WINNER!

The winner of my Mother's Day Milestones Giveaway

Picked with random.org is lucky number 41:

Mother of 3 boys RAINA! 

Happy early Mother's Day to you!

Please email me your info!

Thank you to everyone who entered!

PCRF 10K Race

Today was the
PCRF (Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation) Cinco de Mayo 10K Race.
This is a great race!
They offered 5K, 10K and Half Marathon. 
It was really well organized also. 
They had race day packet pick up and NO lines.
Plenty of porta potty and again NO lines.
They had gear check.
The volunteers were all great and really nice.
Easy FREE parking.
The weather was good.
Race started right on time (for fans of the Bachelor show, Kiptyn from Jillian season was there to say a few words at the start and wish everybody good luck)
I cannot say the course was beautiful and scenic because well it wasn't.  It was a fairly flat course with a few rolling hills.   Here is at mile 2:

Yes Jill.....I know I know...I am working on it....

I am still fighting this nasty cold so this is my second race running sick.  It sucks but I accepted that the only thing I can do is do the best I can TODAY.   I started out pretty good and if I had been able to keep the pace I had in the first 3 miles I would have had a PR but...mile 4 came and I started coughing like crazy..you know like when you want to fall asleep and you just keep coughing...like that.  Booo Hoooo Hooo.  These pictures just before mile 4 when I was still feeling pretty good and HOPEFUL.

I tried to sip water to make the coughing stop...I slowed down...I almost took a cough drop but I did not want to get nausea so I didn't.

Here coming to the finish line:

High 5 to the kids!

They had medals for the 10K finishers, that is pretty nice.

So no PR.  1:02:xx.  Better than 2 weeks ago though.

I carried my hand held bottle again to get used to it.  I am liking it.  I will use that for my Half Marathon in June.

They had a great Expo after the race.  Really good for the kids!

Petting Zoo!

I was on Team Gab for this race. 
I kept looking for Heather and others from the team and just when we were about to leave there she was !  I am so happy I got to see her and her family, including Gabby!

This gal had a massive PR today! Bravo Heather!!!!!

(I look like a Giant on this picture)

Not Racing the Race

I have a 10K Race Sunday.

I am still sick.

I am so tired of it.

I took Mucinex all week.  That stuff is powerful.  It did help with

chest congestion so that is better at least.

I ran Saturday to Thursday.  6 days in a row, most of them slower than my normal pace.  Yesterday was a little better but I don't feel ready for a race.  I am going to run it for sure but I might not "race" it.  AGAIN (that's what happened at my last race).  I know it is not the end of the world but it sucks a little.

My goal race is my next half marathon on June 2nd.  That is the one I want to do well at.

I am looking for a race in Quebec while we will be there this summer.  So far no luck.  I don't get it.  We have a really long winter. I mean REALLY long. So there should be plenty of races during the summer months plus I will be there for 2 Holidays!

3 more weeks until these 2 are out of school

 Did you enter my Miletsones Giveaway?

No? Go HERE!!!!

Mother's Day Giveaway!!!!

Mother's Day is coming up (May 13, people..May 13 do not forget that one) and Milestone Jewelry is offering a GREAT giveaway for you my dear followers!

Melody is always very generous and this time is no different! 
This is what you could win:

A beautiful Pink Run Heart Tee and a matching Sporty band, and a Pair of running girl earrings.

The winner will receive all 3 and it will be shipped from Milestones Jewelry store to you!

How to win:
1. You must be a follower of this blog. Leave me a comment.

Also you can:
2. Share on your blog or on twitter (please add @carotabi to you tweet so I can see it) Leave me a comment.

3. Like Milestones Jewelry on Facebook HERE. Leave  me a comment here.

4. Follow Milestones Jewelry on Twitter here. Leave me a comment.

5.  If you are a mom tell me how many kids you have.  Is your family complete?

OK for my manly followers...you can enter for your wife or your mom or even for me (that would give me a chance to get this nice stuff!!! Ha!)

Also until June 15  you can use this coupon to save 10% off your order:
Canadian Runnner.

Visit Milestones Jewelry store HERE.

The winner will be announced on May 7th !  Good luck to you all!

Thank you Melody from Milestones Jewelry for offering this Giveaway to my followers!!

***Disclaimer: I did not receive anything in exchange of this post; no money or prizes.  I also do not receive any credit or money for the use of the coupon Canadian Runner***

The Boss {and running sick sucks}

Friday night I went to see Bruce Springsteen in concert for the first time.  I have almost all of his Cds and he was my dream concert.  We went to Los Angeles in the Friday afternoon traffic...fun times.  Got to the LA Memorial Coliseum where the arena is.  It is there that the 1984 Los Angeles game were held and it is there that that Joan Benoit made her entrance in the stadium on her way to Olympic Gold.  The Coliseum is the only stadium to have hosted the Games twice in 1932 ans 1984.

So OK back to BRUUUUUUUUCE.   We went in to find our seats and the crew was still setting the stage and then without any announcement or anything there he was, Bruce Springsteen!  All the lights were on and he just came on the stage with some relatives.  Then, he grabbed an acoustic guitar and started singing a song!  I had never seen this!  The main artist coming out 45 min before the show to say hello and sing a tune!  I thought it was awesome!  This is when he came out.  He sang "For you" from his very first album.


There is a reason he is THE BOSS.  He played 3h25!  He is a beast.  He played 25 songs, old and new ones.  He went in the crowd a few times, he even did some "crowd bodysurfing".  He is in top shape you could never tell he is 62 years old.  He has a band of 16 musicians with him on stage.  It was a GREAT concert.  I waited over 25 yrs to see him and it was worth the wait.
This gives an idea of the concert



What is your dream concert?

Running:
Well this was a crappy week.  I have been sick and I am still sick.  I cannot get rid of this cold.  Now it is in my chest.  I am not coughing A LOT but I always feel like I have to cough.  Today I had 9 miles on the plan but I only did 6.   I know about the neck rule.  This cold has moved below the neck line.  I have a 10K race on Sunday so I am hoping to be much better by then.
Do you follow the neck rule?  Honestly do you? Or do you cheat a little until it gets really bad like coughing all night bad?

Three Things Thursday

Numéro UN:
I want to say huge thank you to all of you kind people who read my blog, for the nice messages on my last post. You are all the best.  I feel like you share my joy of being selected for the NUUN team for HTC, you know. like you GET it.   Most of my non running friends are happy for me but they don't really know what that relay is.  My husband, who saw the movie with me when it came out 1-11-11  (on my birthday!), does get it and he is very happy for me and very supportive  also.  My boys...I told them "Remember when we took the pictures for Mommy's video? Well I got it!"  Jonathan "So you are going to do that race in the mountain? So cool! Does it mean WE get to stay in a hotel?" So I said no that it would be just me this time.  His response to that "What? Worst race EVER!".  Then I called my parents to tell them.  My Mom's reaction: "Why do you do this to yourself?"  Cannot wait for the in person talk.  I am bringing the DVD with me to Quebec to show them how fantastic it is and that if Kathy from the movie can do it...I should be fine :)

Numéro DEUX:
I saw my Doctor.  The one from that post.  So the verdict is that I have Hashimoto's disease, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, means the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. The resulting inflammation often leads to an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism).   I will see the specialist on May 17.  It is likely that I will end up taking meds to regulate my thyroid.   Not the end of the world but a little pain in the behind.  I did tell my Dr that I think it is not acceptable that I never got a call from her office regarding my abnornal results and that I know about all this ONLY because I called to ask about the results.

Numéro TROIS:
I am still fighting this stupid cold.  Today I went for 5 miles in the rain.  It went OK but I am starting to have a cough so I did not push it.  Yesterday was rest day and I spent 4 hours cleaning my yard.  That is more exhausting than running 8 miles!  My yard is fairly big and we don't have enough time to take care of it so at times it can become a jungle.  We have about 100 rose bushes and just that is a full time job to keep clean!

This is on the side of the house.  Around the planters, we had weeds that went up to my knees!  When we bought our house the yard was just dirt.  We did everything ourselves on this side and it was a lot of work.  Back then we were stupid and did not know what it is to have 2 sons.  We should have put just plain grass there!!!

This is the jungle part...I need to clean that up....next "REST" day!!!  This should count as Cross Training!!!

I MADE IT!

I cannot believe it but it is true, I am on the Nuun's Hood to Coast Relay Team for 2012: AfterNuun Delight!

They made the announcement at noon today.
I was so nervous.
I opened my emails and there it was: THE email from NUUN.
I opened it and first word I saw: Congratulations.....
Wow..I could not believe it..went to check on the official list and my name is really there...second one...it is ME.  You can see it right HERE.

I am so happy and grateful to have this opportunity.

I will represent Canadians!
I will also represent the 40+ gals!  I think only 2 of us are over 40 :)

So let the training begin!!!!
I have the whole summer to get ready and HTC will be my focus for the summer.

If you have done Hood to Coast and you have advices for me please do share!!!

Thank you for all the nice txt, emails, tweet and FB messages!

Oregon, here I come!!!!

Redlands 10K Race

I ran a 10k race this morning.
I think for the first time since I started running I should have sat this one out.
I am sick.
I have a really bad cold; congestion, coughing, sore throat, all the good stuff.
I went for 3 miles yesterday and I had a hard time to breath.
I slept really bad last night.
So....it was not good today.
I did not race.  I just ran. I also had to walk some of it. No PR and no PW.
It sucked but it's OK.
It happens.  I have been pretty lucky to not be sick for most of my races.  I had some where the allergies were acting up but today was the worst I have felt.

This was a nice race.  Really well organized. 
I have zero complain.
They had plenty of porta potty.
They started right on time.
They had lots of volunteers on the course.  Everyone was really nice.
Plenty of water AND cups.
No medal but for a 10K I don't expect medals.
They had a little Expo at the Finish line with some vendors and also free massages. I went to get one and I got the one gal who looked like she was having the worst day of her life.  She was terrible also.   It was free so no big deal, it is pretty nice that they offered this.

It was not as hot as I thought it would be but it was still warm and sunny.
I carried my new handheld bottle to test it during a race.  I will need to get used to it.  It felt a little heavy at times.  I usually change hands when I carry a regular water bottle and with this it is not as easy to change hand.  Here at mile 2 right before going uphill for an eternity!

Thumbs up only for the kids...I was not close to feeling thumbs up

The course  had one long hill in the middle.  I think I am an expert at signing up for races that have hills.  It was not as bad as the one in Hollywood but it was a tough one.  Good thing we had a downhill after that :)

Here getting to the finish.  I was happy to be done.

I got another 10k in a couple weeks.  I am hoping to get rid of this cold by then and also for NO HILLS.  I need a hills break!

The Waiting Game

I got 4 more days of waiting before finding out if I will get to run Hood to Coast.  I am a very patient person but for this kind of waiting not so much.   It is kind of like waiting to know if you got the job or if you got accepted to College.

I got one more week of waiting before I go see Bruce Springsteen!!!  That I am good at waiting for because I know it will happen!

2 weeks ago I had an ultrasound for my thyroid.  I heard nothing from my Dr.  I thought it meant for sure that the results were normal.  They don't call you when it is normal. I think it is crap that they don't but that's just me.  Today I decided to call my Dr just to be sure...listening to the little voice inside that says...just call it will take a minute.   So I called.  I asked if they had my results.  "Hold please."  They hung up on me.  GREAT!  I call again...and they tell me that the Dr said that I will need to go see an endocrinologist!  WHAT?  When were they going to call me to let me know?  I asked why and does this mean my results are NOT normal?  "No they are not normal, your thyroid is enlarged but you have no tumors".  WTH?  I am so mad.  I cannot believe that I am the one who had to call the office to find out about this.  So now I have to go see a specialist, that is always fun.  Start over with all the medical history.  Find a good Dr.  WAIT  to get an appointment.  I don't know about where you live, but here to get an appt with a specialist can take weeks.   That kind of waiting I am also not good at because now I need answers and I want to fix what is not working.

I now have a huge migraine.  Of course I Googled "enlarged thyroid" and hypothyroid..it is not the end of the world but it does explain some stuff.

Running:

Guess who is back?  The freaking HEAT.   I hate it with a passion.
For me it means that "racing" season is coming to an end.  I still participate in races during the summer but I don't chase PRs.  The only exception is my next half marathon.  It is on June 2nd and I want to PR there.  This will be my last half until the cooler temperatures come back in the fall.  The heat means I need to carry water for every run.  I don't always like to wear my belt..when it gets hot it gets to be really annoying.  So I decided to buy a handheld bottle and give it a try.  I figured it would be better than to carry a plastic water bottle like I do now.
I went to Dicks and got the blue one on the picture.  I was not 100% convinced.  I went to Sports Authority and I got the pink one.

 Tag on them is the same

But there are not the same.
See: Phone does not fit in the blue one

Phone does fit in the pink one

Means also Waffle Stinger would fit with or without the phone during a half marathon if I don't feel like wearing the belt.  So the blue one is going back to Dicks tomorrow.

I got a 1ok Sunday.  I wanted to go for PR.  It may not happend.  I am sick.   Sinus are still plugged and I have a nasty sore throat that I cannot get rid of.   To add to this the forecast is SUNNY and 90 degrees.  Seriously...this sucks.

Expectations

First I need to give HUGE congrats to the ladies who were featured on this post here.  They ran Boston today and I am pleased to report they all finished what looked to be a very hard race.  Looking forward to all your race recaps!

The conditions were brutal for the Boston Marathon this year.  They knew what to expect but really how do you prepare for this at the last minute.

When race day comes things can surprise us...crazy weather, sickness, running on a trail instead of road..(that happened to me once), hills when the race website has this "Fast flat course" as their header.

Then there's the things you do expect will be part of the race:

I expect to see these guys somewhere along the course and at the finish line.

Well OK, not Maggie..just wanted to use this cute picture from Easter day!

Most of the time we can expect to get one of these

 If you come race a 5K with me here in Southern California you can expect to see this fast guy  dressed like this; rain or shine:

I don't know maybe it is a SoCal thing...see my first Half Marathon finisher picture, I had to share the spotlight with Magnum PI:

Because I still have not figure out how to race and not have dry heaves, sadly I still expect this to happen at every race:

No, I have no ego that is why I am ok with posting this again.

And if you come to Southern California to run a half marathon with me or a full marathon with me as your cheerleader, you can expect to see The Jester.

He is at all the races. He is there with his colorful outfits and with his signs that his wife makes for him.  You will see him at the start:

on the course:

and at the finish Emz did you see him in Catalina?

He encourages all the runners.  He makes me smile every time I see him.  It is always nice to see him on the course.  Here he is bringing in the LAST runner, who is legally blind,  at the PETCO San Diego half marathon. 

The Jester is not just a colorful runner at the SoCal races.  He is also one of those crazy runners...you know the ULTRA kind..you know the BADWATER kind.
I found a video of him on Youtube running Badwater 2011:



He is getting ready to go at this again this July and you can follow his journey on his FACEBOOK page called RunJesterRun HERE.

So how about a race in Southern California with moi?
Anyone?