Viva Las Vegas

Was in Vegas to celebrate a few birthdays this past weekend, so the training was put on hold. I stayed at the Bellagio and had a nice time. Saw KA at the MGM, ate at Prime, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's latest, as well as Nob Hill which is Michael Mina's restaurant at the MGM. I

do recommend the seared scallops with foie gras and grapefruit...yummy. Social house at Treasure Island was good and had a very good cold sake selection.

We are running our last high mileage run this weekend. We have the option of runing 20, 23 or 26 miles. I am opting for the 20 miles as I figure I want the 26.2 miles I do in Florence to mean something... I will update this over the weekend and tell you all about my aches and pains.

Thanks to my friend Michelle for the running side pouch. I actually have something to carry

my power bars and shock bloks in. No bonking this time.

23 miles...well almost

The alarm of my cell phone went off at 5:45 am and I laid in bed huddled under my duvet; "just 15 more minutes then I have to get my ass in gear." 6 am and I got up to get myself ready for the infamous 23 miler. I got dressed in my running gear and tried to figure out what I was going to eat to help sustain myself through this long run.

Misty picked me up at 6:30 am and we met everyone at our usual meeting spot in Golden Gate Park. Coach John was not there today, but someone else in his place (whose name escapes me.)
We were handed the course sheet and it looked fairly benign. The usual of running through the park, but we cut through the rose garden and headed down Presidio Avenue before turning on Jackson and then up the dreaded Lyon Street hill...a never ending hill...we were at the 7 mile point at this juncture. Once you go up a hill...you must come down and we did all the way down the Lyon Street Hills. Everyone was complaining how wobbly their knees felt after the descent. Our fearless pace leader Todd was feeling the effects of the descent and subsequently abdicated his leadership at the next water stop. His knee was crapping out on him and he could not run anymore. So the group bid him adieu and trekked on. And on did we go; past Pier 39 with the throng of tourists, past Pier 23...beer anyone? Past the Ferry Building with their weekly Farmer's Market. It was almost like playing dodge ball trying to navigate the mass amount of people mulling about. At the Heart and Arrow sculpture on Howard street we hit the 14 mile mark and turned around. Most of our group were really starting to feel the effects of the 67 degree temperature and the non-fluid pace - we lost any rythmn we had when Todd left. My right knee started bothering me around mile 15 and I lost all momentum at mile 16 when we hit Ft. Mason. I was hot, tired, cranky - due to lack of sustainance - and feeling like I was going to crash hard. I bid the group adieu. After some much needed gatorade and a banana I felt better, but knew that the only way I was going to get through the rest of this training was to make sure that I ate more before the run and to be sure to take a few powerbars for energy. This is what training is all about...trial and error. Only six more weeks until we are in Italia!

The Aids Foundation is still accepting donations through the end of November, so If you would still like to donate, please do so through my website.

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Two weeks of ten...then the dreaded 23 miler

Who would have thought that the 10 milers we run for our short runs would become common place and easy? That is exactly what they have become. Back in June when this journey started 3 miles was a stretch for me...now it is a walk in the park. Along the way I have made

wonderful friends through the folks in my running group. It is always fun to catch up and talk about what is going on in our lives...from fashion to running tips to what to eat or even sending off loved one to college, we have become a close knit group. We all have a common goal and are committed to helping our our community.

Rain or Shine...well almost

The twenty miler was this morning and my partner in crime, Misty and I missed out. Me due to a cold and being on antibiotics for a painful urinary tract infection (fun times peeing blood...not so much). I decide to listen to my doctor who advised against any activity for another week. Really does not make sense to run down an immune system which is already low. Misty missed due to being tired from her crazy travel schedule and just sleeping through the alarm. It was drizzling out this morning and I was happy to be snug in my bed listening to the pitter patter of the rain. No need to get my brand spanking new asics dirty just quite yet. We did join 10 of our fellow Salazar group members at an early dinner at Esputus to learn about the Florence course from marathon veteran George. He told us to bring all our own munchies like oatmeal, cliff bars, shok bloks as they do not have that stuff in Italy. Apparently 5 miles of the later part of the marathon is all cobblestone...I can just see a few of us getting sprained ankles already. Portable potties are also not always were they say they are going to be so he said to bring klennex and be prepared to find a wall or bush as the average wait for the portable bathrooms is 15 minutes or longer. We all cracked ourselves up by suggesting wearing Depends...I seriously doubt anyone is going to go to those lengths. Everyone was in good spirits after stuffing ourselves on various grilled meats...yes, we had flank steak, lamb chops, pork loin with parmesan, grilled prawns, chicken heart, and beef ribs...along with paella, 10 different salads...wonderful brazilian food. I definitely will go back...Hal this is the perfect buffet place for you...all you can eat! The next couple of weeks we are running 10 miles then we have our 23 miler on October 13. Cannot wait to get to Italia! I better get my rosetta stone language cd asap...

Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. - Pope John Paul XXIII

9 Miles was easy; however the 20 miler is coming up

The sun was shining in my neighborhood which was a good sign considering we had a few days of overcast skies. However out in the "fog bank" of ocean beach, there was no sun to be had. This suited me fine as it has been easier to run when it is cooler. The group was quite small this week as I think that since we are up to 18 plus miles...these 9 milers are quite easy and folks tend to do these on their own. We started out running along ocean beach and ran a mile along the beach before turning around and heading back into Golden Gate park. The ubiquitous bison were no longer in their small pen, but were let out to roam out in their pasture. We talked about our upcoming run of 20 miles and of the various aches and pains people sustained during the 18 miler. We ran past the Conservatory of Flowers and I made a mental note that I need to check it out one of these days. There were quite a few other running groups out today which is always interesting to see. We got on the subject of plants and that the park actually has monthly plant
give aways. Right after a few of us were talking about this we saw a few Chinese women with potted plants in hand heading back from the infamous freebie give away...another mental note...find out where they give plants away. With no bathroom breaks or water breaks other than while walking, we finished our run right on time and everyone was in good spirits. I did not
eat before this run, as it was a "short" one, so I was ready for the bagels with cream cheese and of course the crunchy pickles. Our next run is 20 miles...taking everything in stride.

Where there is great love, there are always wishes. Willa Cather