Hear ye! Hear ye!

My fundraising deadline is October 6th. If you have been planning on donating but have just put it off, please, get thee to my fundraising site! Here, I'll put the link right here for you.

If you haven't necessarily been planning on donating, but you're here reading this, please oh please oh please go ahead and donate! Everything helps- you can go big or small.

Thanks, friends and strangers. Smooches.

It rocked, then sucked, then was okay, then sucked again. But overall rocked.

Yesterday I did 11 miles in San Francisco on the the Nike course, and it was mostly wonderful. First, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I didn't even notice until later that when we met at 8am, it wasn't even slightly cold, and we were right on the bay. I was nervous going into this training, because I guess I was afraid that on the actual course it would be too hard or something. I don't know what I thought, but I was nervous, and it was for nothing.

I pretty much felt awesome for 1/3 or so- I ran a bit on some of the downhills, I was full of energy and endorphins, and it was all geeky pumped-upedness. Then came the Hill from Heck. I mean, it isn't the absolute worst or anything, but it was fairly steep both up and down, so we were hurting. My knees really didn't love the bottom of the downhill portion. There was about another mile or so after that point, then we had to turn around and go back to where we started. Yay!

This was a really difficult walk-our hardest training yet-because there are very few flat parts of SF. It's flat along the waterfront, where we'll be starting, but once you start heading up, it is just variable degrees of incline and length of hills. So, while I loved our first downhill and actually ran a bit because it wasn't *too* steep, it was really a bear to go back up because it was so...stinking...long!!!! The good thing is that we dont' have to do that in the real race, so this was actually quite a bit harder than the race will be. And that's awesome, because now we half-a-thoners have basically done the last half of the course and know what it's like, and that we can do it. Race day, we'll be saying, "Psssh! This is nothing! We don't have to go back up!"

It was also a very beautiful walk, which is easy to do in such a great city. We followed the coast under the Golden Gate and around some cliffs for a while, then we headed into the Sea Cliff neighborhood and- Holy Cow!! Some RICH people with beatiful houses and views are in there! After that neighborhood, we just had a few blocks in normal, ugly-ish city, then we were out at the coast again by the historic Cliff House restaurant and Ocean Beach with its windmill.

On the way back, there was a red-tail hawk hovering in the air and diving and hunting, and it was so wonderful to watch. We stood right under it for a few minutes while it just hung there looking at us and the water alternately. It was really awesome.

Being that my average speed doesn't ever seem to change, I didn't really care about it this week. That's why I say "we" so much in this log, because I just stayed with people this time and mostly walked with my friend, Kaaren, so she wouldn't have to be alone, and so that we could spur each other on for the return hills. On race day, though, there will be so many people that nobody will be alone, and I'll try to use my fast pace.

Next week- Michigan!! I'll probably be on Hines drive by myself on Sunday, then with the TNT Detroit chapter in Kensington the next week, if I stay in town.

11, no wait- 10 Miles

This week I didn't have the car, so I wasn't able to join my team for Saturday's training and I walked on the trail here on my own. My plan was to get up early, ride my scooter down the road a bit, and walk to the next town over and back. Well, I did get up early, but it was in the 40's, and it is just too stinkin' cold to ride when it is that cold, so I went back to bed for a while. (Oh, twist my arm.)

I got back up and headed out around 11. I parked my scooter and walked towards home for about 2 miles and then went to Sebastopol, which is about 5 miles west. It was mostly nice at first because it was a pretty day, I ran into a woman from ADI and one of the dogs, so that was cool, and there are NO HILLS!

The snags started when I ran out of water at mile 2, and the drinking fountain on the trail wasn't working. That actually didn't turn out to be as bad as I thought it could be, but I wasn't thrilled. The real problem was that I choose poorly in the underwear & pants department. That may be too much information for you, but I'm sorry. I was in some serious pain once I got down to Sebastopol, and wondered if I could go on- not that I had a choice. So I was very glad to get into town where I gulped down some water and took a potty break at a cafe. I was supposed to wander in town a bit to get in an 11th mile, but I just didn't have it in me.

The walk back wasn't too horrible, although I whined to myself a bit at first, moaned about my feet, and sat on a bench and called Seth to make him encourage me. Oh, and I was constantly checking where I was in relation to the main road in case I needed to dramatically fall to the ground and have him come get me. But I obviously made it. Once the road where I parked my scooter was in blurry sight, I started doing some sort of "You go, girl!" chant to myself.

Something cool was that I wasn't really sore at all that day- at least not how I normally am sore, and aside from the chaffing (hey! It's my blog!). I didn't have time to nap before church, so I suppose that my body didn't harden into the fetal position like normal. My feet were fine and everything! So, I guess I'll try not to nap from now on. We'll see about that.

Another cool thing is that Seth noticed that my legs are thinner. That is very nice, indeed. I'm just hoping that my friends and family in MI will notice, since I'm not tons skinnier or anything. I just don't want, "Oh. I thought you would have lost a lot of weight by now."

Next Saturday, we're in San Francisco walking the course! I am very excited. Or should I say "stoked"? I do live in CA now.

Sidenote: a song that I almost always get in my head while waking is "I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart". I guess that I walk at the right pace for it.

Almost there!

This was another week of 10 miles, and it was pretty good. We were at the park right here in town, but we went on different trails and roads than I've been on, so it was nice to see different parts and I can now add those to my training routes.

I was a little concerned going into Saturday's walk because I had taken Thursday & Friday off because my left calf mutinied Wednesday. I've had a knot-type thing for a few weeks, and it briefly turned into searing pain when I was walking at the park on Wednesday. That was fun. But I just had to limp to a good spot to stretch a bit more, and then I was able to finish my walk.

One thing I did notice last week and this week was that I got hella tired at about mile 8. I haven't worried much about what I eat for fuel during training because everything seemed to be working fine, but maybe I need to start experimenting a bit more as I get up into the higher mileages. Another possibility is that I got little sleep before both Saturdays. Sleep probably helps with energy- it's a theory I'm working on.

Over the river and through the woods.

Saturday's workout was very good, but very difficult. We were at the Point Reyes National Seashore, which was gorgeous, but just a hard course for everyone.

There weren't any huge hills, but there were a few that were steep-ish and it was all rolling, so it just ended up taking a toll on the body. I went pretty fast all the way out and part of the way back, but I just was sooooo tired. It really was awesome, though. It was all through the woods and by creeks, and then we came out at a cliff at the ocean. Just wonderful. I've looked for some pictures, and I found this guy's website showing the trail we were on and where it comes out. I was afraid that I would cry once I got to the coast, but I didn't. The temptation to linger was VERY strong, though, so I just stretched a bit and turned back.

Being that we were walking on a fire road through the woods, we originally weren't going to be able to have a water stops, but we had some truly awesome people who trekked out before we did with bags of food and a wagon so that we could get refills and snacks. Thanks to Jill and her kids, and I'll get back to you when I find the names of the two people who went out 2.5 miles with the wagon.