Rainy NYE Morning

I must have woke up 3 times during the night when heavy wind and rain crashed into my bedroom window. At that moment, I knew running in the morning was not likely. However, if other teammates were gonna run in the rain, I sure was gonna do it. Alas, the heavy rains came pouring down at 6:00 am and the run was called off.

Already semi-decked in running gear, I wanted to run. I needed to run. Without only 2 weeks left to marathon day, I felt like my training was not up to par. I stared out the window every hour from 7:00 am to 10:00 am and all I saw was gushing wind and rain.

But at 10:00 am, the rain stopped! I quickly put on the other half of my running gear and dashed outside. I figured I would play it by ear and run as long as I could once I was out there. It turned out to be pretty nice. No rain, but there was a few windy moments. I punched out a total of 1 hour and 21 minutes before another wave of heavy rain forced me to head back. I'm pretty satisfied. Not bad considering I was afraid this week would have been a waste.

Happy New Years!
May 2006 be way better than 2005!!

Miles completed today: 6.5 miles
Total Miles since Kick-off: 212.5 miles

THANK YOU!

A big warm "thank you" to everyone who contributed towards my fundraising goal! Since this was my first time fundraising, I really did not know what to expect, but you guys came through BIG TIME!! I can't begin to tell you how i've been touched by all your generosity. It truly brings a smile to my face when I think about your kindness and support.

forever grateful,
Phil

YOYO X-mas Run!

This morning was a YOYO (Your Own Your Own) run, which was unusual because i've always trained with the team on Saturday mornings.

I decided to stay really local and ran around my neighborhood. If anybody knows where I live, i'm up in the hills where it is, you guessed it, hilly. This is why I never normally bothered running in the neighborhood. I really had no choice in running this morning because I knew I was gonna overload on food tomorrow.

I ended up running approximately 50 minutes in mostly incline/hilly areas, which I hope translated to about 4 miles. I also broke in my new shoes today, which made the run feel a lot different. YOYO runs are definitely a mental challenge.

Have a merry x-mas! Be safe and well!


Miles completed today: 4 miles
Total Miles since Kick-off: 206 miles

PowerBar Endurance - Official RNR Sports Drink

PowerBar Endurance and PowerBar Power Gel will be provided on the RNR marathon and half marathon courses. I've only tried their Power Gel once. I didn't even know PowerBar had an endurance drink.

19 Miles Down, Only the Marathon Left!

I got out of bed at 5:00 am, prepared my gear, ate a quick meal, drove to San Leandro Marina and arrived by 6:30 am. Yesterday's run was a 18-20 miles for the RNR (Rock 'n' Rollers-Arizona) group, well actually that's the only group left in our Fall Team. Cal International and Honolulu Marathoners are all done. My goal this morning was 20 miles.

The weather yesterday morning was 45 degrees and didn't change throughout the day. By Cali standards, that's freaking cold. The wind factor made the run more brutal.

Today's course begin at the San Leandro Marina in which we had to head south to the San Mateo Bridge. The difference this time, was another mile was added in between. It was 8 miles out and 8 miles back to the finish line. After crossing the finish line, a 3 mile loop around the Marina Park was waiting for us. In order to get the final mile, we had to cross the finish line again for another 0.5 mile out and 0.5 mile back for a total of 20 miles. I didn't do the 0.5 out and back because my 4 hour time limit was up. Coach 's orders. Besides, I was mentally drained.

I wanted out after 17 miles. I was exhausted, but I kept looking at my right arm where I wrote "No Wimps" and that got me through the last 2 miles. The rain decided to come down as I finished the last mile. At least my blister problems didn't act up today. Of course, I put new skin, moleskin on and taped it up. If three precautionary measures didn't do it, I didn't know what will.

So for the final long run of the season, I did 19 miles. I'm gonna have to figure out how to do the final 7.2 miles on race day. Hopefully addrenaline will kick in and I won't know the difference.

Guess what? I'm gonna be a Mentor for the Spring Season! I'll be training for the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in June 2006. If I complete both marathons, i'll be a heavy medal groupie!

Miles completed yesterday: 19 miles
Total Miles since Kick-off: 202 miles

Mental Toughness

Just found out that Saturday's run location has changed from Lake Chabot to San Leandro. Good news...no hills. Bad news...this was the location that kept me out 2 weeks aftewards with a nasty blister/foot strain. Talk about a final mental toughness challenge. I get to come back and seek revenge with a 20-miler. *gulp* Hey...NO WIMPS, right? I'm ready.

Congratulations to the Honolulu Marathoners!

I'm so proud of all of them! Excellent job Jen and Sarah! I only wish my marathon was sooner.

No buddy run for me today. When I tore off the bandage from my blister, it ripped some fresh skin and bled. No runs till Saturday. Hopefully the blister will be gone by then.

Who says there are no water stops at mentor runs?

Captain Claudia had us seeing twins as she went from water stop to water stop. It was quite amazing and hysterical. It really helped us out a lot. Thanks for the impromptu setup. The remaining Fall seasoners (only us Arizona-bounders) had a mentor led run in Berkeley Marina (again), but went the opposite direction towards Chevys. The runs are seemingly easier and feel shorter. I did 8 miles this morning because my blister was acting up again. Actually, the new skin came in a couple days ago, but I pissed it off and it ripped. Looks like the body is gonna have to produce skin all over again. I'm feeling good, but am agonizing the 20-miler next week at Lake Chabot. Not the miles, but the hills. Yikes.

Miles completed today: 8 miles
Total Miles since Kick-off: 183 miles

Feeling Refreshed!

Went to see Dr. Klein today. Told her my foot problem and by the end of the session it felt better. After my 18-miler, my hammys were really tight. She believed because it was so tight, I wasn't walking like I normally do and my foot overcompensated (yet again). She stretched out the hammy and did some deep massaging on the foot and i'm walking a hell lot better.

I also stopped by Transport to pick up my new shoes! Well actually its the same model, but I think its time to switch since i've racked so much mileage on the old one. They ordered me the same model, but (to my suprise) in a different color. I almost freaked when I saw what was in the box, but i'm embracing it because I can definitely tell the difference between the two pairs. This way I won't have the chance to bring a pair of left foot shoes to the marathon. =p

WTF????

Hmm....I can't for the life of me figure out how I strained my right foot. I noticed the aggrevation yesterday and thought nothing of it (hoping it would go away), but I can definitely feel it today. It feels like the same strain I had on my left foot after the 14-miler at San Leandro. Very bizzare. I'm pretty sure this strain had something to do with the 18-miler, but its just so odd that it came 3 days later. I felt fine Saturday through Monday. Weird. I'm gonna miss another track workout so I can be well rested for this Saturdays mentor led run at Berkeley Marina. I'm pretty pissed since I haven't gone to track in over a month. Doing the longer runs have certainly limited me from doing all the middle of the week runs which I was able to regularly attend earlier in the season. Building mileage makes a difference. I'll see what Dr. Klein has to say about these funky strains when I see her Friday.

Best of luck Honolulu Marathoners! I know you all will do awesome! GO TEAM! East Bay Rocks! NO WIMPS! Team Excellent!

All I want for X-MAS......

are donations!

all of which will make a difference
in the lives of my honorees and their families.

thanks!

Cal International

Drove up to Sac this morning to cheer my fellow teammates at the Cal International Marathon. I really didn't even think about going up, but hey Sac is within driving distance, right? I'm glad I went. It definitely pumped me up for my marathon and I wish it was happening next week.

I wanted to meet Claudia and Rocky at the 13 mile mark to catch Olivia coming, but I got lost. Stupid me didn't bring any kind of map and was going by photo memory of the times I went to to Sac from Davis. Yeah my memory was shot and I got lost for quite some time. Time for GPS?...I think so. I didn't even have a map of the race course. Fortunately Claudia fed me directions and I joined up with everyone at mile 20 near Fulton/Fair Oaks. Saw Mama Lisa running with Olivia and they looked determined to finish the last 6.2 miles. Claudia joined in to run with Olivia for the rest of the race and Jeanette joined in sometime after. I saw all of them near the finish line and it was a proud moment. Awesome job everyone! and congrats to Olivia, Bill, and everyone else who finished the marathon. I'm inspired and can't wait for Arizona!

18 miles down, 8.2 miles to go!

"Amazing" would be the word to describe today's run. I set my mind to do 18 miles and I did it! I felt great during (most of) the run. Everything felt easy and smooth. I had a great rhythm up til mile 16. Keeping in a group pace with Bryan, Melissa, and Tabitha really made the run fun and really kept my mind off the dauting task of doing 18 miles. We were also tested mentally because our run was only marked for 16 miles, so we had to cross the finish line and do another 2 miles. I never crossed the finish line to do additional miles. I was dead tired by 16 and I really wanted to stop at the finish line the first time. Fortunately, Tabitha pushed me through the last 1.5 miles and I made it strong to the end. I would have never expected I had so much left in the tank. Thanks guys! You are all awesome!

I can't believe I was on my feet for about 4 hours. I'm beginning to think i'm insane, but it's all been worth it. Still confusing is that I developed a really really ginormous blister. I popped it at the recommendation of Mama Lisa (unfortunately I did it the unconventional way - not my choice) . Still very puzzling. I've tried everything in my power to prevent blisters: various inserts, tape, blister pads but nothing has worked......Oh wells.

So this past Thursday at the Honolulu/Cal Int send off, I was awarded a spirit cap along with Richard. I'm definitely honored and i'm still kind of in disbelief. I'm only trying to give back to what TNT has given me.

Miles completed today: 18 miles
Total Miles since Kick-off: 175 miles