery)
December 6: California International Marathon

I should mention that the list is a very ambitious one and not sure if I will actually run all the marathons in 2009! But who knows, I may run more, too! The only race that I've officially signed up for is the Kaiser Perm Half in February. Of course, there are couple of marathons that are by lottery only so we'll have to see. The Jed Smith Ultra 50k is a huge maybe. I don't know if I'd be ready for this ULTRA race. Although, I've always wanted to run one. Leslie, my blog mom is running it and I am seriously *thinking* about it right now.

I finally got back on the "saddle" this week. After my feast-fest Christmas dinner, I was READY to run. Forget the burn out, I was jealous anytime I saw anyone running outside. Oh and expecially when I read about your runs! So, on Friday, I went for a 8 miler, which I thought was relatively fast. Well, I ran it at about 8:55 min pace, which is pretty fast for me. I was triumphant! I was back! Yesterday, I looked up my training schedule for the Napa Valley Marathon and it called for a 14 miles. My train of thought was, "I ran 8 yesterday, I'm sure I could do 14. And I got lots of rest this week!" What I didn't take into consideration was that after a week of rest, the 8 miler was maybe a bit too much for me. And my legs were quite fatigued! I totally felt the fatigue in the legs about 3 miles into my long run yesterday. Thank goodness for the Roctane, otherwise, I may not have made it through the 14 miles. I took the Roctane around mile 5 and felt I could push it to another 2 for my out and back route. But I definitely struggled through the last 5 miles. Maybe 10 miles would have been a better distance for me yesterday. I'm glad I ran it but today, my legs are shot! Definitely a rest day today. (More on the Roctane later this week!)

OH and I ordered my iPhone 16 gig today for $199!! AT&T is having a refurbished iPhone sale and I bit the bullet and ordered one. I'll let you know how the refurbished phone goes. Supposedly these are the "previously owned devices that have been unused or lightly used and returned during the 30-day trial period," according to an explanation on AT&T's website. I can't wait to get mine in the mail!! Sorry Blackberry Curve... it's time for me to move on.

Anyone got some exciting New Year's Eve plans? D and I are going to friend's for dinner and NYE hoopla in SF... Wishing all of you the very best in 2009! And of course, looking forward to reading your running adventures. :-)

Great Running Week!

I was really happy with my running last week. With the belated 20 miles on Tuesday and with my 12 miler yesterday (along with the rest of my midweek runs), I reached 50+ miles this past week! I haven't run 50 miles in one week since July when I was training for the SFM. I ran my last of double digit run before the CIM yesterday morning with my training group and so glad that is over with. I ran my 12.5 miles at 9:44 min pace, finishing at 2 hours. Not the greatest pace but I'm happy with it.

This morning, I met up with Aron around 7:30am to get a good running start to the week... Had planned on an easy 8 miler but ended up (what felt like sprinting) running a tad faster than normal. I was huffing and puffing for the first half of the run. (Also, it was much cooler than I had expected! It must be in the low 50s. Hello, winter is upon Northern California!) That's what I get for trying to keep up with a faster runner. I will consider that my speed work for the week. Honestly, if Aron wasn't waiting to run with me today, I may not have gone running at all! I ran an average of 9:14 min pace for the 8 miles! Phew, no wonder I was so tired after!

I ended last week with 50.25 miles! Woohooo!! It's definitely taper time!!!

Happy Thanksgiving week to all! Duane and I have a Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k this Thursday... and then, I'm all over the low-carb Thanksgiving meal that day. We're planning on smoking our whole 20 lb turkey on the BBQ. I'm not quite sure what that entails but I hope to have some pictures of the bird later this week!

You Learn Something New Everyday

I absolutely love this running community. Thank you for keeping me accountable, encouraging me and going on this running journey with me. It's really amazing how my running has become such a huge part of my life. JoyRun's post today really summed my feelings... and funny enough, she said it was my post that "rang true" for her. *sniff*

I also learned something new yesterday! Did you know there's a term for "mental psychology of reaching a euphoria and just a deeper understanding of yourself as an athlete, and your purpose on this planet"? (That's a direct quote from Marci's post "Find Your Flow".) It's called Runner's Flow! Apparently, there's even an entry on Wikipedia on this "flow" terminology. I have felt this feeling at various times during a marathon but I had no idea there was actually a word to describe it. I love that this feeling has a word and it's real!

I've also been spending so much of my free time writing and reading blogs. Do you know a way I can make money blogging about running? ;-)

Last night, I went on my 8 miler in the dark. I love Daylight Savings but I don't like how it gets dark at 5pm. Boo. Thank goodness my husband went on the run with me because the trail that I usually go running on is near the Bay and sometimes pretty desolate. There were a few parts where I was so glad I was not running alone. Another thought, maybe I do need to invest in some good headlamps and reflective gear! I also ran on my brand new Asics Kayano 13s. They were fantastic! It felt like I was bouncing off the pavement. Love that brand new cushion. The 8 miles went relatively easy at about 9:40 min pace. Tonight, track workouts!

And on top of everything, I am still awed that we have our first African-American president of United States of America. It's truly historic and incredible. Wow. It's almost on the same level as, "Wow, we're married! You're my husband!". (As I tell my husband at least once a day, in a very happy way. :-)

OH and I just found out my little sister is having a GIRL!!! Omg, I am so excited!!

Happy Halloween and Other Miscellany

So it ended up raining after work yesterday. Which was a bummer because I was really looking forward to running 8 miles at a trail near work and burning off the Indian buffet lunch that I overdosed on. I ate in anticipation of burning it off in the run. A little rain doesn't usually scare me but the rain was quite steady and didn't really feel like getting soggy shoes. So, what a girl to do? I headed to the gym instead. I really don't like to run on the treadmills. Does anyone really? And, the gym near my work is always crowded and not easy to hog the treadmill for more than 30 minutes. I knew I had to break the rules and really, be a bad gym member and not share. Good thing for my iPod and good running mix, I don't know how I got through the 8 miles on the mill but I did! Running on the treadmill is really hard for me because I get so tempted to stop and say, I can make it up tomorrow! It's so easy to push the pause button and stop where as when you're out on th road or trail, you have return to your point of origin. Besides the all the crazy amount of calories that I consumed at lunch time, I really am serious about my training for th CIM. I kinda half-a$$edly ran the Nike Marathon and I really want to run a sub 4 hour marathon at the CIM. All that motivated me to stick to my 8 mile treadmill run. Oh and I want to lose some weight so that I can shave off some time off my PR! I only had to switch treadmills once because people were waiting and I felt guilty about hogging my machine. But, I did re-start the machine over once when I thought no one was paying attention. I swear, I felt dagger stares on my back coming from people waiting for the machine. I'm so sorry!

After my sweaty 8 miler at the gym, I went to go visit my younger sister who's 15 weeks pregnant! (I'm the oldest of 3 girls!) I feel like I'm surrounded by pregnant women these days. My husband's cousin is 18 weeks pregnant, my best friend is 26 weeks pregnant and of course, lovely ND is 24 weeks along. :-) As a matter of fact, I'm throwing my BFF a baby shower next weekend! Oh and yes, it will be my first time being an aunt. She finds out the sex of the baby next week, I think! My sister and I ate my mom's left over lasagna (she dropped by earlier to drop off the food), watched Elizabeth (the movie) and watched my sister knit.. She's starting up her own business selling baby beanies, scarves, greeting cards, handmade jewelry and other hodgepodge. I somehow missed the day God was handing out the crafty talent gene.

Here's a photo of my 2 sisters on my wedding day. The pregnant one is Sujin on the right. My youngest sister Sue (on the left) lives in Riverside, CA and don't get to see her very often. I'm off to the right with Duane and the flower girls. Rest of the bridesmaids to the left.

Just for the heck of it, here's a picture of my good looking family. I guess I was off taking pictures? (Sujin, mom, dad & Sue)

And another gratuitous photo of me and my husband... along with the flower girls.

I can't believe it's already Halloween. Where did this month go? I have no Halloween spirit as usual and we'll probably go meet some friends in the city for dinner and drinks (sans costume). Tomorrow, I'm shooting for 16 miles in the morning then heading up to the Healdsburg area for the Russian River Wine Tasting event with the hubby and another couple. We'll be staying overnight, yay! Too bad this event didn't coincide with the half marathon last weekend! (Or maybe that was precisely the point...) Hope the rain lets up!!

And, of course, best of luck to everyone racing this weekend!!

Steve in the Tesfa 5k on Sunday
Training for Half and her husband at the 10.3 trail race on Sunday
The Running Lamintor in the NYCM on Sunday!!
Marlene in the Hamilton Half Marathon on Sunday
ncrunner12 in the City of Oaks Marathon *first marathon*
Marci in the Hamilton Marathon on Sunday (She JUST signed up?!?!)

Ok, one relevant photo for the day courtesy of Heineken:

8 Miles on the Bay Trail + Nike Marathon

My hubby and I sloughed through 8 miles on the Oracle Bay Trail last night.

It was warm but once the sun started going down, it cooled off considerably. Considering most of the trail is flat, it was a much easier run. Around mile 5, I had a rather insistent urge to go to the bathroom... If you know what I mean! I actually stopped to look for a restroom at a local elementary school but everything was locked up and closed. I barely made it back to D's work!! (I don't know how I held it in for so long! Sorry, TMI!) Again, the first 4 miles was fairly easy but the return route back wasn't. What did help us run faster was that it started getting very dark and I think we ran a lot faster to finish! It was hard to see out there on the trail, though. It felt really good to go 8 miles, though. I think slowly but surely, I'm getting back into the swing of things. By the way, this is a great route! Very pretty and serene. I love the view of the San Mateo Bridge on the trail!

So, many of you have been asking how I plan to get a slot for the Nike Women's Marathon on October 19 in San Francisco. I don't really have a sure way of getting in to the full marathon. But here are my 3 ways of trying:

1. Craigslist - I posted a wanted ad for a full marathon bib. I've seen a bunch of other wanted ads for half but none for a full marathon. Someone actually contacted me last week to see if I was interested in buying off her bib! I responded yes but I haven't heard back.

2. Jamba Juice - They're one of the corporate sponsors for the Nike Marathon. They get a bunch of slots for their corporate employees. I have a friend in HR there who put me on their waitlist. We'll see if anyone drops off!

3. Taunya - Her sister might not be running? I'm still waiting patiently!

Honestly, I don't know if any of these are going to work out. I don't even know if Nike lets transfer of bib #s, either. But, I'm keeping positive and see if it all works out. If anyone has any other brilliant ideas, please let me know!!