Check out my new blog about training and running ultramarathons and getting ready for my first full Ironman.

Debbie (and whoever else is interested), drum roll please....I wrote the story and it's coming out maybe today. Yeah!! Thanks for your patience and pressure.

So, when's your birthday and what are you going to do for a birthday challenge?

Dutch Fashion Model

Okay, I know I've already finished my challenge and I am working up to writing the story. Here is a picture of me with a fantastic shirt from my best friend who lives in Holland and has great fashion sense. Thanks, Deb. This will have to tide you over for now.

I'm going to write the challenge report soon. I promise. I just did a 50K in the Santa Monica Mountains on Saturday and sorta bonked afterwards. I barely made it to Santa Barbara and got a cup a joe at the Roasting Co. I couldn't even drink it, I had to climb into the back of the car and rest before I could drive home. My birthday challenge went better than that, though, so stay tuned.

Party Schedule

Okay friends, here is the plan. I could really use some help at the winerys. If you plan on tasting wine with me it would be very helpful if you could go ahead and order the wine, so that when I arrive I can just drink and move along. I may not need to stop at all of the wineries listed, but this is the general idea.

I'm very sad to say that Lisa is not going to make it after all :( That's okay, though, because I have all of you. The schedule is only a general idea, so using cell phones will be essential. Don't forget your cameras.

Please email, call or comment in the blog to let me know if and when you will be involved. 805-245-4295

Happy Birthday to me!!!

• 
  Friday
  4:00 leave for red rock
  drive, walk to boulders, boot up.
  5 - 6: 30 boulder problems 6:15 leave red rock
  drive to Y- 7:00 start swimming
  9:00 - finish swimming
  Run to Tastes of the Valleys 2.5 miles
  9:30 - 10 - taste 6 wines
  10 - run back to Y 2.5 miles
  
  Saturday
  5 am start riding Figueroa from south
  9:00 finish ride
  9:30 begin run 5 miles
  10:15 Los Olivos Cafe run 5 miles out foxen
  11:30 Curtis winery run 1.5 miles
  12 - Fess Parker run 1.5 miles
  12:30 Koehler run 5 miles
  1:45 Daniel Gehrs run 2.5 miles
  2:30 Buttonwood winery run 6.5 miles
  3:30 Kalyra winery run 1 mile
  4:00 sunstone winery run 4 miles
  4:45 Gainey winery
  Finish drinkin'

One present opened, 36 to go...

I received this gift today from my little brother, Chris and his fiance, Daniella. I haven't counted, but I'm guessing there are 37 bars in there. This is great!

Thank you Chris and Daniella. I will think of you as I feast on each tasty bar during my challenge.

2 more days. I'm a little nervous. I went on my last run before Saturday, today and thought of how far 37 miles is to run after the Figueroa bike loop. Ugh. Why am I doing this again?

PEEPS

This is Tim. He is "the landlord" as Calvin calls him. He is a good sport and is eating a peep, while wearing the bunny ears. He dosen't seem overly pleased with the peep.

We tried to eat some "peeps" tonight. This is gonna be terrible. The kids could hardly eat them. That's a bad sign. I have to eat 37 of these little guys. I found some new flavors, though, like cocoa peeps.

The kids thought I ought to eat a solid milk chocolate bunny, too. They are the worst for coming up with new things for my challenge. They have no idea what I'm about to embark on. Well, neither do I which is why I'm still up for it.

AAAhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Here are the kids awaiting their promotions. Abigail got a 3rd stripe on her orange belt and Calvin got his purple belt. I am very proud. My next belt is brown and I have been putting off testing for about a year now. I think I may test in June.

I should mention that I am a little sore tonight. I found some stuff called "white flower analgesic balm" that my friend (acupuncturist, co-worker) gave me awhile back. I put it on my legs and arm (where I got the tetanus shot, yeah, I got one). It feels like my arm and legs have been on ice for about 30 minutes now. I hope it helps.

I forgot or more like it came very fast that the kids are on spring break this coming week. This means creative training, but I like the challenge. In fact, I should be taking it fairly easy anyhow.

Phoebe and I checked out a new trail off Paradise Rd today. It just went up and up and up, but it was very nice. I think it goes to Camino Cielo. I'll have to try it again when my legs are a little fresher. I think I'll practice some wine tasting now...

We are so tough

Here's the team. I didn't actually meet Eric (far right) or Susan (middle) till the end of the race. It was a great day for running, maybe a little warm, but everyone did great. It was a really fun event. The other members are Eddie (next to me) and Dave (between Susan and Eric). Oh, and Nicole is the little one and belongs to Dave and Susan. Only one person finished the race as an ultra. He set a course record even. It would be really tough to do alone, but a great challenge. Maybe next year.

I tested my recovery power by going on a run this morning with Fiona and Kristine. Fiona just signed up for her first half-marathon. I'm very excited for her and want to help her as much as I can. Almost nothing thrills me more than someone taking up running. So, the run this morning was 7 miles and I felt great. So, there you go. Last night I could hardly get out of bed to get a glass of water and this morning I'm running again. Steve pointed out that this means I could probably have pushed myself harder yesterday. Maybe. Okay, probably, yes, but I need to be ready for my birthday challenge. 5 days away.

Am I Tough Enough?

Calvin did indeed receive his purple belt today. I took pictures but am too lazy to post them tonight. All I did for exercise today was Karate, which I don't usually even count as exercise, so I tapered well. I ate my pasta and am ready to race tomorrow. This is gonna be a weird race. I've never done a relay type event like this. Maybe there aren't too many of them for a reason. I will let you know. It's supposed to be in the 80's while I'm running. Normally, I wouldn't mind, but it has been so cold lately, I'm not used to the heat. Oh well, I get to run and I love to run.

Calvin's Birthday

Today is Calvin's Birthday. Happy Birthday!!! He is 10, which means I've been a mom for 10 years, which seems impossible. Calvin said that for his birthday challenge, he plans to open 10 presents. Why didn't I think of that? I think I will add that to my challenge. He also wants to watch 10 good movies.

Calvin is also getting a belt change in Karate today, which is a big deal. He will go from orange to purple. Great timing to have a promotion on your birthday.

Since I have a race this weekend, I am trying to take it a little easy this week. I went on a run Tuesday with Phoebe and had to pull her behind me until I finally just took off her leash. I figured it wasn't worth the frustration and she actually did really well. I normally try to run somewhere with her where I don't have to worry about a leash, but due to time constraints, I had to run from my house. Phoebe is a great trail running dog, but not so good around the neighborhood. She once did 30 miles with me.

Yesterday late afternoon I went on what seems to have become my Wednesday night run. Last week I got snagged by some barbed wire on this trail, and was a little worried about tetanus. It seems the 48 hour "lock-jaw" period has passed. I still should go get a current tetanus shot, I know. I like the longer days, it makes working out after work so much easier. I love this trail, it's really overgrown and I have to keep finding my way back to the trail. At dusk the moon was rising on one side and the sun was setting the other direction. Beautiful.

I haven't been willing to admit it, but my knees are bothering me again. I just had some acupuncture and that usually helps quite a bit. I am trying to lay off the hills just until this race Saturday. Actually, all I run is hills, so, never mind. The good news is that my left foot feels better after getting some deep massage on that leg and foot.

I felt great at master' swim this morning. I think the tapering leaves me with a lot of excess energy. My friend Kristine said my sprints looked "effortless" and I was going fast. That made me feel good (thanks Kristine). Something clicked with me about my stroke today, one of those "ah ha" moments. I plan to go out to red rocks for a little hiking and bouldering this afternoon if I can finish some work first. I just found out my "office queen" is leaving on an adventure. I don't know what I will do without her, truly, but want her to go explore her life. I am sad and happy about this, and a little freaked out.

Okay, I'm not very good at blogging and pictures yet, but I'll get there. The pics are my kids and we are hiking on Figueroa mtn and shoppping for bunny costumes. Abigail is modeling my potential bunny stuff, but since then many people have come forward with great ideas, anyone???

Today we spontaneously celebrated Calvin's birthday, which is really March 30th (yes, another Aries), but he will be with his Dad, who is frantically trying to plan some kind of party for him with my help. (my help??) Yeah, well, I think you're gonna have to try that on your own this time.... Anyhow, the impromptu party was great and super fun. Cheesecake, mmmm.

I did run this morning and now it's raining, can you believe it? No one told me about this. It rained last week, what's going on???

 

 

 

 

Lisa and Other News

I have consulted the birthday challenge guru and have received some excellent advice on how to structure this 24 hour challenge. I think I will start on Friday the 6th at 4:00, with the intention of finishing at 4:00 the next day. This way I can do the bouldering and swimming on Friday, maybe a little wine tasting, get some sleep, then start the bike early Saturday. I will be able to start the "bootleg" run at a decent hour so all my fabulous friends can join in.

I am really pleased that my friend Lisa, from Houston, will be joining in the fun. For those of you that are not familiar with Lisa, she is always up for a challenge. She did a half ironman last July with hardly any training and finished. She is super amazing. She has also done a couple of marathons this way. This is why I know that she will be right there with me suffering.

Today I went out to Red Rocks off Paradise Rd for some bouldering. I forgot that when the weather is nice, and a weekend, you might as well call it "My Big Fat Red Party Rocks". I was just out there 2 months ago and it was clean (relatively) and quiet, but now, it's totally trashed. Very disappointing. I was nervous about the kids going barefoot and the kind of people that were around us. I'm not really protective of my kids in this way, but these people were kinda scary. Anyhow, I got some training in and that's what really matters, right?

I'm super stoked about the legs I got for Are You Tough Enough? race (March 31st). I got 6 and 8, which are both on dirt and hilly. It also means I will have to ride my mountain bike between the two, while #7 runs. The last leg (8) is down the dirt road on Refugio to the bridge over the river. This is one of my favorite training runs, so it's perfect. Yeah!! See, I knew those pigs were good luck. My legs (of the relay) combined are only about 15-16 miles. No problem.

I'm heading out for a run right now. I never made it to the track last night since it was raining. I tried to simulate the workout on the treadmill. Ugh. I am really bad at training indoors, it feels like I'm being punished. I can see people walking by the small garage window, it's awful. If only I could get the kids to take up running.

I'm sure you will all be happy to know that I was tired yesterday. All I did was a kid/dog hike about 3 miles. Calvin swears he saw a mountain lion eating a rabbit. He seemed pretty scared, so maybe... What we did see for certain, though, were pigs. Yeah!!! They weren't my usual pigs, either. It was a new spotting and there were lots of little piglets. I think it was sign. Whenever I see the pigs, life gets better.

It is supposed to rain today, so I don't know about track workout later. I am going to meet my relay team for Are You Tough Enough? today. We are going to draw out of a hat to see what legs of the relay we are running. I really want the hills. This is the weekend before my birthday.

I seem to be developing a little bit of plantar fasciitis in my left foot. Mike (my chiropractor, training buddy) suggested I try a new orthotic. I think it's from the bike, which seems odd to me, but maybe I am pulling with my toes too much, I don't know. I just found out Wild Flower is still open and I'm seriously considering signing up. Hmmmm.

I saw my first rattlesnake of the season today on Figueroa Mountain. I rode my bike from my house up Happy Canyon to the top of Figueroa and down the other side through Los Olivos and home again. Mike says it's 60 miles, but I don't know for sure. The elevation of Fig. is 37oo ft, which is why I chose it for my challenge.

I'm glad to be done, but it was a great day out. The flowers are just starting to bloom on the mountain and there was an entire hillside that was all orange and purple. I did not see one other cyclist. I couldn't believe it.

It's been awhile since I last posted my training, but I have been training. Let's see...Tuesday was sort of a big day, 40 swim, 45 bike and then to SB for the first track workout of the season. Probably 7 miles total of running. This was a work day as well, so a pretty full day. Wednesday was a really big work day, so just an hour trail run after work. Lots of ticks out right now. It's really beautiful on grass mountain, though. Worth the tick check.

Thursday was master's swim at 6am, then lots of kid stuff, like P/T conferences and awards assembly. I met some friends for wine at the Vineyard House and then went for a run, to test the drinking and running thing. I went out at dusk and had to find my way back in the dark. I probably wouldn't have ventured out without a light had I not had 2 glasses of wine. We made it back (me and Phoebe). The run went pretty well, actually. I was kinda surprised.

Friday I ran up Refugio(the dirt part) and this poor gentleman ran his truck off the road trying to give me some space to get by. He was pretty old and had trouble walking and talking (due to a stroke) but luckily could get cell reception where he was. I couldn't leave him there alone and it was looking like no one wanted to bring there tow truck up the dirt road. Finally a nice guy on a dirt bike (turns out to be the guy who owns the Roasted Bean) comes upon us and finds a place in SB that is willing to try to help. Phew. He also said he would stay with the driver till they came. Before I left them, the old guys says to me, " The reason I take this way is for the thrill". I'll never forget it. He lives in Solvang and can go around the freeway or the pass, but he takes the dirt road. It was worth it for that. I was only a little late for Karate.

Today I met Mike at the pool and swam, then we biked an hour and a half, then ran 11 miles. It was a good workout. I was really sweating. I'm kinda tired now. He's doing Ironman Arizona in April and I'm only doing a birthday challenge. He says the birthday challenge sounds harder. Shit, I hope not.

I'm definitely feeling better. I did get on the trainer yesterday and watched An Inconvenient Truth while I rode. 95 minutes total. Today, I packed up dinner and the kids and I went out to Lizard's Mouth and "worked out". It was perfect out there. We ate dinner and watched the sun set on the ocean. We found hard places to hold in the "mouth" and timed each other. Calvin was the best at this. My forearms are still pumped. I think I'll do 30 minutes on the trainer still...

Tomorrow I plan to swim and go to a coached track workout in SB (with the kids). Maybe I'll even have time to get on my bike outside for a change. We'll see, it all depends on my schedule.

happy training

Steve says I should blog about my training, but unfortunately I'm kinda sick right now. I tried to exercise a bit yesterday, but I felt like crap. I managed to get in 50 push-ups and a bunch of sit-ups, only because I felt like I had to do something. I tried to hike with the kids, but we turned around after less than a mile out. Calvin is sick, too and was feeling weird and dizzy like me.

It's always a little difficult for me to train when I have the kids, so I have to think of things we can do together and still feel like I have gotten a good workout. One way I accomplish this is to hike and play with the kids, then come home and get on the treadmill or dreaded trainer. I wanted to take the kids to Lizard's mouth yesterday and try some bouldering that Steve showed me when he was here.

I'm feeling the pressure of my birthday arriving and not being ready. I'm certainly not ready for the biking or the bouldering and am tempted to amend the challenge so it seems, well, less challenging. It's probably just because I'm sick, because normally more challenging is appealing to me.

For now, the plan is to feel better by late afternoon then get on the trainer.

2007 Birthday Challenge

Less than 37 days till my 37th birthday. Thought I outta get busy training and planning my challenge. Actually, it's 29 days till my birthday and this year it falls on the Saturday before Easter, thus the "bunny" theme. That, and my friend Justin (aka JLU) always calls me a little bunny rabbit when I run. Since I live in wine country and drinking seems to add an element of comedy to the challenge, I decided to add some wine tasting to the schedule of events for those of you less inclined to move your bodies. So far the day looks something like this:

37 miles of cycling with 3,700 ft of elevation gain ( figueroa, most likely)

37 boulder problems (not much for experienced climbers, which I'm not, so...)

3,700 yd in the pool (148 lengths)

37 miles running while stopping to taste 37 different wines (Girls, this is for you...)

37 compliments given (to keep my attitude in check)

all done while wearing the "bunny" costume (to be determined) except for the pool of course.

I welcome accomplices of all levels and at any point in the challenge. I'm thinking I might have to eat some of those marshmallow bunnies (peeps?) 37?

Please let me know if you can participate.