Archives for May 2008
Let the season begin
The days have been warm, and the nights have been cold. It is unfortunate that I have found myself out many evenings this week without a jacket. A soreness in my throat came on last night, and my nose is all stuffed up today. The worst part is that my vacation is now over. *sigh*
I know no better way to end a vacation than with a great run. So yesterday, while I was still feeling well, I made took a trip to my favorite open space to get my shoes dirty.
Instead of my usual route (when I was actually running there), I took a more popular trail which I usually avoid. My avoidance is due to the intolerance that I have with meeting up with person after person while traversing the eight switchbacks. The trail, however, is oh so lovely. It is shaded for the majority of the climb, and has several little foot bridges to cross the creek when the loop returns to the bottom floor.
My lack of routine on this trail has made the climb mentally challenging in the past. Although the assent of my routine trail is steeper, the familiarity with the land marks allow for an easier run. This is much the same as racing a course that you are familiar with, compared to a course that you have never run (or even driven) before. It is just easier.
I was prepared for a tough run – much the same as my experience last week. The run, for whatever reason, today was easy. Perhaps it was due to having run the trail just a week before, or maybe it was just because of the relaxed state that a vacation (even when the majority of it is at home) can produce. Regardless, I found myself surprised to be at the top of the switchbacks, and on my way back to the van. Because I was feeling good, I added on an extra mile to the run. Not too much, so as not to overdue it, but just enough to feel like my running is progressing.
It is nice to see my running improving. I have been diligent in my stretching, the performing of my ankle strengthening exercises, and in icing my knee post run. I have a long way to go to get back fully. Every little improvement is promising, and the timing is just right, as today officially marks the beginning of the Team In Training (TNT) Summer season. I am thankful for these little successes.
Speaking of successes, my fundraising has gone better than I ever dreamed. I admit, I had hopes of having met my requirement by the first training event, but I honestly felt that this was an impossibility. To date, I have raised $2,165 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) plus approximately $400 more in donation matching. I can actually say that I have already met my requirement. THANK YOU so much for your support!
Let the season begin. I am ready to begin training again.
Protected: Beware
Mini meet up
I woke up even before the alarm, a little nervous about missing it. Today’s run would be the first early morning run in a long time. I was excited.
There wasn’t any breakfast to be had, nor coffee, as we were staying at the guest house on the convent property. Our meals all seemed to be out, leaving the guest house purely as a place of rest. I liked it that way. It meant that we would have little cleaning up to do. I hoped my lack of fuel would not prove detrimental. Just in case, I packed a couple of packets of GU in my CamelBak.
Having seen the bright red Mini in Jeff‘s recent blog posts, I knew the car immediately. It seemed a little funny to know so much about a person, and yet never have before. You should have seen the nun’s eyebrows raise during our dinner conversation discussing today’s meet up. I was a little embarrassed because I couldn’t even recall where he said that we were going to run. I could not convey why, but "trust" was not an issue for me. Seriously. I trusted this guy to coach my marathon training for a full year; it felt as if we’d known each other for years.
Still, after he arrived, I felt a level of reserve that I had not anticipated. I had imagined that we would exchange hugs as if we were old friends meeting up after a long time, but we did not. It was more like long time friends getting together to run just like ever other weekend.
Jeff took me for a run out at Saint Peter’s. When I had told him that I had immediately forgotten where we were going, remembering St. Joseph’s instead, he laughed. "Well, they both were disciples," he said. It sounded good, but I am certain that this was not why I got the saint wrong.
We went out for the flatter of the running options. I was happy to be off the pavement, and happy that my ankle and knee seemed to behave for a slightly less than 6 mile run. A short while later, we were back in the mini and heading back to the convent. I arrived home before anyone had awoken and packed up for the long ride home.
A bit of magic
Don’t let those looming clouds fool you; we had a very nice time in the magic kingdom. BoBo, YaYa, and I were joined by Auntie Judy (aka Sister Judith) for our fun, and pricey, adventure. 
We began the trip with the jungle adventure, were we narrowly escaped the savages and wild animals. We utilized the Fast Pass System to ride some of the more popular rides, and rode th
e less popular rides in between the rides of choice.
Disneyland was one CROWD-ED place. Just look at the traffic jam. It was just enough of a reminder of the upcoming trip back towards home.
We tried to stay in moment and not the think about the day ahead of us. At times, this could be difficult as there were reminders of tomorrow looming overhead along with the clouds. 
Lil YaYa was so frightened by Splash Mountain, that he opted to stay back with Auntie Judy while BoBo and I rode Thunder Mountain. No matter how much I tried to remind him that he had previously rode and LOVED this roller coaster, YaYa would not change his mind.