Long Run - 1:15 Hours on Goleta Beach Bike Path

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Time: 7:00am, 01:15 hours
Meal: Two Brown Rice Cakes with (still my favorite thing ever) PEANUT BUTTER!! Yummmm...
Distance: 8 Miles

I was looking back over my activity log and realizing that my average pace of 9:30 is an outstanding improvement over the 11:00 average I was pacing at just two months ago. I feel kind of like the bionic woman...I'm not sure why I have more strength and "umph" in me, but I suspect it has something to do with my shying away from simple carbs over the last two months.

Well, that's kind of a loose statement, and now is as good a time as any to explain the change I've consciously made to my diet. Inspired by my stepmother, who has lost over 30 pounds on a variant of the South Beach Diet, I began to contemplate what carbs I am eating that I could do without. I knew "no carbs" was not physically possible for me (sounds torturous), but decided I'd compromise by cutting out the carbs I can do without. It ends up mapping out like this:

(lots of space here that I can't figure out why blogger is inserting but not worth debugging since I'm lucky if 1/2 of a person is actually reading this...so if you're that 1/2 of the person just keep scrolling.)

Can Do Without	Can't Do Without
Pasta	Beer!
Cereal for breakfast	Coffee (more specifically, my Hazelnut Coffeemate Creamer)
Sandwiches (bread)	Oatmeal
Large servings of fruit	Granola bar before hiking
Noodle Soup	The occasional Pho Thai
Hot Chocolate	The occasional cookie

Not an exhaustive list, by any means, but it gives you an idea. Believe it or not, the above outlined attitude has caused me to lose over 12 lbs in the last 2 months. I feel great, have more energy, and (to bring it full circle) am a stronger runner, cycler and hiker.

However, I almost forgot about how my body begins to complain once we start getting up to these longer distances. Some people are built for running, I am not fortunate enough to be one of those people. For me, at these longer distances, its a constant battle to keep my muscles in check. Traditionally, I've had issues with my calves and knees, but today (and all week, actually) my hamstrings are feeling it. It doesn't feel tight, per se, just weak. So, I'll be working with Dr. Nicole on how to strengthen and loosen those puppies up.

All in all, however, I'm doing (and feeling) great!

Hike, Cold Springs West Fork to Tangerine Falls

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Time: 6:15pm, 01:35 hours
Meal: Nuts, Cottage Cheese, Blueberries & a Nature Valley Granola Bar (too much!)
Distance: About 3 miles (I forgot to turn on my GPS until the first mile or so of the hike!


Once again, and AMAZING hike with an AMAZING group of people. This trail to Tangerine Falls is one of my favorites in the area (along with Romero Canyon). It's about a mile on the regular trail, then veers off to an adventure of scrambling up a pretty significant incline...(like 300 feet over 1/10th of a mile). What an adventure, though! I love having to grab at branches and navigate over rocks to get to my destination.

I'll probably regret the climb during my 7-8 mile run tomorrow morning, but for now I'm lovin' the burn!

Easy Run, Hidden Valley Area

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Time: 6:30am, 33:29 minutes
Meal: Nada (I don't usually eat in the mornings before these runs...maybe I should?)
Distance: 3.4 miles


A pretty challenging run around my cousin's neighborhood, actually. I am used to running on Las Positas - it used to be a regular training spot with the Team back in the day, before the horrible accident when one of our participants was struck and killed by a drunk driver. (Wow, this post got morbid all of the sudden, but I can't help but think of her every time I'm on that road).

However, what I failed to consider were the hills to and from her house. There's a good hill heading out of the neighborhood one way, and another hill to climb since I chose to do a semi-loop and come back to the house via a different direction. My hamstrings are killing me! I guess that's good...it means they are getting worked, but man that was exhausting!

I ran a tad slower than I had hoped. Hills didn't help. But running alone is so much different as well. I'm remembering how much I prefer to be out running with the team! Maybe this year I'll reach out and find some running buddies for the self-training days!

Coached Training, Leadbetter Beach

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Time: 6:00pm, 32:09 minutes
Meal: Almonds @ 4pm, Nature Valley Granola Bar @ 5:30pm
Distance: 3.4 miles, core exercises at each mile.


That's right, my Garmin Forerunner 305 is BACK! Well, not really, I actually had to buy a new one after my previous one was pilfered out of my suitcase last month during my trip to Africa. Anyway, I missed it...and am happy to have it back on my wrist!

This was my first meet-up with the Team this season for "track practice", though the track at City College is being worked on so it looks a little different this time around. Tuesdays are the days to do some highly-focused training activities (as opposed to most training days which include either a run or cross-train activity). Tonight, Coaches Neal and Nicole, Heather, and Tekle had us work on core awareness to improve efficiency as we run.

The workout looked like this:

• 10 Minute Warm Up Jog


• 1 mile uphill


• 30 second plank - 10 crunches - 30 second plank


• 1 mile flat


• 30 second plank - 10 crunches - 30 second plank


• 1 mile downhill


• 30 second side plank - 10 crunches - 30 second side plank


• One hill repeat

A nice little workout! I felt pretty good and am DEFINITELY glad I took yesterday off to rest my tired legs. They're still a little tired, and mostly I feel it in my hamstrings (which have a history of being pretty weak).

I will sleep well tonight!

Cross Training - Mountain Biking at Elings Park

Time: 2:50pm
Meal: Too much coffee, not enough protein...and one too many beers the night before
Distance: dunno...

(No map this time...but the new Garmin Forerunner 305 is on its way!)

Galen and I hit the bike trails at Elings park - what a blast that is. Incredible views of the city and some semi-technical (but safe...i.e. no cliffs to fall off of) single-trek. PERFECT for me as I'm trying to be a better rider.

Great fun, but my legs are toast and I am exhausted. Definitely a combination of (1) being sick for the last 2 weeks and still not 100%, (2) running 6.5 miles yesterday after not running at all for the 1 1/2 weeks prior, and (3) the couple of beers I enjoyed Friday and Saturday nights in spite of it all. Where does one find the balance between the active lifestyle and an affinity for beer? Alas, perhaps that is one of the most profound questions of human philosophy.

A little more sleep, a little more focus, and shifting back into training mode should help. I'm exhausted, but it feels like a "good" kind of exhausted. I'm going to fight the urge to run tomorrow and give my legs a bit of a rest - then back at it Tuesday at track!

Long Run - 1 Hour from East Beach up Past Shoreline

It's been a few years, but I'm back baby! Journal entry #1 of my already-in-progress half marathon training. My Event is in less that 3 months...

Time: 7:15am, 59 minutes
Meal: Brown Rice Cake with Peanut Butter (and extra peanut butter...mmmmmm) @ 6:30am.
Distance: Approx. 6.5 miles


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I love running with other people, I'm way better at it when I have someone to keep up with. I felt good today, and did great on time considering I have been so sick the last two weeks and hadn't run since last Wednesday. This was my first training with the TEAM, and I am really getting excited. I'm so glad to be a part of it again!

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Email Addiction and Ode to Starbucks

I just realized that I have spent over 30 minutes feverishly configuring, reconfiguring, searching and researching how to resolve the fact that I can't check my e-mail. Send and Receive --> Google --> New Tab --> IMAP configuration --> Yahoo --> Send and Receive --> Reword my search --> Open webmail....you know how it ends (or sometimes doesn't end in a feat of mania).

I am in Beijing, China, sitting at the Starbucks attached to the Holiday Inn Express where I am staying with my mother for this whirlwind, 2 1/2 day trip. Jetlag woke me up just before 4 in the morning, and I tossed and turned then got up and paced for about an hour waiting to go downstairs for a fix of the precious wireless. My mind raced in bed with everything I "needed" to do before we left for our trip to the Great Wall. You know, the essentials like check my bank balance, find out how much it costs me to use my iPhone internationally, check the news headlines, finish my download of 24: Redemption so I have it to watch for the flight home (that was my primary goal, by the way) and, of course, check at least two of my 5-8 email addresses (I've lost count).

But I am in China, where the internet is regulated (somehow, I'm not exactly sure how). So, I suppose I wasn't surprised to find that IMAP wouldn't connect to my server or even that I couldn't connect via webmail. But surely, surely there's a workaround! I sure wish I would have set my emails to forward to Gmail or Yahoo Mail - even those email addresses that I have set to forward from other email addresses. What was I thinking? Do I pay for a Yahoo Mail account so I can use their client to POP? I am I ever going to survive another two whole days without it? How have I survived so far? Certainly the world is falling apart because my inbox has laid dormant for over 24 hours!

So, yeah...OK...I'll admit I have a slight problem. What sucks is the realization that it's far worse than just my addiction to technology; rather, it's some sort of sick, self-righteous prophecy that the world as it is affected by me will crumble in my absence and without my direction. It's driven by some sort of fear of not staying in touch...of not being included or available to make decisions so I can fulfill the prophecy in my own mind that they're all better off if they depend and succumb to my involvement and ideas. If I'm not there to respond, they might make decisions without consulting me. Not to mention the probability that they'll make decisions that don't include me.

My greatest fears are that I would be ordinary and lonely. I spend most of my energy striving toward achieving extraordinary status, and the rest of it making sure I am included and loved. I admit this very raw and real statement to the world (expecting all two of my readers to be taken back with shock) because it's time we all come clean with what our motivations are. Understanding our motivations in the context of what we truly desire and set out to achieve is the first step in controlling the addictions that keep us spiraling further and further from our ultimate potential.

I think the world will live just fine while ignoring my existence over the next few days and I think I'll keep that iPhone in airplane mode. At least my episode of 24 just finished downloading (finally), so I'll have Jack Bauer to keep me company on the long flight home.

On the bright side, and I know many people will think I'm evil for saying so, my Grande Caramel Machiatto tastes exactly the same in Denver, Santa Barbara, London, Ko Samui, and even Beijing. My hats off to Starbucks for such successful brand consistency...down to the taste off their product. I'm sitting in an obvious American Bubble, where my 32RMB coffee (about $4.75) costs about as much as the shop owners across the street make in a week. I am either terribly spoiled, blessed, or oblivious...or all of the above.