Slimply Sleep

aaahhhh, that's what I took last night and that's what I did. Yep, I took a Tylenol Simply Sleep pill to help me rest, there was no way I was going another night with no sleep. I'm sure I'll be doing plenty of that in NY :o(

Last night was errand night. I went and got my nails done and then went to Target for last minute travel stuff. I was in Walnut Creek since that is where my nail shop is so I hit the Target there as well and lookie here, I ran into Ms. Olivia and she was doing the same thing :o) A little later we ran into Anthea, Lael's girlfriend, also shopping for the trip. Everyone had the same thought. I had a few things to get including throw away sweats for the standing in the cold for 4+ hours that we will have to do on race day. I did manage to find some cheap ones at Target. I got a few toiletries and out of there I was. I picked up some dinner on the way home and then headed home to eat and continue the packing process. All of my stuff is now in my suitcase and all that's left is my toiletries that I'll be using til then. Other than that all clothes and running gear is ready to go. Patch continues in his depression mode :o( and Daisy still has no clue that in 2 days she will be on a plane to NY! more on Daisy does New York tomorrow :o)

THEN
THEN

shake, shake, shake.....what the heck is that? I heard the wine glasses clinking together and at first I thought a big truck had gone by or the doggies were playing by the wine rack but then the house started moving. It was an EARTHQUAKE! AAAHHHHHH! here is how this went in our house

Me: ROCKY!, ROCKY!

Rocky: yeah

Me: EARTHQUAKE!

Rocky: yeah, I know it'll pass

Me: NO! GET OVER HERE AND WHERE ARE THE DOGS!

ummm, me no like earthquakes and even though we live in a 2 bedroom apartment and Rocky was a few feet away, I wanted him and the doggies next to me :o)

by the time he got to me it was over....phew!!!

It was a 5.6 and centered in San Jose but it was felt as far as Sacramento. All is okay in the Reyes home but it scared me and I sure hope it didn't wake up the Hayward Fault that runs right under our house :o(

Frazzlemania continues mainly at work. I am mentally fried. I had to work in Pleasanton today and didn't make it into my office til almost 3pm so I will be here late :O( not sure how late but late enough so that tomorrow is a smooth last day with only a few things to finish.

Tomorrow is my Friday, YAY!!!!

Frazzlemania 2007

Why are we so frazzled? I thought Iwas the only one having anxiety but it seems Olivia and Amy are too. This is marathon #5 for me, 29th for Amy and 3rd for Ms. Olivia, we are not roockies but we are freaking out. I told Jeanette yesterday that she has to stay calm, one of us needs to be sane :O) that'll be her job.

Is it the size of the race? Is it the time (starting at 10am and not 7 or 8am like usual)? Is it that I haven't trained in 2 months? What about this race is making us so stressed out and frazzled like we've never done a race or for that matter traveled to another state for a race. I dunno but me no like. I am sick to my stomach.

I again did not sleep well last night :o( Rocky usually sleeps like a rock so I'm hoping all my tossing and turning isn't keeping him awake. Lucky for me I have the best hubby and he always stays relaxed :o)

I was feeling really great because I'm winding down on the mass quantities of piles I had sitting on my desk. My goal was to finish everything by tomorrow night so I could maybe take Thursday off or even work half day but it's not looking like that is going to happen. I have a few things I need from other people that I haven't gotten :o( I'm sure it'll be a last minute crunch :o( I am also suppose to be helping in another office when I get back but I got an emal today that they need me to come over today :o( NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Doggie Depression

Weekend was good and for the most part if was mellow. Friday night we cooked up dinner and stayed in for the night and just relaxed. I had to be up early to meet the team so I went to bed fairly early.

Saturday morning I was up and out of the house by 6:30 and met the team at Lake Chabot for a Coached Run. It was a bit sad though because we only have 8 participants left. They are going to be doing CIM or Hono. For the next 6 weeks we will be out there supporting them through the last few weeks of their training. The mileage was 10-14 and everyone did a great job.

I then went home to clean our house and do all of our laundry, dry it, fold it and put it away so that later I could take it back out to pack :o( Most of the day was spent doing this but later in the evening Rocky and I decided to head to the Tattoo Convention in San Jose. Leslie, my tattoo artist, was going to be there promoting her new tattoo shop, Tatumi, she had also told me that Kat Von D was going to be there. I love Kat. She used to be on the show Miami Ink and now she has her own show, LA Ink. We were able to see her although I was just a few minutes late to get in line for an autograph and photo :o( but I did get a shirt and a few pictures of her. We had dinner at Macaroni Grill and then headed home.

Yesterday was doggie day. I met Lindsay and Brandon at the doggie park and we took the doggies for a walk and then their usual bath afterwards. They all had a good time and my doggies were pooped for the rest of the day. I also hit the farmers market and picked up a few things on the way home. I took a nice little nap and caught up on all my TV and then I started packing and laying things out for NY.

This is what our spare bedroom looks like now:


The clothes on the bed are what I plan to bring for the 4 days we'll be there. The duffel bag sitting inside the red suitcase is actually already packed. It contains all my running gear, my knitting, Mr. Pooh Bear and my Tinkerbell blankie. Yes, I travel with a teddy bear and blankie, NEVER leave home without it :o) The duffel bag will be my carry on.

We've had Patch since he was 8 weeks old, he will be 2 years on Nov. 21st, so he knows very well what it means when I pull out the suitcases. He doesn't like it. He hates when I go away and goes into depression. He even does it when he's staying with his momma Olivia or his daddy. He just hates me leaving. So he has now started his depression and is moping around the house.

This is is what you get when mommy leaves:

Sad Doggie :o(

and then there is Daisy who just wants to play but I found her laying on the ground all alone cause she's not quite sure why her brother won't play with her :O(


I think the doggies are sensing my anxiety as well. I've been doing really good but last night was a rough one. I went to bed early but then woke up at 2:30am and couldn't fall back asleep. My mind was going in a gagillion directions trying to think of everything I need to do before we leave and everything I need to bring and not bring. I tend to over do it on the packing sometimes and I'm trying to avoid that. Anyway, I don't think I ever really fell back asleep :o( I'm pooped today and I hope that won't happen for the next few days. I really need to get some good rest and good food. NY is going to be a bit chaotic and I need all the rest I can get before we get there.

I'm excited and I'm nervous. I can't believe we leave in 4 DAYS!!!!

Foto Friday

Can you guess what this is?





It's my new pretty tattoo. There is only one small spot where I can see a hint of my old tattoo I'll have to see how it turns out once it's all healed. Leslie did tell me that she would do color touch ups on any area's that might need it. I love the way it turned out though.

This weekend will be mostly spent getting ready for NY. I've got laundry to do and I've gotta start figuring out what I'm bringing. Right now the forcast shows that it's in the high 50's and 60'sand even showing chance of rain on Sunday. I sure hope it does not rain on race day :o( Packing is not going to be fun. Last year Rocky and I went to New York in December and had packed for cold weather and instead it was super warm and we were dying cause all we had brought was sweaters and jackets. I hope that's not the case this time.

Other than that we don't have much planned. I think I may take the doggies to Pt. Isabel on Sunday if the weather is nice. It should be a nice mellow weekend.

Have a great weekend!

7 days to go!

If it's not one pain it's another

I added pictures to my post from yesterday so check them out :o)

On the fire front, things are good. Rocky's family was able to return to their homes but are on alert and have their cars ready in case they have to evacuate again. The Witch Fire and Poway fires are not contained yet so they have to stay alert. They are all good though and homes are fine, they are happy to be home but are very pooped.

No changes in my parents area so they are still good.

Last night I finally had my tattoo finished, remember I started that process back in June? Leslie, my tattoo artist, is so busy that my next appointment wasn't scheduled til yesterday. It is finally complete though and I LOVE IT. I am pooped out today since it's very comfortable so it made it hard to sleep last night. At least it's keeping my mind off the soreness I still have my quads from running the race :O) hee, hee. I was kind of dreading going in because I had such a hard time last time. It hurt pretty bad while she was working and it was the reason I couldn't have her finish the tattoo. I just couldn't stand the pain. Last night was not bad at all, it seems that my right side is much more sensitive than my left. I got through another 2 hours of work and was okay until she did a little touching up of the right side. Ouchie again, but it wasn't for long. Thanks to my hubby for accompanying me :o)

So I am doing good, my body is recovering from the race although as I said, my quads are still a little sore. I do not have pain in my ankle though so that is good. I have another acupuncture appointment today and it will be my last til I return from NY. I still can't believe how much it has helped.

8 days till we are on a plane to NY :o)

Fire & Nike Race Report

This is going be a long post since I’ve got some catching up to do.

Fire Report and Our Families

The fires down in Southern California have been on our minds for the last few days as they are every year during "Fire Season". My parents live a little to close to where the fires hit each year. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have lost their homes and possessions. It is all very sad.

My parents live about 20 miles from where the Magic Mountain fire was but I spoke to them yesterday and they said that it was not coming in their direction. I also looked online and that fire was 80% contained as of last night. We are still keeping on eye on the news though to make sure no new fires show up in that area. About 4 years ago when they had a firestorm in Ventura County my mom and I were in El Salvador visiting my uncle who was losing his battle to cancer and my dad was at home packing up their van with belongings and the doggie because they had been told to be ready to evacuate. Not a good situation. The fires were contained or went in other directions and my dad did not have to leave but it was a scary time for them.

Rocky though does have family in San Diego that has been evacuated. We got an email today that said the family is okay and staying with their son in Carlsbad. Rocky’s uncle is on duty with the Sheriff’s Department so he’s been pretty busy. So far their home is okay and the family is okay. We are keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well and they can return home soon. They winds are suppose to subside after today so hopefully that will happen and help with getting the fires contained. As of last night the fire in the San Diego area was only 2% contained :o(

Nike Race Report

The race that always kicks my butt and believe me it kicked it big time this year. I am feeling much better today although still a little sore in my quads. Hopefully by this weekend I’ll be all better.

Friday night was pretty much spent getting everything packed and ready for the weekend. Rocky and I had dinner at a nice restaurant in Montaclair, Italian Colors. We had yummy pasta to carbo load. Then it was back home to finish packing and relax.

Saturday we slept in for a little while and then finished last minute stuff and waited for Ms. Olivia to meet us so we could head to the city. Our teams were having pictures done at 4pm so we had to head out a little early even though the pasta party didn’t start til 5:30. We got to SF a little earlier than expected so we went over to the mall and walked around. At 4 we met with the team for a group shot then stood in line to wait for the Pasta Party Room to open up. At about 5pm they let us start piling in and OMG the receiving line had about 400 people. They were all cheering us on as we made our way to the big room. It was a very BIG room. All 8,300 TNT people were going to be having their pasta party together. It was pretty awesome. It is one of the biggest pasta parties I’ve ever attended. We grabbed our food and the headed to our table along with all our other peeps from our team. They had the slideshow set up as they always do with all the team honorees and we heard from various speakers. We heard from John “The Penguin” Bingham, he was hilarious, Joan Benoit, gold medal winner in the Olympics the first year they had the women’s marathon and Amy Bartlett, a survivor. After the speakers and before we all went home Coach Al gathered up the East Bay Team and had us all sing Happy Birthday to Cole. It was a very sweet moment and Brandy was very happy that Coach did that.

After dinner Rocky, Olivia and I headed over to Daly City to call it a night. We got all our stuff laid out and ready for the morning and about 10pm we all hit the sack. Alarm was set to go off at 4:45 :o( eewww.

Up we were at 4:45 to get ready for the race. We all got dressed and met in the kitchen for breakfast and at about 5:30 Martin picked us up to take us to the start. I was feeling sick but not from the food, I think the nervousness start hitting me and the realization that I was about to run a hard 13.1 mile half marathon after not training at all. YIKES.

We arrived at the start a little before 6am and looked around for our team. We met up at the Team in Training tent with the team and Coach for his usual last minute pep talk and cheer. We then headed to the bag check, which was a complete nightmare, you’d think after 4 years they’d have it all down. Anyway, we checked in our bags and headed to the start line. Rocky went on to find his running buddies and I stood towards the back, 10-12 minute pace, to wait for the start of the race. Olivia and Jeanette had to make a last minute potty stop so I just held our spot at the start line. It was CROWDED. This race has always been crowded but this year was worse. National Anthem was sung and gun went off at 7am and then it took us 17 minutes to cross the start line. That was a bit crazy and then even though we’d crossed the start line it was CROWDED and very hard to get around the walkers and slower runners. Hey, I’m a slower runner but what happened to race etiquette? GEESH, MOOOOVEEE OUT OF MY WAY! :o( that part was a bit frustrating for quite a long time. I was also trying to be very careful that I didn’t fall, AG AIN so I was getting annoyed at the people who kept coming to a screeching halt right in front of me without even looking back to see if anyone was behind them. Or the other people who were also trying to get around the small runners and would weave in and out with out looking to see if they were going to trip someone up. :o(

I managed to run up the first hill as I do each year and then from there on I walk up all the other hills. I can never manage to run up especially because it seems like they go on and on and on and on. I think Olivia, Jeanette and I stuck together til a little before mile 10 and I was feeling pretty good but had started to slow down a little. My ankle was fine, NO PAIN, YAY and I was plugging along. Mile 11, I hit a big fat wall. Exhaustion finally hit me and I really just wanted to sit down and have the chocolate bar they handed me at the Chocolate Station around mile 11.

No running for 2 ½ months + very hilly race = very pooped out.

I decided that I would walk from mile 11-12.5 and then run the rest. Um, that wasn’t happening. At some point Anita and Amy caught up to me and I asked Amy what she was doing 4:1 or 9:1 (running:walking), she said they were doing a 9:1 so I thought I would stick with them. Amy runs a little slower than I do and I thought if I just stick with them I’d have company and it would pace me. NOPE that didn’t happen either. I just could not run anymore :o( my knees started bothering me and I felt like I had a blister coming on, which I actually didn’t, it was one of those phantom pains. Don’t ask me how but I managed to make it to the finish line. I had also started freaking out because I wanted to finish in under 3 hours but then I figured, WHO CARES, just get done. Final time, 3:03.

After I crossed the finish line I got my very pretty Tiffany’s necklace, I had my chipped removed and I proceeded to the TNT booth to find my hubby, some food and something to drink. I quickly found Jeanette, Olivia and Rocky, we grabbed some food to fill up our belly’s and we headed out to wait for Brandy and Phil to come in. We were also able to see quite a few of our team members and cheer them on. It was a lot of fun.

After about 7.5 hours (she started at 5am) I’m proud to say that our very good friend Brandy finished her first marathon in memory of her son Cole. She did a great job and we all got to run her in.

Then came Phil with a big fat smile on his face. It took him 6:12 and set a PR for himself and although he had a hard time a few times during the race he FINISHED and said he had FUN doing this race.

CONGRATULTIOS BRANDY & PHIL!

We headed back to Rocky’s mom’s house afterwards where they had quite a bit of yummy food waiting for us. We ate and then headed home. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch, my ankle was hurting by then. My hubby iced it for me and at about 8pm put me to bed.

I was definitely very tired for the last 3 miles of this race but the good thing was that I did finish the race with no ankle problems. I think the main reason I was hurting later was that I had stood around for another 3 hours after my race without icing and constricted in my running shoe.

Now the question is, can I get through 26.2 miles with no ankle problems? I don’t know. Can I physically and mentally get to the finish line after 26.2 miles? I don’t know. All I know is that after 3 hours I was exhausted and it concerns me. Granted NY is not hilly like SF but I still have to be out there for at least 6 hours, that’s what I’m hoping for, but if not it may be 6+ hours. I’ve got 11 days to think about it, talk about getting down to the wire on this.

Anyway, the race was hard but I had a great time with everyone. I’m proud of everyone who went out there and finished this darn thing, AGAIN. Will I do it again next year? YEP! I think this race has now become a tradition. It’s in our back yard, all the money goes to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, it’s the perfect way to celebrate Cole’s birthday and oh yeah, I get a very pretty Tiffany’s necklace each year :o)

Did the Damn Thing........

...........and survived.

I feel like I just completed my first half marathon and not my 13th or whatever # this race was. I went out and did the race and finished it. My ankle is okay but I'm worn out. I will have a full race report tomorrow but wanted to post on here that I am doing okay. I know everyone was worried on how I'd do and feel while out there. I felt okay and today I am okay, just sore :o)

Thank you to everyone for their support and words of ecouragement.

IT'S TIME!

The Nike Women's Marathon & Half Marathon is here. It is time to lace up our running shoes and kick some butt on this course. Although the previous 3 years it has kicked mine :o( I'm excited for the weekend, so

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

to all of my friends and my teammates and of coure my hubby.

I hope you all have a great race and I will see you at the finish line.

?

I couldn't think of a title for this post. There is so much going on this week, my head is spinning.

There are lots of emails circulating this week with well wishes to everyone for a good race. One of the things I was going to mention in my post today is that for some reason I seem very emotional the last few days and especially today. It seems to be going around because I just got an email from one of our TNT friends saying the same thing. We are all feeling Cole and Brenda as the days to Nike get closer.

There is so much twirling in my mind about my own race and praying that all goes well. I have not trained at all since I fell and I have no idea how my body will take the race on Sunday and how my ankle will hold out. I'm really praying for the best. Emotionally I am drained.

Last Sunday marked 6 months since Brenda passed away. Last year at the Nike Marathon Brenda was standing at mile 9 bundled up cheering us all one, this year she will be with us in spirit and in our minds but she won't physically be there with her huge smile. I will miss her there.

On Sunday my friend, Brandy, will run her first marathon in memory of Cole. It is going to be so awesome to see her cross the finish line. I am tearing up just thinking about it. Coach has asked that we all wear on our singlet the #5, Cole would have turned 5 years old on Monday, October 22nd. I remember Brandy in Napa when I ran the Napa Marathon the first time, Cole was still alive, she was sitting at the finish line holding Cole and cheering us on. Every time I come a across a finish line at any race I have that picture of them in my head. This year Cole will be at the finish in spirit waiting for his mommy to cross the finish line and we will all be wishing him a very Happy Birthday. As I type this I am staring of a picture of Cole that is in a frame on my desk :o)

Tonight we will be picking up our race packets and then having dinner with a few friends. Tomorrow night is packing night and Saturday we head for SF. We'll be going to the TNT pasta party with all out teammates and then Rocky, Olivia and I will spend the night in Daly City at Rocky's mom's house. My brother in law is going to give us a ride to the start line on Sunday morning. Sunday is RACE DAY! I can't believe it's finally here.

Last night Rocky and I were invited by Amy and Jeanette to attend the Marine Mammal Center Gala. Their boss had donated a lot of money and had purchased 2 tables at the Gala. They had a few extra seats so they invited us to go. The event was being held at the San Francisco City Hall.

We got to get all dolled up and pretty. I had a bit of an issue getting into my dress I wore on New Year's :o( so I had to go purchase a new one. I had NO time for that so I was freaking out a little bit. I got back from Sacramento yesterday with a little bit of time to spare so I hit Macy's in San Leandro. In 15 minutes I managed to find a dress, try it on, find a shawl to go with it and purchase it. In Macy's at 4:15 out by 4:30, that was pretty good for me. It was a simple black dress but very cute and appropriate for the occasion. I flew home, walked the doggies and then jumped in the shower. Rocky got home and we were ready to head out the door by 5:45ish. We decided to drive in and managed to get there in time to hit the cocktail hour. Everyone looked very nice.

Dinner (small plates)

Catfish with Lobster Bisque

Prosciutto over lettuce with orange and jicama slices

Filet Mignon medallion

Goat Cheese with bread, candied walnuts and grapes

Drunken Fruit

and lots of wine

It was delicious. It was also very interesting to see the auction they had. I don't think I've ever seen a live auction. One of the things being auctioned was a getaway to a place in Florida, bidding began at $2500 and 3 ladies were battling it out. I think the final bid was $6900...WOW! We had a great time. THANK YOU Amy for inviting us.

I'll post pictures tomorrow, blogger isn't letting me right now :O(

Gone Again

I'm going to our Sacramento for some meeting so I'll be up there tomorrow and Wendesday. Thursday I am back in my of office so I'll update then and Friday I'm off to our office in Pleasanton for another meeting :o( not so fun but hey at least I won't be working. Just sitting in a room hoping not to fall asleep :o)

Here is a picture of our little Daisy in her new sweater. Ummm, she sat in this spot for 5 minutes and would not move, she then started whining. I don't think she is enjoying her cute outfits very much :o( she'll be thanking me though when it's super cold out and she has a nice warm sweater. She gets cold very easily now and we aren't even into winter yet.

Have a good week! I'll post when I return.

I heart cooking

Weekend was very mellow for us which was nice. On Saturday Rocky headed out to the last run of the summer season while I slept in with the doggies :o) I got up and got ready around 9ish and headed out to Walnut Creek to take my car in to get services. The day turned out to be nice and sunny so instead of just sitting and waiting for my car I walked around downtown til it was ready. Car was done in about an hour and then I headed home. We did nothing pretty much all day. I got some knitting in which made me happy :o) Around 5ish we started getting ready to head out to pick up Olivia for dinner and then head to Antioch to watch Jeanette's band. They were having a concert at a nice theatre in Antioch. Because Olivia had to carbo load for her half marathon on Sunday we hit Pasta Primavera for dinner. It was yummy and she got her pasta in. The concert was awesome and we had a great time. East Bay Mudd always puts on a great show. I'm glad we were able to make it and support them.


Sunday was more relaxing. I got some cleaning done around the house and more knitting. Sunday afternoon however, was an afternoon of cooking some yummy food. A while ago I stumbled upon a blog which I now read everyday and now Ree, blog owner, has a separate blog, cooking with Ree, which has quite a few recipes on it. If you recall not long ago I made her spicy shrimp and jalapeno thingies, as she calls them. I decided that this weekend I'd try her Beef Brisket and Twice Baked Potatoes. I had invited Olivia over for dinner, she reads the blog too and loves her recipes.


I picked up the beef on Friday at a butcher shop in Alamo. I needed to marinate the brisket for 24-48hours, which I did. I also started the potatoes so that all I had to do on Sunday was heat them up to warm them and to melt the cheese :o) me love cheese.


I gotta say if my doctor saw her recipes I'd be in big big trouble. Cheese, sour cream, butter, bacon and a big piece of beef are probably not what his idea of "healthy food to lower my cholesterol" are :o) Oh well. I'll start my diet back up today :o)


Anywho, plopped the brisket into the oven around 2:30 for 3 1/2 hours of cooking. Ms. Olivia was gonna make the jalapeno thingies and bring over a salad. She was at the house around 5:30 for some appetizers and wine. Everything was ready on time as planned and OH MY did my beef brisket look super yummy. THANKS REE for the recipe. We had a very nice dinner and everything turned out very good. Although I had brisket to feed 10 people. Butcher man told me that 5lbs of beef would be enough for dinner for 4 because the beef would shrink down. It didn't shrink down much so we had plenty to give Olivia to take home and for left overs tonight and maybe even a few days :o)

Doesn't it look so yummy?

Today though it's time to get serious and no more junk for the week. I've got 7 days til the Nike Half Marathon. I've got my ankle to deal with and that is enough don't need to have issues because I didn't eat or drink properly all week. So it's time to start hydrating and eating the right food for the next week.

Rocky and I will both be running the Nike Half portion of the Nike Women's Marathon. It is my 4th time running it and Rocky's 2nd. He's been training hard so I'm sure he'll kick butt and do great. Darn fast hubby. Then our plan is to stick around and watch our friends Phil and Brandy FINISH the marathon portion. We are very excited for them. YIPEE 7 MORE DAYS!

The day after the Marathon

here is what us crazy marathoners look like the day after a race :o)

Ankle Update

Last night I had an appointment with an acupuncture specialist. When Dr. Klein told me to go get acupuncture I have to admit in my head I laughed a little and when I told Rocky he also laughed and said NO WAY. I have always thought that acupuncture was a bit hokey and how can needles being shoved into my body work. I know someone who's tried it for weight loss and it did nothing. BUT at this rate I really am willing to try anything if it means I can run my marathon and be pain free. I was a bit nervous going in because I hate needles and I don't care if they are the size of horse hair, needles are needles and me no like :o( Acupuncture man explained what he was going to do and I guess the needles do not go into the location of pain but into the opposite location. So he inserted needles into my left ankle and left wrist. I looked sort of like this:

Although I didn't actually look. I was already super nervous and I think seeing needles stuck in me would have totally freaked me out. The process takes about 30-45 minutes and every so often he would ask me to move my foot around and to tell him where my pain level was. OMG, it worked, I was shocked. I could totally move my foot much more than I could at Kaiser on Wednesday when I was doing the range of motion stuff with Ms. PT lady. I also could tell that the pain had gone down significantly and today I also noticed that the swelling has gone done a bit. I am not going to jump the gun and get overly excited but WOW, I'm now a believer of acupuncture. I go back next Tuesday for my second visit and check in with Dr. Klein the week after that. We are cutting it very very very close to race day but I think this all might work without me doing anymore damage to the ankle. At least that what I'm really crossing my fingers for.

SUPER Whole Foods

Not much to update on. I had physical therapy with Dr. Klein on Tuesday, OUCHIE. I had physical therapy at Kaiser yesterday to start strength training the ankle again. I was okay while I was there but later, OUCHIE. My foot was not happy about all the stretches I made it to do with the band they had me buy. I have an appointment today for acupuncture to help with some of the pain. I'm sure my response will be, OUCHIE. :o( So ankle situation isn't good and race days are fast approaching. Nike in 11 days and NY in 24 days. I am having lots of anxiety and am beginning to get a bit worried :o(

So the other night I took a little drive over to the new Whole Foods in our neighborhood. Okay, not so much or neighborhood, it's about 15 minutes away :o( I needed to pick up a few things for dinner and lunch the next day. OMG, this Whole Foods was HUGE. It turned out very nice and it's like the SUPER version of Whole Foods. I'm excited to finally have one sort of close by although the parking is a bit chaotic but I'll deal with it. It's my favorite grocery store and I'm sure I'll be spending lots of time there.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY

ANDREW COLE REGAN!

This is a picture of Andrew eating his birthday cupcake at his bday party on Sunday.

TOO CUTE!

Bad Chicago Day :o(

I'm sure everyone is writing about this but Sunday was a strange day for running. In one case we have a great marathon in Portland. Our friend Amy finished in under 6 hours (that was her goal), she finished in 5:57 and our friend Rudy finished in 4:07...WOW! That's awesome. I haven't really gotten details from either of them but considering they both had good races I'm thinking the weather was good for them.

Then we go over to Chicago and people are literally dropping like flies. It was 88 degrees and 80 something % humidity....YUCK! 1 person died and some reports say more than 350 people were taken to hospitals although I'm not sure how accurate that is. It was a bad day though for the Chicago Marathon race. Before the race even started race officials had decided that they would cancel the race if it got really bad and they did. About 4 hours into the race they decided that they needed to cancel the race. Weather conditions were horrible and way too many people were sick. Some people chose to continue but they were told to take it easy and walk. It most have been pretty scary for them. 10,000 runners chose not to even do the race. I probably would have been right along side them.

Weekend was good for us although busy. Saturday went out and met the team at San Leandro Marina, I ran almost 5.5 miles for the first time since I fell. I felt good, had some achy feeling in the ankle but I got through it okay. I was just happy to be out there running. I am sore today though, I feel like I haven't run in months. Hopefully my body will get back up to speed soon since Nike is only a few weeks away. I see Dr. Klein tomorrow for some more torture, I mean therapy.

After the run, Rocky, Olivia and I headed back to the house to clean up and then drive to Sonoma. The winery we are members of had a party for their members. They had food, entertainment and lots and lots of wine. We were starving though on our way up there and were suppose to stop at Taco Bell for a snack but somehow we all ate full meals. The only thing we had room for in our belly's was the YUMMY pumpkin cheesecake. I did have a few baby pickles too :o) I love pickles. We left before the party was over so we wouldn't get stuck in the chaos of everyone trying to get out of the parking lot at once. We decided to head to the Plaza in Sonoma and walk around. Did some wine tasting there and then did some shopping. We needed to buy presents for Emma & Andrew and we accomplished our mission there in the little shops. Afterwards we hit Mary's Pizza Shack for some dinner. By the time we got home it was 8:30 and we were pooped. It was a fun day.

Sunday morning Rocky taught Kali as usual and I stayed home relaxing. When he got home we ready and then headed over to Vallejo to Brandy's house for Emma and Andrews birthday party. We had a good time hanging out with our friends and watching the kids and BIG kids jump in the jumpy Brandy rented. Rocky and I headed home via Walnut Creek, we had to stop at the doggie store there and we decided to just grab dinner there. We had a nice evening out and then headed home to watch our Sunday night shows. Now it's back to work for another busy week.

Foto Friday

Getting ready for halloween, we've got one costume down and one to go :o)

CRAZINESS

I am working in one of our other offices, they needed help badly. One person on vacation, one quit and one new person...NOT GOOD!

Anywho, just wanted to jump on here to wish MS. AMY & MR. RUDY....GOOD LUCK IN PORTLAND! They are both running the Portland Marathon this weekend.

I may not have time to update the rest of the week so I shall update next week.

ONE MONTH

In exactly one month I will be on a plane to NY, woohooo. I can't believe it's almost time to go run this marathon, or walk it :o( but no matter how I get through it it's going to be a lot of fun. Shoot we've only been planning this since January :o)

Things are going so so with the ankle. I thought it was much better although the swelling is still there, that's no fun. I am walking on it and it doesn't hurt to move it side to side or up and down anymore. I even thought that when Rocky was massaging it that the pain was far less. I was WRONG. I was told by Dr. Klein today that I'm not stretching/massaging it enough or hard enough :o( and oh boy was she right. When she did it IT HURT LIKE HELL :o( which means it's still icky in there and I HAVE to do what she says and how she does it or it's not going to get better. You could tell how much more flexible my left ankle is than my right. It's pretty stiff when she tries to move it around. Dr. Klein said even if I have to scream into a pillow I need to have Rocky really get in there and work on it. Anyway, so we've got a lot of work to do especially if I'm gonna put on my running shoes this weekend and try to run. Or at least my hubby has a lot of work to do :o) hee, hee. Although he's been under the weather lately :o( today he's at home sickie laying under the covers with our doggies.

I've got the Nike Half in a few weeks and I think I may just walk the race to save my ankle for the big race. This is my 4th time doing Nike so I know what to expect and I'm not worried about how well or not well I do. This race always seems to fall at a weird time for me, either before or after a full marathon so I never do all that great. I'm just looking forward to being out there with our team and running in memory of Mrs. Brenda and of course watching Ms. Brandy finish her first full marathon in honor of Colie :o) It's goin to be a great day.

I also realized yesterday that I met Rocky 4 Nike Marathons ago :o) WOW how time flies. Thanks to Mama Lisa's match making, we started dating about 3 months later but this race is where we were first introduced, pretty cool :o)

THANK YOU to everyone who's donated money towards my fundraising. I really appreciate it. My fundraising deadline is this Friday so if you are still interested in donating it's not too late. You can click on the link to the left to get to my fundraising page :o)

THANK YOU...KAREN, PETRA, MARK, TOM S., AARON, OLIVIA, CHARLIE, ONWEENA, KORINA, DEBBIE, TOM B., KATHY, KEN, BETTY & BRUCE...for your generous donations

The weekend was very mellow for us, which we both needed. Rocky is now sickie so I think it was good we stayed home for the most part. We took the doggies to Pt. Isabel on Saturay afteroon and gave them a bath before heading back home. They loved their walk but hated the bath part. The nice part for us was that they were pooped when we got home so the slept the rest of the day :O).

Sunday I had a nice afternoon with Olivia and Lindsay. We met for lunch at Il Fornaio and then walked around Walnut Creek checking out all the booths at the Art Festival downtown. It was a nice mellow afternoon and then I went home to meet Rocky so we could head to Daly City to have dinner with his parents. They ended up having to cancel so we just hung out at home and I got to get some knitting in which made me happy. I had been missing it.