A Wave From California

New Places

First off, I have been traveling this past week and have had zero time to blog or read anyone elses blogs, so hopefully I can catch up over the weekend. Thanks to Tall Mom for letting me know I won a giveaway on her blog. Woo-hoo. Some hand warmers just in time for winter.

Prior to this week, I have never been west of Colorado. But a business trip to California changed all of that, and I got to spend 4 days in San Diego.

I loved seeing all the palm trees, but I could have done without the crazy traffic.


view from my hotel room...it was too cold to swim. for me anyway

While there, I had a nice 5.5 mile run my first morning there, and another 4 mile run the next day. There was a great path to run near the hotel. It was a bike path between the sidewalk and the street and was wide enough for a golf cart. There was a curb that was 6 inches high and 18 inches wide that separated the bike path from the motorist traffic. That helped give a sense of security having that extra curb there.

the bike path i ran on...it was nice and wide, with curbs on both sides...

California people didn’t seem as friendly as I’d imagined. I mean, the people around the hotel were nice enough, but that’s their job. And my co-workers from California are all nice. But during my runs, I usually try to wave to people I pass, and during both of my runs I barely got a wave in return.

The first day I passed a walker, a biker, and another runner, and none of them waved or said hello back to me. Even when I found a YMCA membership card on the ground and ran it inside to the front desk of the YMCA, the worker there didn’t even say thank you. Not the best impression from an outsider, but I’m from the Midwest where everyone is friendly. The second day wasn’t much better, I passed 7 walkers and a biker, none of them waved back, and I passed 3 runners, and two of them waved. At least a couple of the runners were nice enough to wave. Maybe everyone was still half asleep. These were some early morning runs in the near-dark.

New Shoes


About a week ago I received some Brooks Glycerin 8’s in the mail to test out. This business trip was my chance to take them out for a spin. They are great shoes, and are set to hit the market early in 2010 I think. They have Brooks’ new DNA technology that allows the sole of the shoe to mold to the specific weight and impact of the person wearing them and change to provide the right amount of support.

They were very comfortable right out of the box and had a super ride and feel. These might be replacing my Asics Kayano’s as my regular running shoes.

The Worlds Largest Running Store

So we’re driving to the place in San Diego for my work meetings and literally a block from the office, we pass a sign that says “The World’s Largest Running Store.” So of course I had to check it out. It was a Road Runner Sports clearance store, and it was pretty cool.

I had them fit me for shoes, even though I don't really need any. The process was really cool, very high tech. They had a glass floor hooked up to a computer that when you walked over it told you what part of the foot was having pressure put on it, and they video taped my feet on a treadmill to determine pronation. Turns out I have a high arch with a slight under pronation and need a motion control shoe. It was fun. I picked up some shoe inserts and some Chafe Free gel.

I didn't get to enjoy California as I had hoped. Didn't get to the beach, or go to In and Out Burger, or the San Diego Zoo, etc. We stayed way too busy with work. So, now I need to plan a family vacation so we can do all the fun stuff next time. We had a 3 hour delay in Denver on the way home (I guess they got 18 inches of snow the day before), and I was relieved to get home in time to go trick or treating with the kids. Happy Halloween everyone.

Mid Afternoon Distraction

If you only have a minute, skip to 3:46 in the video. You're welcome.

I think some of these shots look like me at the end of a race....

Willie the Wildcat

It was Harley Day at the K-State/Texas A&M game last Saturday. We took the boys up, along with my dad, for a fun day in the Promised Land (I mean, Manhattan, Kansas). It was a great day. We went up a little early for some site seeing which included going up to Manhattan Hill, which overlooks the city. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was shining. We had a parking pass which meant we could park fairly close to the stadium, which was nice, and then we also had tickets to the VIP tent in Cat Town, with BBQ, drinks, and live Blues music before the game. It was great. We then went at checked out all the Harleys outside the stadium (which later would circle the track inside the stadium just before kickoff). There were probably 150-200 Harleys, it was awesome Willie the Wildcat was there, in full motorcycle leather gear. He lead the motorcyle parade inside the stadium. Willie the Wildcat is K-State's mascot, and he does push-ups every time KSU scores, one push up for every point. Well, he got a workout Saturday night, as KSU won 62-14. (by my estimation, he had to do 346 push ups) They demolished Texas A&M, it was awesome. (Sorry, Aggie fans).

Running Update
Ran 3 miles yesterday and today. Feeling some slight soreness in my lower legs so I'm going to take a couple days off. Considering doing the Turkey Trot 10 miler in about a month.

Giveaway --a giveaway to help you stay warm this winter

A Step in the Right Direction

I kept telling myself that even though I couldn't run for about 3 months due to plantars fasciitis, I could make the best of an injury situation and use that down time from running to do some strength training and/or try to lose that extra 15-20 pounds I've been carrying around.

Did I? No. Instead, I pretty much turned to comfort food and gained about 5 pounds while doing ZERO strength training. I guess it's kind of hard to do strength training when we don't have any weights to lift or a gym membership. (if any of you do strength training without weights, tell me how please)

Anyway, all that is said to say that I am still trying to get my running legs back, and today was a nice step forward in that direction.

I got up way too early (like 330am--crazy I know, couldn't go back to sleep), and went running around 600am, a distance of 7.5 miles, the farthest I've ran in probably 6 months or so. I felt great the whole way and took it at a nice, easy pace (like 10:30/mile). I even got to see the sun come up. It was an awesome run.

Tomorrow is our hometown marathon and I thought about volunteering, but we have too much other stuff going on tomorrow, so for anyone running the Wichita Marathon tomorrow, have a great race! The weather should be perfect. Best of luck to everyone running races this weekend.

Luna Bar Giveaway

Rut or Routine?

So for about the last 4-5 months, I've had pretty much the same thing for breakfast. Every day. Two frozen waffles, topped with low-fat peanut butter and a banana.

I like it because it tastes good, is quick to make, and is convenient. There have been a few days when I've had something different, but really 99% of the time, this is what I eat. Probably not the most nutritious breakfast, but not the worst either.

What's on your breakfast table in the morning?

(Semi) Wordless Wednesday

Happy October everyone. We have a great pumpkin patch here called Walter's Pumpkin Patch, and we went last weekend. Had a blast.

Ran 4 miles Monday and 4 Tuesday....I'm getting tired of this yucky overcast, rainy, cold weather....I hear it is supposed to warm up tomorrow--yay.

Zen Run 10K

It was cold and dark when I got up early to go out for my run this morning. I was half awake until that chilly breeze hit my face.

I threw on layers of clothes, gloves, a knit hat, and my ipod. I wasn't sure how far I would go, I knew I wanted to do at least 6 miles, maybe 8. Either way, it would be the longest run I've done in awhile due to dealing with my running injury.

So I'm running along and listening to one of my running podcasts ( I think it was Run Run Live) and they start talking about the World Wide Festival of Races (which is a bunch of virtual races) and I'm thinking, "hey, I think I signed up for that a while back. And then they mentioned that it was THIS weekend. I couldn't remember which race I signed up for, either the half marathon or the 10K, but I decided that at this point a half is out of the question, so I ran the Zen Run 10K virtual race this morning, on the spur of the moment, mostly as a recovery run from my injury, not so much as a race. Ran it in 1:02:44.

Hope everyone is having great races/runs this weekend!

Are You Serious?

The Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon women's winner was recently disqualified for taking a water bottle from a friend outside of the official water station. So, the second place finisher moved up to first. Then, that finisher was also disqualified when it was discovered she used an iPod. Now, it looks like the third place finisher will get moved up to first and get the $500 prize.

Here is the article -- http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/63668622.html

I can't believe either of the first two were even disqualified. Neither infraction seems serious enough to me to be DQ'd. Someone that knows more about running/racing and rules please explain this logic to me.

Caught in the Rain

Today's 3 miler turned into a 1.25 miler when it started pouring mid-run.

Yeah, I got soaked. I guess the flashes of lightning in the sky should have been a clue.

Looks like soccer practice will be cancelled tonight.

Biggest Loser-Sayonara Julio

I watched the Biggest Loser last night, and Julio went home. I think he will do well on his own, he seems motivated to make a healthy lifestyle change. I am still not sure what the medical issue is with Crazy Eyes Tracey, er I mean Tracey. The doctor just said that she had a damaged muscle and couldn't exercise. Did she have a stroke? What muscle was damaged? They've never gotten into specifics, but it must be frustrating for her to not be allowed to do ANY type of exercise on a program designed for exercise and weight loss. Got to give her props for losing 4 pounds anyway. I can't believe Daniel didn't lose any weight. Good thing he had immunity.

The challenge where they had to guess the healthiest chicken dinner seemed easy (go with the skinless grilled chicken) but only 3 teams guessed right. I thought Daniel and Shay should have won the calorie guess game since there guess was closest, even though they went over. Shay could have used that prize of free groceries for a year. I'm rooting for Daniel, Coach Mo and Allen, but I have a feeling a girl could sneak in and win it this year.

Running Update

Ran 4 miles yesterday and another 4 today. Had to wear the knit cap and gloves this morning, it's getting chilly. I experimented with a new stride today that want to keep toying with. Basically turning the legs over quicker with a shorter stride, and kind of pulling through the pavement with my foot. My pace was about 30 sec/mile faster than normal and I didn't feel like I was expending any more energy. I'm going to keep trying it out.

Getting the Running Legs Back

I started running again last Wednesday, and have run 14 miles since then. I am definitely out of running shape and am feeling it in my legs. They are achey and tight for a day after a run. Still, it is so great to run without pain in my foot.

October is here which means cold weather running has pretty much arrived. I have been running in long sleeves and/or a running jacket. I haven't quite had to put on the gloves, knit hat, or long pants yet. But, it won't be long.

As much as I missed running during some warmer months, I kind of like running in colder weather. Call me crazy. Are you a hot or cold weather runner?

Introducing: The Umbilical Brothers