Well I had a great week last week of running and felt amazing. This week :O( no running at all and somehow tomorrow I'm suppose to run 6 miles. I have a feeling it may not be such a good day :o(. I started the week off with headaches and ended my week with a tattoo that is OUCHIE OUCHIE OUCHIE still and will be like that for a few more days. I am hoping that I can get through my run tomorrow though without to much pain. I am sure that it'll be uncomfortable but hopefully not painful. Rocky offered to run the 6 miles with me so he can carry my water...aaahhhhh :o) because I definitely can't wear my fuel belt around my waist. That would really be way OUCHIE!
Last night though I did head out to the track workout with Rocky to take some pictures and support the team. Coach had everyone do circuit drills (squats, lunges, pushups, situps) and I am sure everyone is feeling it to day. It was a great workout and everyone did a great job.
This weekend will be busy again. Tonight I am going to the Giant's game with Olivia, Karen and Rocky. It'll be a long day but hey, they are free tickets :o) Tomorrow morning we are meeting in San Leandro for our 6 mile run and then in the evening Rocky has a gig at the Great American Music Hall....GOOD LUCK GUYS!.....On Sunday Patch and I are meeting our friend Petra and her doggie Domino at the dog park and then we are going to the Farmers Market. Should be a nice mellow Sunday. I am sure Patch will be a happy puppy.
Have a great weekend!
June 29, 2007
Bad Week
Posted by Claudia at 9:01 AM 0 comments
June 28, 2007
OUCHIE, OUCHIE, OUCHIE
That is all I have to say about last night :o(
THANK YOU Hubby and Olivia for sitting with me and letting me squeeze your hand so tight I though I was gonna rip it off :O(
Leslie did an amazing job and my tattoo looks beautiful, well the part that's done looks beautiful. I was there for 3 hours and finally had to give up for the night. It was to painful. I will go back in a few weeks to have it finished. I can't wait. Okay, I take that back. I can wait, the thought of going back makes me want to cry but I can't wait for the tattoo to be totally done.
Posted by Claudia at 9:24 AM 2 comments
June 27, 2007
Poopy Headache
I've had a headache for 3 days now :o( I did not run on Monday and I did not run last night. I've had 2 days of going home and plopping on my couch. I know it's stress so I'm not too concerned about why this headache won't go away. I know it's all the chaos in our lives right now. Work is busy, home is busy and of course training takes up a lot of time. So I am hoping that after this week and next week are over things will mellow out and life will be less chaotic.
My headache isn't as bad today but it is still there :O( I won't be running today either because I have an appointment this afternoon and I'm not sure how long it'll take and I also won't be able to run afterwards. Why you ask? hee, hee, I know you are wondering, aren't you? I am getting a tattoo fixed that I had done a long time ago and hate.
Note to my dad (he reads my blog): I promise I am not getting another tattoo, I am just getting my old one made pretty.
It's funny how when you are young you don't put much thought into what you are having done. I mean it's not like you don't know that it's going to be on your body for the rest of your life but I guess you just don't think about the consequences. My first tattoo was the sun, moon and stars on my lower back. I literally just walked in, found pretty picture on their wall of tattoo's and had them do it. I hated it when I got it and I hate it now :o( luckily the only time you can see it is when I'm wearing a bathing suit. I've had the tattoo for about 9 years and for the last 4 or so I've been really looking into getting it redone. I didn't really know til I watched a few tattoo shows on tv that there are certain things you shouldn't get in small sizes because as the years go by they turn into a blob or you kind of lose what the design was. That's what has happened to mine. It's an icky blob and I hate it. Did I mention, I hate it? This time I had to really think of what I wanted to cover it up with and who I'd go to. I finally decided on getting plumeria flowers. I love them and since I did get married in Maui, plumeria's have become very significant.
Did you know that the plumeria didn't orginate in Hawaii? I didn't know that til I was doing some research on them.
From Mexico and Central America, Plumeria has spread to all tropical areas of the world, especially Hawaii, where it grows so abundantly that many people think that it is indigenous there. P. alba is the national flower of Nicaragua and Laos, where it is known under the local name "Sacuanjoche" (Nicaragua) and "Champa" (Laos).
Although in the Hawaiian culture the plumeria is worn by women to indicate relationship status.
- over the right ear if seeking a relationship, and over the left if taken.
I guess I'll be wearing plumerias on my left ear :o)
I will be getting my tattoo done at Diving Swallow in Oakland. It was highly recommended by my friend Petra. She had a few cover ups done there. I am having my tattoo done by Leslie Mah and I really like her. Because she is so busy it's took me a long time to get in and see her but I know it's worth the wait. The last place I went to wasn't so great which is also the reason my tattoo doesn't look good. The people weren't very good. Rocky and I went in to see Leslie's portfolio's before I made an appointment with her and her work was awesome. She was also very nice when I went in with all my artowrk. I can't wait to see what the final design is going to look like.
Anyway, that's what my new pretty redone tattoo will be. There is also another element to it but I'll talk about that another time :o) and NO it's not Rocky's name..geesh!
Olivia is going to come with me to hold my hand cause OUCHIE it's gonna hurt. I also brought my teddie bear to hold onto and Rocky will meet us there later.
It's funny how tattoo's have changed over the years. I know a long time ago people getting tattoo's were mainly people in the military. It was also a huge gang thing to be tattoo's all over. Now it seems like tattoo's are more acceptable and people of all ages are getting them. I am totally hooked on the show Miami Ink and they always have great stories on there of the people getting tattoo's. Last week there was a little old lady, in her 80's, who really wanted a tattoo so she had her first initial put on her shoulder. It was really cute. Last night there was an older gentleman, not quite as old, who was blind and had gone in with his daughter to have the smiling/sad drama masks put on his back shoulder. He couldn't see it but wanted it there for others to see. He was really into theatre. I don't think my parents will ever quite get used to or like the fact that I have them. I often find them looking to make sure there aren't new ones :o) which there aren't. 3 is enough and luckily other than my one on my ankle I can keep them covered if I need to.
Posted by Claudia at 9:16 AM 0 comments
June 26, 2007
Bee Hive? Birds Nest?
Posted by Claudia at 9:19 AM 2 comments
June 25, 2007
Training, Food, Friends & Laughter
This weekend was a busy one, the entire weekend was pretty much spent with girlfriends and we had a great time.
Friday night was spent at home doing last minute stuff for the run on Saturday. I had to make a 2nd spirit cape so that the walk team could have one also and I had also agreed to help Trish, our honoree captain, with the honoree banner. Rocky was great and helped me out because by the time I got to the banner it was about 10pm and I was starting to get cranky :o( it was past my bedtime. The banner and the spirit cape turned out cute and thankfully they dried by the time we headed out on Saturday morning. I'll try to get a picture up here soon.
Saturday we met the team at 8am at a new location in Oakland. It was a nice trail and a nice run except for NO SHADE and for some reason it was super warm in Oakland. We thought it was going to be a cool run especially because it was by the water but no luck. It was warm :o( I started my run out with Jeanette, Olivia and Phil and we all pretty much kept together til we got to the water stop. Jeanette and I sped up a little bit after that and finished 4.02 miles in 45:14. I felt great and YAY didn't get sick from taking the GU and GU2O. I think this might be my new combination of gels and electrolyte drink.
After the run Rocky and I grabbed breakfast at the Coffee Mill in Oakland. I had a yummy breakfast rap and managed to only eat half of it. I was a good girl. The thing was huge but I took half home and ate it on Sunday. By the time we got home I was pooped and had no energy to take a shower so I laid on our living room floor since I was all icky from the run. Rocky brought me my blankie and a small pillow and a took a 30 minute nap while him and the doggie did computer stuff in the other room. The nap helped refresh me and then it was in the shower to get ready and head out to Walnut Creek to meet Olivia. We had planned to go shopping for very specific things. We managed to find exactly what we needed and we was very painless. We treated ourselves with Gelato :o) I headed back home for a change of clothes and to kill some time before meeting Petra and 9 other of her friends to celebrate her ????? birthday. We had dinner at Pizzaiolo. The food was super yummy but the service was very slow. I've never been there and I'm not sure if it's always like that but when you are starving it's not good that they take forever to bring your dinner :o( Everything that we ordered we shared. We had a couple of salads, some appetizers, 5 different pizza's and some very yummy desserts. It was a fun evening. Amy, Anita and Olivia were there and we got to meet some of Petra's friends from the knitting store. It was another late night so I was pooped by the time I got home.
Sunday I was suppose to get up and do my video or go do a short run. Ummm, neither of those two things happened. I decided I needed to get some extra sleep. I think I finally rolled out of bed at 10am :o). I cleaned the house, did some laundry and then got things ready for the girls to come over for knitting. The menu: Pomegranate Martini's in our new super cute martini glasses, maui style short ribs, chicken, corn, macaroni salad, green salad and dessert. Everything turned out very yummy. THANK YOU Rocky for bbq'ing all the yummy food, Raji for the green salad and Jeanette for the yummy dessert. We spent quite a few hours knitting, being silly and talking about everything you could imagine. My poor husband may never let these ladies back in the house :o) We had a wonderful time and before we knew it it was past our bedtimes and everyone headed home.
Last weeks totals:
Tuesday - 3.1 miles
Wednesday - 2.66 miles
Thursday - 1.56 miles
Saturday - 4.02 miles
Total Week 2 - 11.34 miles
I am actually pretty happy with my training last week. 4 days of training is more then I'm used to and I managed to do it and feel pretty good each time. I am averaging between a 10:30 and 11:30 minute mile, not too bad for me. I am hoping to be able to run a 10 minute mile without pooping out. We'll see how that goes as the miles get higher. This week my running days will be a little different because I've got some other things going on but I'm hoping to be able to get 4 days in again. Our official NY training starts this week so on Saturday we'll be running 6 miles already. YIKES.
Weight Watchers is going okay. I typically do better during the week but even though I didn't eat well and count points this weekend I managed to maintain my weight and not gain any. I think all the running is helping. I hope to do much better this week.
Posted by Claudia at 12:19 PM 0 comments
June 22, 2007
Adjusting
My body is still trying to adjust to running 4 days a week. Although the mileage is still low I went from running 3 days a week, to not running at all for 6 months to now running 4 days and hopefully getting some other workout in on one other day or possibly running 5 days. That leaves me 1 day of rest. When I trained for the Chicago Marathon I tried to follow this schedule but it didn't work out so well. This season looks good and I think we'll be able to stick to it. Last night we had a track workout in San Leandro. We were suppose to run 14, 17 or 19 minutes. I chose 17 and believe me even that was a lot for my little legs. I could feel that they were a little tired from the other 2 days of running. My body seams to be adjusting though. I'm not sore anymore like I was the first week I am just a little pooped. I also haven't been getting to bed on time and I know that's affecting me. I'm hoping next week will be better. My handy dandy watch said I did 1.56 miles in 16:56 yesterday. Not too bad.
I was cracking up at the picture above. This is taken from the program I use online to look at the info from my watch. Notice all the squiggly lines? Haa, haa...that's my path each time I went around. Not so straight :o( The GPS is very accurate and plots out your exact route. During track workouts it's hard to stay in one spot because you are running around other people on the track. It was funny to see this.
This weekend is going to be a bit busy. Tomorrow morning we have a team run in Oakland. YIPEE at least it's close and I don't have to get up super duper early. I will be running 4 miles. After the run Olivia and I have a shopping date, then it's off to a friends birthday. Sunday I plan on doing my exercise video or go for a short run. Then clean the house and then the girls are coming over for knitting....YAY! It's been probably about a month since I picked up my knitting so I'm looking forward to it. Rocky is bbq'ing for us :o) can't wait.
GOOD LUCK to all our friends doing the Anchorage Marathon this weekend and GOOD LUCK to our friend Tom who's doing the Ironman in Idaho this weekend!
Have a great weekend!
Posted by Claudia at 8:33 AM 0 comments
June 21, 2007
Fancy Watch
I got a new fancy watch for running. I had never really thought about getting one and hadn't really lookend into all the cool things they do but after Olivia got one for christmas from her parents and said she really liked it I started looking into them. The watch she has and the watch I got is the Garmin Forerunner 205. I had done some research and read up on their website and other websites about all the fancy stuff on it and I decided that I would get one. I was able to get an awesome deal on it so it made it well worth it. I really want to start being more consitant on my time and have a better performance on my next few races. I really think the watch will help with that.
Posted by Claudia at 10:09 AM 2 comments
June 20, 2007
Icky Belly Ache
Posted by Claudia at 8:46 AM 1 comments
June 19, 2007
Christmas in June
It has been like Christmas in June for Rocky and I. We didn't have the big huge wedding but we are planning a small celebration with family and friends in a few weeks. It's been a bit crazy planning but it's going to be a blast and I can't wait. My family will be here including my brother which is a treat because I don't see him often. I think the last time I saw him was 3 years ago. He lives in Oklahoma and doesn't come here often and ummmm, I don't go there either. It's kind of hot and humid there and I melt :o(. Anyway, of course with a wedding and a party come gifts :o) hee, hee. We registered and are having our gifts sent to my office because we live in a condo and didn't want packages left out on the porch. Yesterday Mr. UPS man arrived and I almost fell out of my chair. I had 6 boxes, a couple of them pretty big. It was a bit embarrassing although exciting. Mr. UPS man was kind enough to haul all the boxes back up the elevator and take them to my car :o) very nice of him. Didn't get to open all the gifts last night but tonight we'll sit in our living room and pretend it's Christmas.
Last night I was going to do a workout video but it got a bit late. I had a nail appointment in Walnut Creek and then met up with Ms. Olivia for a very non-Weight Watchers meal at PF Changs. It was so yummy though. Back on track tonight though. I did notice that because I've been doing so good with my portion control that I couldn't eat quite as much last night. I guess that's a good thing. I went home after dinner and did a few squats and lunges in the living room. Also did a few arm exercises with some dumbbells I have. I will try the workout video later on this week.
Posted by Claudia at 10:10 AM 2 comments
June 18, 2007
aaahhh 55 degrees :o)
The weekend was busy but it was fun.
Saturday
Alarm went off at 5:45 :o( that was not fun but up I was, got dressed, had some breakfast and headed out of the house to meet Jeanette at Lake Merritt. The team had a coached run at a track at the UC Berkeley Campus and then they had to attend Run University. We had decided though that we wanted to get a good run in and not on the track. So we met at Lake Merritt, we would do our run and then head over to meet the team. It was really chilly which I wasn't expecting because it's been so hot but not Saturday morning. It was 55 degrees and I have to admit that after last weeks high temperatures this was PERFECT running weather for me. I felt great, had a great run, best one all week and we finished in 35:38....woohooo. It was also my best time at the lake so far. I also think that eating good this week helped me feel good during my run.
After the run we went over to Run University. Rocky had ridden his bike there so I also had to go there and bring him back home. Run University seemed to go well. We didn't stay long because we had to be in Millbrae for our nieces birthday.
Okay, the 55 degree weather was perfect for running but not for hanging out at the park all day. It was pretty chilly in Millbrae. I don't think the sun really came out til around 4pm. 2 years ago we were at the same park for the same nieces birthday and it was super hot. Too bad it wasn't just right. The kids of course were fine cause they were running around playing but it was a bit chilly for the adults that were just standing around chatting. We did have a good time though and so did Patch. Our nephew did us the pleasure of wearing him out :o).
Sunday
Mellow day. It turned out to be a really nice day in Oakland yesterday so we had my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and kids over for a bbq. We took the kids and Patch over to the playground for a little while but basically our day was spent just relaxing and mingling with them. It was a nice day.
Schedule for this week:
Monday - workout video at home
Tuesday - Lake Merritt Buddy Run
Wednesday - run with Olivia and Amy
Thursday - track workout
Friday - rest
Saturday - 4 miles with the team
Posted by Claudia at 10:29 AM 0 comments
June 15, 2007
Raw Dough
Does walking the dog in 95 degree weather for 20 minutes count towards my excercising? Jeanette said it did, I was still active even though I wasn't running :o) I'll take it. I took Patch on 20 minute walk around our house. It was 95 degrees in OAKLAND...YIKES! It was in the 100's yesterday in Danville :o( no fun. When we got back our poor doggie passed out in front of the fan and drank two bowls of water with some ice in them. We survived though.
Last night I made some pizza for dinner. It was pretty healthy and low in points considering it was pizza but I think it's because everything came from Trader Joe's. My hubby is such a good hubby, he'll eat anything I make. Olivia used to do the same. I'd try out a new recipe and she'd eat it and never complained. Hmmm, wonder if she really liked it or was just being nice. Haa, haa. Anyway, back to my pizza. I don't have a rolling pin so I just spread out the pizza dough with my hands and thought it was fine. I piled on some mozzarella cheese, sausage and mushrooms and poped it in the oven and 20 minutes later it was done and ready to eat. It looked fine to me although there were 2 pieces on one side that were kind of thick, oh well. We ate it and it was yummy. Then Rocky got to his last slice and it was kind of not done :o( that was one of the slices that was a bit thicker and not cooked all the way through but he ate it anyway. There was one lonely little slice left in the kitchen and Rocky decided that he wanted it, YIKES this piece was really not done. I stuck it in the oven for a few more minutes and then gave it to him. The outside was fine but as he got closer to the middle it was still not well done :o( so he ate around the middle and picked off all the goodies. I sure hope he didn't have a belly ache afterwards. He is such a good little guniea pig. Now I know, roll dough more so it's skinnier and maybe cook a little longer. OR just have Olivia come over and make it for us. It always tasted good when she did it.
Tonight we have a graduation party to attend for Ms. Lindsay.....CONGRATULATIONS LINDSAY....you have been working very hard to get to this point and you did it...WOOHOO!
We also have a bday party to go to afterwards. We are hoping to make both events but probably won't stay out too long. I am meeting Jeanette at 7am at Lake Merritt to get our run in before we head over to meet the team for Run University.
Miles Completed this week:
Tuesday - 3.1
Wednesday - 2.7
Thursday - .5(walked)
Total = 6.2 miles
Have a great weekend everyone and stay cool :o)
Posted by Claudia at 8:51 AM 2 comments
June 14, 2007
95 DEGREES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ummm, I know just a few months ago I was crying because it was freezing cold and I hate winter. I wanted it to start warming up. I like warm, I love summer but holy smokes we didn't get a chance to gradually get used to the heat. It just went from being in the 60's to being in the high 90's :o(
Last night I met up with Olivia and Amy at the Ironhorse Trail in Danville for a 3 mile run. None of us wanted to get out of the car, none of us wanted to run and we whined about it the whole time BUT we did it. I had icky flash backs of how hot it was when I did the triathlon. It was not a pretty day and last night was not a pretty evening. My watch says we ran for about 33 minutes. Amy said it came out to about 2.7 miles, not bad at all. We felt like it was 10 :o( Olivia surprised us with some nice ice cold packs. We cooled off with those. It didn't take long though before our bodies melted them. It helped out a lot. Other than how hot it was my legs felt pretty good. I am not as sore this week as last week. Today my quads are a little achy but not bad at all.
When I got in my car at 6:40pm the temperature in my car read 95 degrees :o(
Amy and Olivia, thanks for the run and GOOD JOB GIRLS!!! We got our run done.
On Tuesday night at the buddy run I was having some issues with my shins and last night they were fine. I think it really was my shoes and that I hadn't gotten new shoes since spring last year. I trained and did the triathlon, ran the Disneyland & Nike Half Marathon in those shoes. That's too much for one pair of shoes....oops. Now I'm set and ready for the season. I like my new shoes and I lucked out with the pretty colors. Sometimes they can get pretty ugly but I have no choice, it's not about how cute they are. Although if it was up to me all my running shoes would be pink or purple :o)
After the run I headed over and met Rocky at the fundraising clinic for TNT and mingled a little with our new participants. They had a table with copies of past fundraising letters to give out as examples, mine was there :o) pretty cool.
Then it was off to dinner. I was starving. We headed over to Applebee's because they have a weight watchers menu. I ordered the steak topped with portbello mushrooms. It also came with a pile of broccoli and some small red potatoes. It was pretty funny to see my little steak and what 1 serving of a steak is. It was about 3oz, very small. Funny how I was full though and if I'd gotten a BIG size steak like on the normal section of the menu I probably would have ate the whole thing also and then been super stuffed. I am learning though....portion control. I just need to control my portions.
I was going to run tonight but I think I'll go home and get some things done around the house. If it's not too late I may go run on the treadmill in our complex. We'll see how the evening goes.
Posted by Claudia at 8:25 AM 2 comments
June 13, 2007
NY York Marthon Rejection Letter...
Posted by Claudia at 9:09 AM 2 comments
June 12, 2007
Heat Wave
I started training and what does the weather decide to do? GET HOT!!! We are suppose to have a heat wave this week. Tomorrow is suppose to the be hottest with temperatures getting into the 90's :O( I am not looking forward to the heat. It happens to me every year. I choose races towards the end of the year because the weather is nice but it means training in the summer. My triathlon was backwards. I chose a triathlon in the spring but trained during the freezing cold months. So it's time to invest in lots and lots of sunscreen and white dry fit hats. Oh and by the way, they DO make doggie sunscreen :O) I'll be buying some of it for Patch.
I am back on Weight Watchers....AGAIN...how many times have I started? and fell off the wagon? Ohhyyy!! Well I am back on and being super strict. I measured and weighed my dinner last night and had 1 serving of mashed potatoes and meatloaf, not 10 servings :o). I also packed my lunch and threw in lots of goodies to munch on like veggies, fruit and some almonds. I'm drinking my water like I am suppose to. I'm good with water though especially when I'm training so that's not a problem. I'm going to cut out the Diet Coke during the week again and stick to only having it on the weekends. Losing weight is actually not hard for me if I follow the program and stick to controlling my portions but it's just so much much easier to be bad which is what I have been doing for many months now. I've been a bad bad unhealthy girl :o(
I've got a buddy run tonight at Lake Merritt which will be our run every Tuesday, it's about 3.4 miles around the lake. Hopefully this week I won't be as sore.
That's it for now, nothing too exciting today.
Posted by Claudia at 10:52 AM 0 comments
June 11, 2007
Doggie Sunscreen?
Posted by Claudia at 2:47 PM 0 comments
June 08, 2007
Maui - Friday & Saturday
Friday
Well, we are coming to the end of the trip here :o( and so on Friday we literally did nothing but lounge around. One of the things Rocky had to have while in Maui was the Spam and Rice meal from McDonald's. I don't like spam so I didn't have any but it was a must for him. So we had breakfast and then put the swimsuits on and just had a relaxing day at the beach.
Later in the evening we headed back over to Lahaina and had dinner at the Lahaina Store Grille & Oyster Bar. Rocky wasn't feeling so hot, I think he was dehydrated and the sun had gotten to him so he didn't eat much. I had some yummy Oysters to start off with and then I had a shrimp and pasta dinner which was also very good. The restaurant had rooftop seating and that's where our table was. It was really nice. We then walked around town and enjoyed our last evening there.
Saturday
Travel home day :o(
Posted by Claudia at 10:33 AM 1 comments
June 06, 2007
I RAN, I RAN, I RAN
Posted by Claudia at 10:32 AM 2 comments