FIRE HYDRANT HELL

Like I said in my last post, I was off to go run with this girl.

Return of Pigeon!!

Pigeon is training for the Tahoe Rim Trail 50 Miler in July and she needed hill training today. When she emailed me about it I said "Come on over! El Dorado Hills is nothing BUT hills." She arrived at noon, just as the heat was pumping.

We left my house and ran around the block to connect with the fire road trail that leads to Beatty Drive. Pigeon took one look at the hill and was like "you want to climb that entire hill?" I told her it was up to her what portion she wanted to do but that it was typically a mile from stop sign to stop sign on this hill.

She quickly pinpointed two fire hydrants and said "let's run fire hydrant to fire hydrant." I was down with that and once we approached the first fire hydrant we realized that was too short and that there was another one just up a ways and decided THAT was our distance. Fire Hydrant to fire hydrant became our mental motto.

Beatty Drive is unforgiving

but it can give you a great workout

It was pretty hot out but we parked our water bottles at the bottom fire hydrant and just motored up down, up, down up, down. We did five hill repeats with 30 seconds of rest.

Going up

After our five Pigeon suggested that we sprint to the first shorter fire hydrant as fast as we can, touch it and then turn around and fly as fast as we possibly can down the hill without slowing down when we approached the finishing hydrant.

I will admit the first sprint up sprint down almost had me losing my breakfast. I was huffing and puffing. She suggested one more and something clicked, I felt better and stronger and the second one was much easier.

We then decided to just run all the way to the top of Beatty and meander through the streets until we added more mileage and made it back to my house. 6.5 miles for the day.

At the top with Folsom Lake behind us

Once back at my house we headed straight to my pool to soak our knees and ankles. My ankle was fine until those sprints and I think it was the down that aggravated it the most which then caused running up the hill to be a problem too. The pool felt great.

After Pigeon left I quickly showered and stuffed my face and headed out to the El Dorado Hills CSD (Community Services District) because Blood Source was having blood drive.

For as long as I can remember Jersey Dad was a blood donor. As a kid I watched him donate and always wanted to donate myself and I did, all through high school. In college I stopped but when I moved out to Sacramento and connected with Jersey Girl we started donating together and then we started donating platelets.

Then the string of kids happened and (ahem) tattoos which created a break in our donation schedule. Back in March I saw a sign at the CSD for one of their blood donations and stopped in to donate. They said they come back about every other month or so and today was the day.

I can't express the feeling I get when I donate. My dad has had people approach him and thank him for either giving blood or for donating platelets as it some how either saved their lives or a loved ones. I would like to go back to donating platelets but it typically requires more of a time commitment which I truly should look into now that I do have some extra time on my hands. I have learned my lesson though about donating blood and then trying to run the next day. When they say "rest for 72 hours" they really mean it (although I typically only rest for about 48, ssshhh).

Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day for the Peanut and Squeaker. I have a surprise for them and Jersey Dad is coming along too. If my master plan works ... then a double nap time should occur giving us some quiet time.

peek-a-boo with the foam roller

FEELS GOOD

It feels so good to be back blogging again. It also feels good to be running solid again because it is so much more fun to write about feeling good when running vs feeling terrible.
Yesterday was sort of a crazy day in the Trailmomma house. I woke up (after a rough night with Squeaker) and ran to the local high school track to literally squeeze in a speed workout. My scheduled speed workout was rather lengthy and unfortunately I just didn't have the time to do it. Instead I ran to the track which is smidge over a mile away and then did a quick 800 and then quite a few rounds or sprinting the straights and jogging the curves of the track. It definitely gets the heart pumping and the leg turnover moving. I then ran home at a fairly quick pace.

After helping some neighbors with a busted pipe, Jersey Dad, the girls and I loaded into the car. We dropped Jersey Dad off at Pam's Aunt's house for a day of brother and sister bonding while the girls and I attended a birthday party.

Vans got daring and jumped on his road bike and biked from El Dorado Hills to Old Sacramento. After the birthday party, I drove the girls downtown as we had time to kill and tried to visit the new Lululemon store. Unfortunately, the store was closed on Sunday. Ugh. I loaded the girls back in the car and made plans with Vans to meet at Pam's Aunt's house where he would load the bike into the car so we could all drive home to EDH. Just a random kind of day for us.

Now it is Monday and I have big plans to meet up with this girl for a hill workout today. She is training for the Tahoe Rim 50 Miler in July and hills are on her training list. I have a few ideas for her in terms of what hill here in EDH to make her run ... I will be running too and I could really use some hill work as well. I am excited to meet up with her as it has been too long.

This is also Jersey Dad's last week with us. The rest of our week is fairly jam packed with things to do so stay tuned for a few posts and new photos.

Speaking of photos ... are some from the weekend of craziness that we just had including the Peanut's fourth birthday party at Tricks Gymnastics.

Squeaker pre party chasing Jack the Cat

Peanut & her friend the Little Citizen at her bday party

The four year old artist and her "hand" drawing

I plan on bringing my camera on today's run so stay tuned for a few running photos (finally!).

EXCITING NEWS

First of all, my last post apparently caused some family excitement because I said I had"exciting news to share." Vans's family immediately jumps to the conclusion that we are adding to our family. I can assure you, that is NOT the case. We are not adding on ... not even the four legged furry variety.

My exciting news is running related ... after all, I know I post a lot of cute pictures of my kids, however this blog is supposed to be about running ... with a dash of family added in for good measure.

A few months ago I was approached by a long time friend of mine, Sally Edwards (co-founder of Fleet Feet Sports) to assist her with her latest venture in getting America fit. Sally is always coming up with new ways to get America off the couch and out the door living an active life-style.

Sally designed an iPhone App called UpBeat Workouts. UpBeat Workouts is partnering with Rich Hanna, Capital Road Race Management and the Urban Cow Half Marathon to come up with an awesome new iPhone App for those who register for the Urban Cow Half Marathon early!

How cool is that!?

Check out this page! For those who register for the Urban Cow Half Marathon early you will receive a FREE training program via UpBeat Workouts on your iPhone. The program was written by the amazing Rich Hanna himself and UpBeat helps sync your phone's music to your strides per minute (or cadence) as you run. It is really cool actually.

So where do I come in? What is my role? Check out this page to find out. Crazy!!! I am super excited to be part of this new and innovative technology. I am also excited because I plan to run the Urban Cow Half Marathon while simultaneously using UpBeat's training program to train for the race and then blog about it as I train.

I can't wait to share more about this new app. Today I met with the iPhone App developer and he downloaded a pilot version onto my phone so that I could test it out while I ran today. It was really trippy hearing my own voice coaching me along on my run but at the same time also pretty cool.

I hope all of my local readers will consider pre-registering for the Urban Cow Half Marathon this October and in turn download the FREE training program as well.

Keep coming back as I will be frequently mentioning more about the App as it progresses and will definitely let you know when you can officially register for the Urban Cow Half Marathon AND get this cool training program for your iPhone. You can also follow UpBeat Workouts on Facebook by going here.

As I mentioned above, today I ran 12 miles around Lake Natoma. Jersey Dad was chilling at home relaxing. When I finished my run I came home and then we left to pick up the girls from school and had dinner at our favorite restaurant in Sacramento ... Miyagi Bar and Sushi! This place is the greatest. It used to be within walking distance from our home in Sacramento which was both amazing and dangerous. Jersey Dad loves Miyagi and he requests that we eat there every time he visits. Vans and I will never object to Miyagi and fortunately, the girls both like it as well! Although I think they really like that Miyagi is also next to YoYo Yogurt.

The Peanut being silly

Squeaker happy eating as always

Our crazy crew at Yo Yo Yogurt (Squeaker is very excited)

Happy girls

BACK IN ACTION

Like I briefly stated in my last post, Jersey Dad surprised me by purchasing a laptop!!! He said he missed my blog so much that he wanted it back THAT bad. Melting my heart.

So before I get into a real crazy posting spree ... I will give you some quick photo updates as the Peanut and Squeaker have literally blossomed these last few months.

(First, I have to say Blogger has changed its format quite drastically since I last remembered. Wow)

Squeaker (10 months)

Squeaker is now 10 months and quite the eater. That photo is of her eating one of her favorites (black beans or really smushed black beans but she likes them whole too). She also loves quinoa, strawberries, bananas, all veggies and especially garlic flavored hummus. Yup.

The Peanut, now 4 years old

The Peanut is now four and just awesome. She has a big heart, a curious mind and a loving soul. She adores her sister endlessly. She truly is getting so big.

Now on to what is going on lately ....

Okay, so Jersey Dad is out for a visit because YESTERDAY was the Peanuts Fourth Birthday!!! Where has time gone? Seriously! Since I am still unemployed, I took advantage of my "free" time.

Jersey Dad and I dropped Squeaker off at daycare so that the Peanut could have a full day all focused on her. We surprised her by driving to the Jelly Belly Factory!! What kid doesn't love candy right? She went on a tour and our tour guide was so sweet as she made the Peanut feel extra special.

Wearing the Jelly Belly hat

The tour was great as you get samples along the way and then we finished at the candy store where she picked out a giant gummy alligator (gross). Then we hopped in the car and headed somewhere for lunch.

Grilled Cheese & French Fries

After she ate they came out with a chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream and a candle. She was beyond excited (and in an even deeper sugar coma).

But very happy.

After the Jelly Belly Factory, we drove back home to pick up Squeaker and then eventually made it out to Van's race ... in the pouring rain. It was SO muddy I cannot even imagine how the riders did it. Vans was quite a muddy mess when he finished.

The kids were dry at least.

Anyway, that was yesterday. My running has slowed just a bit since my Dad is out visiting but totally worth it. I have some exciting news to share soon but one post at a time.

I look forward to reconnecting with my readers and other bloggers who I have missed these last three months or so. Blogging is therapeutic for me and I know a lot of my family enjoys reading as well as a few others (Shout Out to Chico Girl!).

So thank you to those who have remained and checked in on me periodically. Get ready to have more posts from Trailmomma. I have a marathon in June that I am training for and a trail race in Tahoe that I will be a pacer for (first time pacer too ... eeek). Lots of adventures to come! At least until I get a full time job that is! ha

WAHOOO

Just a super quick update ... Jersey Dad is visiting for the Peanut's 4th Birthday but he misses the Trailmomma blog SO much he bought me a laptop!!!! So stay tuned. I am making a come back!!!

I love you Jersey Dad!!

FIRSTS (SACTOWN 10 MILE RACE REPORT)

Today's blog has many meanings ...

This is the FIRST time I am posting in a long LONG while (so sorry, still no computer - borrowing one as it is to do this post);

I ran a race today ... the FIRST one of the new year;

The race I ran today ... was the FIRST time in my (ahem) new age bracket ....(eek);

I ran a new PR today for a 10 mile race .... hell, for any race over a 10K distance ... a new FIRST for me; and ...

This is the first time in a long while, I have felt this happy, healthy, alive, fit and just overall "okay" with the way life is going right now ... even though things are not "ideal" ... life is happening the way it "should" and I am okay with that.

So. Now what? Let's recap today's race AND I will update you with some recent photos of Squeaker and the Peanut ... you will not BELIEVE how much they have grown!!!

To quickly recap, I am marathon training for a marathon in late June. Since I had to DNS (Did Not Start) CIM back in December, I decided I NEEDED a marathon under my belt ... I had the "itch" so to speak and I will not be in town for CIM 2013 ... hence, the June marathon.

I signed up for the Sactown 10 Miler back when I was still employed. I actually had forgotten that I signed up to run it until late last week. Oops. No matter, I knew I wanted to run it at or near my race pace for the marathon just to see where I was at training wise. My training program called for a 10 mile run 45 seconds over my race pace. Pish-haw! I wanted speed.

Oh and another "update" to add ... I recently had an MRI of my ankle taken and discovered I have some bone growth on my talus bone. Apparently a past trauma to my ankle has caused the bone to grow some extra bone and it is basically smashing into my leg every time I run on uneven surfaces or up any hills ... not ideal for a trail runner who lives in El Dorado Hills. My doctor suggested I no longer do speed, run on trails or run up hills ... um, he apparently doesn't know me very well. Surgery is an option but not one I am going to take any time soon ... so for now, I live with the pain. Luckily, I still had some of the cortisone left in my ankle for today's race after the shot I received a week ago (which, just to add, is officially gone as I type this with my ankle throbbing).

Back to today's race ... Squeaker still does not sleep through the night. In fact, she is up every 3 to 4 hours to eat! I blame it on my one sided low supply and as a last ditch effort, I fed her a bottle last night AND nursed praying it would help her sleep longer. It did ... sort of. She woke up at 11:30 tossing but not hungry. Then proceeded to smash her head on her crib in an effort to move to the other side ... causing her to wake screaming and me to soothe her for an hour BUT ... she did ultimately go without milk from 7:30 pm to 4:30 am leading me to believe she CAN sleep IF she can just not wake herself up by tossing and turning. So despite soothing her for an hour last night between 11:30 and 12:30 and one feed at 4:30 ... I got some decent sleep.

I woke up energized and ready. I hit the road by myself and parked downtown in my usual spot for races that start and finish on the capitol steps. I had 10 minutes to spare. I quickly made my way to the starting area and just sort of positioned myself close to the front but not too close. I have never done this race before.

The gun went off and I was focused on keeping a steady pace. That is all I wanted ... a steady consistent pace (something I am not very good at doing). Here were my splits:

Mile 01: 7:33 - Hmm, way to go Trailmomma...way to not really pace yourself.
Mile 02: 7:59 - Okay ... still sub 8 and feeling okay. This isn't going to last .
Mile 03: 7:56 - Wait ... you're still sub 8? Really? And you feel okay?
Mile 04: 7:57 - Okay. This is getting interesting. Body check. Hmm, feeling good.
Mile 05: 8:02 - Aaah a little hill, this must be where I start crashing ...
Mile 06: 7:51 - Huh?
Mile 07: 8:05 - 3 miles left. Sweet. Wait a minute ... you've had some decent sub 8 minute miles ... could I?
Mile 08: 8:08 - 2 miles left. If you want a sub 8 finish it has to happen now.
Mile 09: 7:50 - Stick with this dude next to you ... stay with him. He needs you and you need him.
Mile 10: 7:34 - What? The DJ is playing what? Later dude I am outta here!

That last mile I kicked it into high gear and just focused. I crossed the finish line and they handed me a piece of paper that said "Congrats Sub 80, you get a shirt" ... score! Then, I had three different men approach me. One was the guy I was running with during mile 9. He started to fade and I yelled to him to stay with me. Apparently he did ... just behind me. He thanked me profusely for pushing him and helping him. THEN another guy came up to me and said he was impressed with my "kick" at the end and that it really helped him as well (I had passed him too) and finally a third much older guy came up to me and said that he had used me as his pacer for the first 7 miles. I remember him passing me and me cursing it but I let it go ... he was amazed at my "pacing" and thanked me for keeping him steady ... go figure ... the one thing I thought I was terrible at seemed to help someone else!

I am beyond thrilled. My average paced ended up being 7:56 minute miles which I have never done before except for a 10K or something. Although not my marathon pace, it gives me hope that my marathon goal is something attainable. Oddly, with that pace, I was 16th in my age group out of 68 ... just goes to show how tough my new age bracket really is.

The rest of the day was spent with my two lovely ladies. The Peanut proudly declared that I "won" the race when she saw my finishers medal ... who am I to crush her dreams? Squeaker just beamed when I entered the house. She could care less that I stank to high heaven ... her meal ticket was finally home!

I am sorry the blog is so slow these days. Vans is still hoping for a new Mac laptop to be introduced and is holding his ground. I am borrowing his work computer tonight to type this ... so don't get too used to it ... most nights he is busy working on it.

I am enjoying two days a week with my girls who we have removed from daycare/preschool and put on a part-time schedule. Just being home those two days is thoroughly exhausting AND rewarding. I am cherishing this time with them. They are growing so so fast ... to catch you up, here are some recent photos. The Peanut is turning FOUR this month (gosh, where has time gone?) and Squeaker is 9.5 months and just a bundle of energy. She's a daredevil too. The girl has no fear. I think Vans finally has his skate boarding mountain biking daughter ....

The Peanut was invited to a Star Wars bday party ... but she insisted on wearing her Tiger Costume.

So I made her a "space" Tiger by adding a cape and antennae. It works right?

Squeaker ... always so curious.

The daredevil enjoying a recent bounce house party ...

Already cooking up a storm in the kitchen...

Hopefully when we get a computer (soon) I will be back blogging in full force. I have a few projects that I am currently contracted with which also requires me to run the Urban Cow Half Marathon in October. It will actually require me to blog about my training for the race so that will most definitely mean more blogging and of course, more photos of the girls. Thank you to all who have stuck with me and haven't removed Trailmomma from your blog rolls. I promise, I am making a come back!