Coffee.



My favorite running shirt, from One More Mile.

This morning I actually DID manage to haul myself out of bed for a 5:15am run. When I tell people I get up to run early in the morning, they often look at me with awe and say things like, "Wow, you're dedicated!" Let me clear this up. I am not a morning person and I detest waking up at 4:45 (or earlier) in the morning. When my alarm goes off that early, I would like to unplug it and throw it against the wall. I am severely cranky and disoriented for the first 15 minutes of being vertical. I have to lay all of my running clothes out very carefully the night before so I can put them on in the dark (I refuse to turn on any lights.) I come up with reasons why I should've just stayed in bed while I navigate my way downstairs and grope in the dark for my keys.

All that said, I do force myself out the door and I have never, ever, not even once, regretted getting up early to run once I'm actually out running. It is wonderful to get out there while the air is still cool and sweet, before the oppressive summer heat sets in. I'm free to run without worrying what my kids are up to or if my childcare time limit is almost up. (Thanks hon, for staying home to watch them in the AM!) I get to see amazing sunrises, and I get to run with good friends who are willing to join me in the misery and joy of an early morning run.

Aside from the fantastic feeling I get for the rest of the day after a good morning run, I look forward to coming home and having a cup of coffee all by myself. I know I've written before about how much I love being home before the kids are up, before the world is awake...before the lawnmowers start and the cars begin to rush by on the street outside. This quiet time is sacred to me. This is the time, too, when I'm really grateful for my Keurig coffee maker. There is nothing like a fresh, hot cup of my favorite coffee that's ready right when I am. Earthy, sweet, fruity, rich, smooth...good coffee can be like fine wine with depth and range of flavors!! Sometimes during the last bits of a hard run, I push myself by thinking about the cup I'm going to have when I get home. I really do "run on coffee!"

My favorites are, in no particular order, (except for the Kona, which comes in first in my book over absolutely anything else):


100% Kona
Wolfgang Puck Breakfast in Bed
Deidrich Morning Edition
Deidrich Sumatra
Coffee People Donut Shop
Green Mountain Caramel Vanilla Creme (I don't do flavored coffees often, but I do like this one once in a while!)

How about you? Are you a coffee drinker? If so, what's your favorite? I'm grateful this morning for beautiful sunrises, good friends, and good coffee...

When two loves collide.

I love running. I love being a mom. Sometimes, however, the two seem especially at odds. Today was one of those days. Since it's summer and the kids are home with me, I get three choices for running. One, I go to the gym, run on the treadmill (which I don't love) and pay $6 for my kids to sit in a little room and play their video games. Two, I drag my kids to the dirt track and possibly get them to run or walk a little in-between sitting on a bench and playing their video games. Three, I get up at 5am and get my run done before the hubby leaves for work. Since I didn't crawl out of bed until 7:30am, that last option was out today. So, with the enthusiasm and optimism born out of my last great experience with my oldest son at the dirt track and the fact that summer has JUST started and we haven't had time to get fed-up with each other yet, I packed up a blanket, snacks, drinks, video games and got ready to head to the dirt track.

At 9am, we were still trying to get out the door. One didn't want the breakfast I'd made, the other couldn't find shoes. One couldn't find the particular video game he wanted, the other couldn't manage to get his socks on. As I watched the lovely overcast coolness melt out of the sky and turn to warm sunshine, I grew more and more irritable. Finally, we were in the car, only for me to realize I had forgotten my OWN water bottle.

When we arrived at the track, I parked the kids on a bench with food, drinks and games. I took a deep breath and tried to regain some of the enthusiasm I'd had at 7:30, then started out on lap one. It started at lap two. "Mom, it's hot." Sit in the shade! Lap three. "Mom, I don't want to play this game anymore." Then don't! Lap four. "Mom, I want to walk a lap with you, can you stop running?" Oh, honey....(sigh) sure! Lap five. "Mom, can we gooooo now?? It's hot! I'm thirsty!" Drink your drink! "I drank it already!"

I managed to get in 16 laps. Sort of. I think I walked a couple because one of them wanted to walk but not run. I had to turn around and go get someone a couple of times because they couldn't keep up and started whining. I had to provide first aid to a skinned knee when one fell off the bench. I had to break up a fight.

I LOVE being a mom. I LOVE running. I am so blessed that I can do both, but sometimes it's hard when these two loves of mine cross paths. How do the rest of you running moms do it? There's a long summer ahead. I know some days will be good, some will be difficult. I'm optimistically hoping last week's run wasn't an anomaly, that being a mom and being a runner CAN coexist peacefully. Wish me luck!

Most inspirational run ever.

We are super incredibly busy this coming weekend, so instead of doing my long run on Saturday morning as usual, I needed to get my run in this morning. Weekday runs are hard for me in the summer because I have my kids at home. My youngest's last day of school was today (sniffsniff!) but my oldest is out of school already and would have to come along with me. When I'm faced with this proposition, I usually head to the gym where he can hang out and play video games in the Kids Club while I run. A long run on the treadmill, however, did NOT appeal to me. We do have a strange little dirt track not far from our house...it's maintained by the city and is technically a flood control facility with a track at the top. It's totally fenced in and randomly gets locked down so no one can use it. No one at the city rec office can explain to me what the schedule is. It's pretty much unlocked "whenever someone remembers and stays unlocked until someone remembers to lock it again." Oh and if there's rain in the forecast, it's usually locked since it is a flood control facility. Lucky for me, it was open today, so I dragged my oldest son over to do some laps for his 100 Mile Club challenge while I ran.

As expected, he half walked/half jogged about two laps and then wanted to park himself on a bench with his video games. I agreed to let him, as long as he did at least two more laps before we left AND helped me count my laps. I get partially delirious after running very far on a track...nine laps jumps to twelve and then back down to eight, no eleven, and suddenly I'm freaking out because I've lost count. I armed my precious kiddo with a pen and paper and asked him to please tear his eyes away from his games long enough to just count.

Around eighteen laps in, he could see that I was getting a little tired. Not only that, I'd realized that the track was coming out at just slightly under a quarter mile, and I'd need to add at least an extra lap at the end of my run to even out the discrepancy. I asked him with less than enthusiasm to add one more lap to my goal, and he turned to me and said, "Mom, instead of telling you how many laps you've done, why don't I tell you how many you've got left? It's a much more positive way to look at it." I gaped open mouthed at my 9-year old. When did he become such an optimist??? Okay, he's totally brilliant, I already knew that, but the fact that he saw I was getting tired and negative and spun things around like that was pretty cool. I told him so, and he grinned and set out to do another lap with me.

Somewhere around twenty-something laps in, I was getting hot and feeling beat. The sun was starting to come out from behind the "June gloom," and the endless, boring loop was starting to get to me. As I came around the turn to the straightaway where he was sitting, my wonderful child sprang up and started cheering. "You can do it, Mom! Anything you think you can do, you can! Only 7 laps left!" I wanted to kiss him for his encouragement, so I did. We high-fived and I kept going. After that lap, every lap was a new inspiration, "You are on fire, Mom!! Don't stop!" he yelled after me. Four laps to go, he put down the beloved video game that I thought was permanently attached to his body and started running with me. I didn't think he could run four whole laps beside me, but not only did he keep up, he kept encouraging me the whole time. "Hey, I'm the one that's supposed to be telling YOU how great YOU are doing, you know?" I said to him. "You are pretty amazing," I told him. He grinned again and looked at me and said, "No, Mom, YOU are amazing." We finished the last lap together and I gave him a huge hug. I've never been more proud or inspired. The kid I had to drag to the track was the one pushing me to finish strong, not even realizing his own awesome accomplishment. He'd just run a whole mile with me, farther than I've ever seen him run in his whole life. We must be doing something right to have such an incredible kid. Sure, he can be as selfish and self-centered as the next nine year old sometimes, but in the clutch, he can look beyond himself to help someone else out, and turn negativity into encouragement and positive thinking. Yeah, I'm biased, but I think he's going to be a runner.

Swimming and muscles I didn't know I had.

My swim cap is not this cool.

This week I "officially" started crosstraining in the pool. We have a rectangular pool, so I calculated it out and 3 laps (out and back, 3 times) = 100 meters. Geared with this knowledge, my swim cap and goggles, I leaped in on Monday to see what I could do. In just 400 meters, I bonked. (Does one "bonk" in swimming? Or is it called "near-drowning from exhaustion" instead??) Good gravy, swimming is hard!! Especially when you're like me and you have tiny T-Rex arms that you never use.

Day two, I resolved to do better and squeaked out 600 meters. I thought I'd done pretty well, until later that night, my shoulders began to feel as if I'd been carrying 50 lb bags of dog food on each side for several hours. (Dog food being about the heaviest thing I carry these days.)

No, these aren't mine.

The first two days, I'd done my swim AFTER running several miles first, so on day three I decided to give running a rest and see what I could do if I just swam. I pulled out a pretty decent 800 meter swim and was totally pleased with myself. By that evening, however, I was NOT pleased with myself. I seriously felt like my arms might actually fall off of my body. I'd be like one of my kids' LEGO mini-figures, missing arms. Unfortunately, unlike the mini-figs, I can't just pop new arms on. If I could do that, I'd definitely pop on Chrissy Wellington's, anyway.

I think I need to back off the enthusiasm a little. I hurt. I forgot I had muscles up there in my shoulders, but I am quite aware of them now. I am excited about swimming more this summer, but I look forward to the time when there is not as much pain. And also to the time when I can finish 800 meters with a little less flailing and gasping. Thank goodness I have the whole summer to work on it!

Fartlek - fun to say, fun to do.

I have been trying to motivate my almost 9-year old son to run with me for at least a year. He gets tired, his feet hurt, he doesn't feel like it, he has a million excuses. This summer, we embarked (along with my almost 6-year old son) on a challenge through 100 Mile Club to run 26.2 miles. This isn't consecutive all at once miles...no, I'm not forcing my children run a marathon. It's 26.2 miles over the course of the whole summer. We do a little here, a little there and it all adds up. Mostly we've been walking, but this morning it was just my oldest and I at home and I decided to try and get him out the door with me for a run.

I told him we'd do one mile, and we'd walk some, run some. He reluctantly agreed and pulled on his shoes, and we headed out. As we began, I started to explain to him what a fartlek was. I knew he'd think the word was hysterical (and I was totally right, he immediately began saying it over and over as loudly as possible. My apologies to any neighbors still asleep!) I also thought he might like the "game" aspect of choosing a point and racing to the next. I told him we'd walk in-between, and we could take turns choosing our start and end points. To my surprise and delight, he was completely onboard. Not only was he all for it, he was excited! We had a BLAST together racing through the neighborhood. "Run to the next trashcan starting...NOW!" he'd shriek. "Hey, you got a head start, not fair!" I'd yell as we tried to outrun each other.

It totally MADE my day to run with him and see him having so much fun. I'm crossing my fingers that we can make fartlek runs a regular thing. And that he'll always find the fun in them.

Rockin' the Relay!

This past Sunday I ran the San Diego Rock n Roll Half Marathon as a relay with a good friend of mine. Not only did we kick butt, we had a fantastically good time. I swore off this race when I injured myself running the full marathon version of it last year, but was convinced to give it another try by my pal. It helped that she offered to run the first leg of the relay, which included the nasty portion of the freeway where I hurt myself before. (The camber was ridiculous!) So with a drumstick for a baton, she headed to the start line while another friend and I made our way to the relay exchange point.

What was really fun for me was getting to see all the elite runners go by. Normally, I am in a corral way back at the start line and those elites are finishing up their race almost before I get to cross the start's timing mat. Being positioned on the course gave me an opportunity for the first time to watch these athletes run by. Meb K, who you might recall is a big favorite of mine, took an early lead in the half and when we saw him he was all alone, at least 12 seconds ahead of everyone else. He didn't just run past, he floated. It was surreal and amazing to watch him run! The elite runners for the half all went past and pretty soon we saw the elite runners for the full, too. Very, very cool.

It wasn't long before we heard my team's number being called and I jumped into the exchange chute. My friend blew in and passed the drumstick, and suddenly I was off and running. The major downside to running the second leg, I found, was that everyone else had already been running a while. With my fresh legs and adrenaline pumping I was ready to GO, while others were ready to take a walk break! I spent a lot of time weaving around people, and it wasn't as easy to find a "sweet spot" where I could run unhindered. That said, we still turned in a very respectable time, a new "joint-PR" that was better than our individual bests!

I definitely recommend the relay option to anyone looking to participate in a big race with a shorter distance. It came at a good time for me with the hamstring rehab...I wasn't quite ready for 13.1 yet but wanted to push it a little at a shorter race to see how it did. (I had NO pain, by the way. HOORAY!!!!!) If you Google "half marathon relay" you'll get a TON of races back that offer relays at the half (and some at the full) distance. Check it out!

Before I go, I have to give a couple shout-outs to some of the cool booths and new stuff I saw at the race expo:

Run Pretty Far www.runprettyfar.com  SUPER cute arm warmers, gaiters, tech shirts and they carry BIC bands, which I love. It's all very girlie, though. Guys, I warned you.

Fuel Belt  These guys aren't new and if you're reading this blog you probably know I'm a big fan. However, THIS waistpack is new, at least to me. I ran with it today and I can say that I adore it. It does not bounce or slide around. Perfect for a shorter run where I don't need to lug the whole four-bottle belt. And, if it's a little longer and I do need SOME water but don't want the whole belt, this handheld is perfect. I didn't pick one of these babies up but it's on my list for sure. I liked the size and way it fit my hand, unlike a lot of bigger bottles I've tried.

Pentax Yes, this is the camera people. I got to check out a COOL new camera they've launched called the Optio. This thing is waterproof (seriously, you can even submerge it!), crushproof, sweatproof and fairly foolproof. It'd be great for runs, hikes, bikes, pretty much anywhere you wanted to take it. Now, if it could just remember to pack itself, I'd totally own one.

Brooks Again, not new. I'm shouting out because they ALWAYS give away cool free stuff at the Expos. If you are at an expo where Brooks is, VISIT THEM. Thanks, Brooks. In addition to having awesome shoes, you guys are just amazingly cool.

National Running Day is here!

Happy National Running Day! How did you celebrate?? I did 2 miles on the treadmill...I'm getting ready to run the San Diego Half relay with my good friend on Sunday and I can't wait! I think it's a little odd to have the National Day for Running on a weekday, though. That makes it hard to have any sort of race or event to commemorate it, although I suppose most of us will  mark the day with a run. How does that make it different from any other day? As a matter of fact, now that I'm thinking about it, since they decided to put this holiday smack in the middle of a week, shouldn't we runners get to have the day off to celebrate?? Hmmmm...

However you spend it, enjoy the day!!