The Holiday training spectrum

I have been reading several interesting posts lately about how you all approach the Holiday season.  Some are taking it easy and going for a rest and a let's enjoy this time of year and eat good stuff  attitude with running for fun when they feel like it.  Others are going into challenges...like counting points for every workouts, running at least 1 mile per day or piling on miles to help staying on track during the season of many temptations....

Which side do you go....? Is the Holiday season harder for you as far as training goes?
For me it makes no difference really only because I cannot eat the good stuff.  I know that if I could it would be harder for sure.

I don't want to take a week off and slack too much.  I think I would be very grumpy and I also don't want to have to start over with building mileage and fitness.

I have not been following a real plan in the recent weeks even though I do have one more race this year.  The Holiday Half Marathon is coming up in less than 2 weeks.  I have continued to run 5-6 days a week but no speedwork and my long runs have not always been long enough.  I am going into this last race a little unprepared I think.  That is my slacking.  No speedwork, that is since June and the reason I still haven't added this to my training is because I still have pain.  Not every day, but every week.
The one thing both PT I saw said was no speedwork until this groin is healed.  I cannot say it is healed after almost 6 months.  It is better though.   The long runs have been shorter because in part of the pain and also from being exhausted.  I don't want to make my injury worst or to get a new one.  I don't want to be sick.  So last weekend I ran 8 miles instead of 10 because I had pain at mile 5 and I have not slept more than 3-4 hrs per night in the last  2 mos.  It is what it is.  Sometimes life gets in the way of my important training...

I am looking forward to this last race even if I have not done "the work" to do well. It will be my second time running this one; last year I thought I would do terrible and I ended up with a PR.   It is a hilly course but a nice one and it is fun to see the people dressed up in festive outfits!

My next "goal" race will be Surf City or RnR Pasadena...I must pick one.  They are both in February and 2 weeks apart.  I ran both last year.  I did poorly at Surf City and got a PR in Pasadena.  I loved both races.  Right now I am leaning towards Surf City ....redemption..you know...

I leave you with this picture of my kids.   Yesterday before dinner, the house was really quiet...way too quiet for a house with 2 boys under 8 yrs old so I thought for sure my boys were up to no good....I am so happy to report I could not have been more WRONG.
I went upstairs to check on them...and this is what I found:



Made me so happy to see this.  Will is reading the last Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Jonathan is reading a Magic Tree House book.
 

Turkey Trot Race Recap

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving with your families.
We had a low key one like every year.  My family is Canadian so we don't celebrate the American Thanksgiving and my in-laws are....well complicated.

The kids and I ran the local Turkey Trot for the 2nd year.  It is 15 minutes away from our house and in a town I really like.  It reminds me of my hometown.

This is a great race for families.  It is not expensive, we can even sign up the day before without being hit with an increase in the cost.  Everyone gets a long sleeve shirt, this year it's yellow...neon, all the kids get a cute medal and the 5K has a time chip.

Kids race was first and the boys did great!
It is fun to see all the little kids coming down the street after the turn around.

Jonathan (in yellow and hat) is a clown as you can see...

The start! Jonathan with his Game face on!

Coming down to the finish line, this is my new favorite picture of my kids!  I LOVE it and it is going in a frame on the wall!



Will running with his eyes closed! (top right) and I think we need to work on Jonathan's form (bottom right)..what is up with his feet??!!!



My turn next.
I don't like 5Ks...feels like running death to me...it is too fast, it is painful.
I have not done speedwork in a long time so I was NOT ready for a real 5K race.
I like this course.  First 2.5 miles are flat with 3 uphill sections.  Last part is all downhill.
I wanted to go under 29:00 like I did last year and not puke.
We had perfect weather, 50s and sunny.
I decided to go with my team sparkles skirt for this one.

This is coming to the finish line.  Do you see that little girl in front of me on the left...
she jump in front of me from the sidewalk and scared the crap out of me.  I think she was trying to catch her parent...I don't know...but it was dangerous...guy next to me almost tripped..





28:38, no PR but better than last year on that course so I am happy.



Some lady who was there with her kid, was reading what it says on my jacket and asked "What HOOD is this?" I told her Mount Hood.  She asked where it was and I told her Oregon.  She then turned to her kid and said "It's in Canada!!!!"  Pretty sad.....seriously...



Did you do Black Friday?  Are you shopping today?
For me No and No.

I went for 4 miles this morning and planning on 10 tomorrow or Sunday.

Yesterday our fantastic neighbors played super loud music from 2 pm until 4:30 am.  I think they are the rudest people I have ever seen.  They don't care about anyone living near them.  The worst part is the owner of the house is a cop so the cops do nothing about it when they are called (I know because we called before and so did other people).  So I did not sleep well...I had to wear ear plugs to try to block the music. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was good!

Thank you Oiselle

I couple weeks ago I won a OISELLE Fast Friday Giveaway. 
You should follow them on Twitter and be on the look out for these fantastic Giveaways... 

Thank you OISELLE!

This was the Giveaway post from their Blog HERE .

On their post the price was announced as  "We will giveaway a race day kit to two lucky PainFest winners (spike bag, armwarmers, tee, shorts, lip gloss), because even if you're in pain your outfit shouldn't be." 

I won with one of my trademark dry-heaving race picture. 

Yesterday I received a package from Oiselle!
My first bird mail ever!  I could get used to this....with NO PAIN !!!

I received the shorts, the T-shirt and the lip balm.  I also received their new orange shoe laces (instead of the arm warmers and spike bag I think) with some stickers and mini buttons.

My favorite thing is the shirt.  I LOVE LOVE it.  It says  "Je m'en vais".  It means "I am leaving".  I love that it is in French..it could not be more perfect for me of course!!!! (if you are new here.. I am French Canadian). You can see it here on their website, it is called "Here I go".   I already have one Oiselle Tee that I got when we went to visit their offices with the NUUN Hood to Coast team and it is one of my favorite shirt!

The shorts are their LORI Running Shorts.  Mine don't have the new zip pocket they now have inside but if you add these to your Santa list you should have the hidden zip pocket in the front.  Looking forward to try them on a future run!

 

If I was making a Santa list this year, Oiselle gear would most definitely be on it.  Unless things change soon in the job hunting department, I will be skipping Santa for this year and focus on the kids.  I think it is the last Christmas that Will is still going to "BELIEVE" and I want it to be special for him and his brother....If one finds out the truth about Santa it is pretty much over for the other one right?

 

Thank you OISELLE for this fantastic price!!!

Put a little sunshine in my day! 

 

Happy Turkey Trotting to everyone!

I am going to run a 5K on Thursday even though I hate that distance.

 

knock knock...who's there...

Exhaustion, Stress and Gastritis.
Not a great combo.

Friday night..ended up in bed at 8 pm....
I could not keep my eyes open any longer.

I have not been sleeping much since we learned that Bill has lost his job.  I worry and I think too much....

That with the stress sent me in relapse with my GI issues.
Friday I reached the bottom of my tank.  I thought for a minute that the flu was going to join the party but no.. Thank God for that.

Saturday I went to a Holiday Boutique with my cards and my photo books and I set my table:

It was a rainy day.  People in California are very afraid of the rain.  They don't go out in the rain.  So it was DEAD. 
This was at someones house and I did not know how she prepared for this.  It ended up being a huge waste of time.  I sold some cards but nothing  worth all the time and effort I put into it.

I think the Holiday fair at the schools I have coming up will  be better!
I gave up my Saturday run for this and It was not a good decision. 
Learning lesson I guess.

I am still feeling pretty tired.
Yesterday I only did 6 miles.  I should have done at least 10. 
Today I did 4 and it felt hard.
The weather here is just PERFECT.  It is the best time of the year I think.

I decided to run a Turkey Trot on Thursday.
A local 5K really close to my home.
The kids will do the kids race.

Are you doing a Turkey Trot?
We did it last year and it was a lot of fun.  I am looking forward to it.

I should be on my way to Big Sur....

But I am not.
Pity Party for 1 over here.  It won't last but I am a little sad ...I keep getting the emails with the instructions for the race and seeing all the pictures on Facebook...and it sucks a little.  It is not the end of the world, I know.  Next year, Big Sur...I am coming for you.

Instead of having a race weekend I will be going to a Holiday Boutique as a vendor to try to sell some Christmas, Valentine and Birthday Cards and other things I make.  Wish me good luck!

Now I know I have talked about this picture here

It is now part of a great post with an awesome slide show of about 50 pictures of mother runners.  A must see..not because I am in it of course..because it represents all of us.  If you know someone who keeps saying things like "I don't look like a runner so I don't run or I am too shy to sign up for a race because I don't look like a runner" send them this link:

http://anothermotherrunner.com/2012/11/13/photo-gallery-what-a-mother-runner-looks-like-part-i/

Mission Inn 10K Race Recap

Sunday I ran the Mission Inn 10K for the third year in a row.
I was not supposed to do it this year but because I have to skip Big Sur, I decided to sign up at the last minute.  They did not have an increase in the price for late registration, that is a plus when doing local races!

This is course is hard.  It is hilly. 
The start of the 10K is at 8:30 am so no need to get up too early.
The weather was PERFECT.  48F at the start, the sun was out, no crazy wind.

I did not check the time really well before the start and I was kind of caught by surprise when the announcer said "Are you ready?".  He had not said a word before that and THAT was the start.... "GO"!   My bad for not checking what time it was :)

I started too fast...but I was OK with the idea of doing that knowing the worst hill is in the last mile.  That did cause me some trouble with my breathing..I just could not get to a comfortable place...I felt out of breath for the first 3 miles or so.  I ended up with the same pain as a sideache pain but in the collarbone.  Have you had that before?  It hurts.  I had it before.  I don't know how to get rid of it other than slowing down... What do you do if you have that?

Because of all the stress I feel for the last several weeks I have a relapse with my GI problems and I have gastritis again.  It is now to the point where I have to sleep sitting up and I feel the pain almost all the time and I eat less and less.  And....of course the medicine I take for this is now NOT COVERED by the very $$$$$ private insurance we had to get until Bill finds a job.  This sucks big time. So frustrating....

I also lost my Garmin...the strap broke...and it became too loose..of course I went back a few steps to get it...  Those darn bracelets don't last a long time and are way too big! This will be the third time I replace it.

So I had a couple issues...but that is no excuse...I did not do bad or great.  Just OK.
I do like this race even if it is hard.  I don't think I would ever PR on that course so that was not a goal I had for this one.  To get a new PR for the 10K I would need to be serious about speed work and I am not.  Since coming back from my injury I have just focused on mileage really because my goal race was Big Sur Half Marathon.

Mile 3 the boys were there and this time they saw me!!! Not like at the last race :)
Here that's Jonathan taking a picture of me with his leap pad :)

and Will ran to give me a high five! and almost hit another runner putting his hand out..ooopsy....

Here after the last turn before the finish line.

Here one thing that went well...I had a good strong finish.  No puking and no jogging..!

The boys wanted to have a picture with these guys who flew by me at mile 3!

 Beautiful statue of MLK:

Call me Rain {wo}Man?

Do you subscribe to the Another Mother Runner Newsletter?  Yes? Perfect!  No?...you should subscribe...right now...

For the first one they asked a few people to share short workouts for runs that are about 50-60 min.

I sent one and it was picked for their list of 10 short challenging runs.
You can find all 10 here: http://anothermotherrunner.com/10-short-challenging-runs/ and open the link to the word doc.

Mine is about pacing and it is the Rain Man style workout!

Pace, Rain-Man Style (4-6 miles)

“This run helps me learn to focus and learn pacing.”
—Caroline Eakle (admits to being “really, really bad” at pacing)

·Mile 1: warm up
·Mile 2: run 100 steps at half-marathon pace, 100 steps at 10K pace, alternate until end of mile.
·Mile 3: run 100 steps at half-marathon pace, 100 steps at 5K pace, alternate until end of mile.
·If you want: repeat Mile 2 or Mile 2 + 3
·Last mile: cool down

Check the other 9, maybe something will "speak" to you!

Finally the heat is gone!!! It even rained today!  It started to rain when I was getting ready to start my run.  Wasn't too sure how far I would go. Since I gave up on Big Sur, I am a little lost.  I also don't know if I will be running a race this weekend....I am thinking yes as of now...but not 100% sure.

So I decided to do 5 miles and a minute after I turned around to go back to the school someone came running behind me and it was this lady!!  Sandy, who is so nice and also so much faster than me!  She ran with me to the school and it went by so fast!  It was great to run with her, did not even notice the rain.  She was nice and went at my slower pace.  What a great surprise this was to run with Sandy this morning!!!

Warning...the last part is about my kids...
I include my boys here and especially when they do something good, great and beyond that because maybe one day they will read all this to know more about dear old mom and I do want them to know how proud I am of them.

Yesterday was Award Day for the 1st trimester and it was a good day for my kids.
They both received awards.  They both got the highest reading award in their grade.  Jonathan was the only student to receive that one in his grade.  The Principal was the one giving the awards and and she thought it was a typo...she had to asked the teacher if this was correct!!!

Some news...bad and good

So I have news...it is not all good...

When someone says "I have good news and bad news" 
Do you like to have the good one first or last?

I like to get the good one first.

So if you are a regular reader of my little blog (thank you) you know that I tend to have GI issues during my races and dry heaves are usually part of the end of all my races.

I have a collection of really unflattering race photos...like this one...

(Clearly I have no big ego for posting this again)

Oiselle had this contest on Friday asking people to share their most horrifying, gutsy, grimacing race day photo for #painfest.  I thought this one was perfect and I sent it. I knew they would announce the winners today so I put on my orange shirt for good "Oiselle Karma".

Well I won! 
Who would have thought that this horrible picture would lead to winning a really great prize!  Beautiful Oiselle running clothes coming my way! I will put pictures when I receive my package!  I cannot wait!

So that is my good news.
It came at a really good time..because...

Yesterday I made a hard decision.
I went for my 8 miles run and I thought about a lot of things but mainly Big Sur.

It's what is next on my race schedule.  Big Sur Half Marathon. 
We had planned on making this a small family trip and staying 2 nights in Big Sur.  I was really looking forward to this one.  I have had a picture of Big Sur on my fridge for 2 years now.  But it is not going to happen for me this year.  It is a long ride to get there and with the hotel and everything it would not be right to spend all that $ just so I can run a race.  I was hoping that Bill would have had found a new job before Big Sur but we are not there yet.  It is what it is.  It breaks my running heart and I am sad and disappointed but the Holidays are right around the corner and I want my kids to have a nice Christmas.  That is more important.  So I decided to let Big Sur go :(  for this year,  not forever.

I probably will not be in the best of mood on November 18 so feel free to tweet me some jokes that day OK...

I think that I will run the Mission Inn 10K this coming Sunday.  It is a local race that I have done the last 2 years and they have same day registration for same price. 

So this is what's new around here.  Some good and some bad...

Not a stellar week

Week post race is never the greatest for me and this week we had Halloween so my mileage is pretty crappy so far.   I volunteered at the school more than usual and I still have to go tomorrow for my usual "shift".  It is important to me and also to my kids that I help the teachers and if I have to miss a run well so be it. 

I am a Mom who runs, not a runner who is a mother.

I like Halloween with my kids.  When I was young, I NEVER went trick or treating...NEVER, NOT ONCE, ZERO TIME.  Not by my choice.  My dad did not allow it.  I am still a little mad about that...  Anyway...I always said that if I had kids, I would make sure Halloween is great for them.  Our school has a parade and it is really fun to see all the kids in their costumes.  I love it.  The teachers also dress up, it's a good day!

Jonathan and his best buddy Zeke.  Amazing that they are the same age..

Will and his gal pal Kylie.  They have been in the same class for the last 3 yrs.  She is hilarious.  She calls him "Willy"..she is the only person who is "allowed" to do that. :)  She tells him when to get a haircut... like an old married couple...really funny.

Jonathan and Will during the Parade.

Speaking of my kids....(I know I know...but I HAVE to...)
The first trimester is over.  Already!
I am sure Jonathan did great but I have not seen his results yet.

I already know that Will did GREAT.  Better than GREAT actually.
He got 100% on all Language Art bench mark tests.
He got 100% on all Math bench mark tests.
He got 100% on his book report for the trimester.
He is the only one in his grade with a report card like that and well it would be impossible to be prouder than I am.   He really is a great kid.  Love you Will!

Awards Day is next week and it will be a good day!

We need a good day over here.... Last week Bill had a 2nd interview for a job near where we live and on Friday he got the call that he finished 2nd and they offered the position to another guy....Back to square 1....  Yesterday we lost our health insurance and we now have to pay a lot of $$$$ for private insurance.  It sucks.  Coming from a country where everyone gets health coverage for free....this is really frustrating for me.

While I am on a almost non running post...I am just gonna keep going...

I have been busy with my little in home business..making cards orders. 

If you would like to get your own handmade cards, Shutterfly has a great coupon until Friday: 101 free prints!  I also make digital photo cards, you get the jpeg file and can email or print the cards and Winkiflash has 40% off coupons for cards including 4x8 format.

A few samples..