Week 40: Day 2 - 2014

• easy road RUN with one dog = 4.86 miles
• easy WALK with two dogs = 1 mile

Looking at the calendar that I got from Target and scheduling runs for certain dates, I'm hoping that I can run on every Wednesday. I hadn't run on a Wednesday in awhile. I'd like to run on Wednesdays as part of my regular running schedule. So hopefully work goes well this evening so I can get a run in tomorrow morning.

Week 39: Day 7 - 2014

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 4.45 miles
• easy WALK with two dogs = 1.5 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 4.45

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 83.81

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 422.02

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 236.62

I think I'm finally caught up on my sleep, but I'm not 100% sure. I think if I keep trying to catch up on sleep, I probably will have a hard time getting back to running. I was getting lazy about walking (at a leisurely pace) with my dogs. I normally would put in at least 1.3 miles with my dogs, but since I was on hiatus and not on a normal running schedule, I barely put in one mile...or just slightly less than one mile walking with my dogs.

Feeling generous? Visit my charity page and you can make a small donation. http://tinyurl.com/runner4life

Week 39: Day 3 - 2014

• bike ride (solo) = 5.1 miles
• easy walk with dogs = 1 mile

I hadn't done a bike ride since Labor Day. This was also the first time in over a year and a half that I did a bike ride under seven miles. I was being lazy even though five miles was better than nothing.

I haven't done much this week, exercise-wise. I'll be back to normal next week!

My charity page for anyone feeling generous: http://tinyurl.com/runner4life

Week 38: Day 7 - 2014

• easy walk with dogs = 1.4 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 8.4

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 78.36

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 417.57

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 232.17

I've decided to take a "break" from running until next week. My crazy work schedule and the heat had made it hard for me to get a run done in the morning (I'm a morning runner and I had been getting off work at 2am lately). I'm tired and need sleep. Hopefully by next weekend, I've finally catch up on my sleep. I do plan to do some "active recovery" or "active rest", mainly going on leisurely walks with my dogs. Now that the weather has finally cooled off, I'm going to try going on an easy, short (three miles) hike with my dogs...maybe tomorrow. I will do at least one bike ride during the week.

Also, I wanted to update my blog, so I could keep track of the total mileage.

Here is my charity page for those who are feeling generous: http://tinyurl.com/runner4life

Week 38: Day 4 - 2014

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 5.1 miles
• easy WALK with two dogs = 1.5 miles

I'm so happy that the ridiculously hot, crazy weather is over! It's amazing how there is a 20 F degree difference between Tuesday and today (by mid-morning/day)! My dogs and I can now enjoy our mid-day walks and walk a little farther.

Let's spread kindness and pay it forward. Please consider making a small donation on my charity page! Any amount, even a small one, is greatly appreciated!

Week 38: Day 2 - 2014

• very hilly trail run with one dog = 1.1 miles
• warm up walk/jog = 1.1 miles
• cool down walk/jog = 1.1 miles
• easy walk with dogs = 1 mile

It's hard to go on a walk with the dogs when it's so hot outside. I hope the people who have to work outside are keeping hydrated. This weather is just getting ridiculous. Normally June and July for us gets hot and ridiculous, but I don't remember that it was this hot! 106 degrees? I was really hoping that it would get cooler by mid-September. Oh well.

I've finally created a charity page for RUN FOR MOBILITY which is the official charity for the Surf City marathon and 5K race. RUN FOR MOBILITY is a Free Wheel Chair program that brings wheel chairs to millions of people who unfortunately can't afford them due to their circumstances. If you'd like to donate, click here, then click on "GIVE NOW" and then click on "OTHER DONATION" to put in the amount that you want to donate.

Week 37: Day 7 - 2014

• easy RUN with one dog = 5 miles
• easy WALK with dogs = 1.3 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 13.98

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 69.96

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 409.17

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 223.70

I had a hard time enjoying my run and I felt so slow this morning. After a few minutes into the run, I realized that it was unusually warm for 6-something in the morning. I blame the weather/warmth for how I felt during my run.

Did you know that I will be running the Surf City Half Marathon on February 1, 2015 in Huntington Beach, CA? I finally have a charity page set up and will be collecting donations on behalf of "RUN FOR MOBILITY" during my race training. Let's be kind and pay it forward by visiting my charity page and making a donation. When you visit my charity page and click on "GIVE", select "OTHER DONATION" so you can choose how much you can donate or want to donate. ONE wheelchair costs $71.88. I'd be happy if everyone donates $5. Also, my birthday is in December. Making a small donation would make a great birthday gift!!!!!

If you wish to make a donation, but not online through the website, let me know so we can make arrangements. I'm pretty sure mail-in donations will be appreciated/accepted.

Week 37: Day 4 - 2014

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 4.83 miles
• easy WALK with dogs = 1.2 miles

I signed myself and one of my dogs up for the Los Angeles Chinatown 10K race/run. It will be on March 1. I also signed myself up for the Los Angeles Chinatown 20 mile bike event (on February 28). I'm a little scared and feel like I'm going way over my head because I'm doing the Huntington Beach half marathon on Super Bowl Sunday, February 1. Normally, I would do a 10k race as part of training for a half marathon, but I like doing the L.A. Chinatown 10K race. So I hope my motivation doesn't crash and burn on me because I will be training/running for four months for two running races. (This is why I don't do FULL marathons...I can't mentally handle running/training for six months.)

I told my mom that my dog could run five miles without stopping. Technically, she has actually ran that far, but close enough. My mom said that she would be killed for running that far. I don't know why my mom would say that. Sure, my dog would have a very hard time running five miles without any training, but I worked VERY hard to get her to run this far.

Week 37: Day 2 - 2014

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 4.65 miles
• easy WALK with two dogs = 1 miles

I was suppose to do a "group" bike ride yesterday morning with a meetup bike group even though there would only be two of us. The other person overslept and was really late (30 minutes)....but I had already left 15 minutes after the scheduled time because I got bored and tired of waiting around.

Anyway, I think a group of runners can be rude and annoying...more annoying than a walker who gets scared and surprised when they realize that someone needs to pass. While I was running with Jubee this morning, I knew that there was a group of runners passing me, but I could only give them so much space because I was running alongside a fence/wall. I don't understand why they thought it was ok to crowd and invade my personal space when I had a dog with me. Jubee got scared, got loose from the collar and wanted to run away from me. Just because there is safety in numbers being in a group, runners shouldn't assume that a dog is safe just because the dog is on a leash. Don't assume that the dog won't get scared/aggressive and won't bite. Don't assume that the dog won't get scared and won't accidentally run into the street full of cars. Jubee didn't run into the street, luckily, but I was mad that a group of stupid runners got too close to us, freaking out Jubee who got loose and almost ran away from me. I would have more angrier if she ran into the street out of fear.

Week 36: Day 7 - 2014

• easy trail/road run with one dog = 4.6 miles
• easy WALK with two dogs = 1.4 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 9

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 55.98

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 339.21

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 209.72

I had wanted to run in the morning in the last two days, but getting off at work late at night (1:30am or so) makes it hard to get up early for a morning run. Hopefully, the next following week is a little better.

"Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement."

-- Matt Biondi

Week 36: Day 4 - 2014

• easy RUN with one dog = 4.4 miles
• easy WALK with two dogs = 2.1 miles

I missed a run on Tuesday and yesterday. While I was still sore from the overambitious from Monday's bike ride, I took some ZZZ-Quil (nyquil for insomniacs) on Monday night. It had a really delayed/slow reaction where I didn't fall asleep until midnight. It did work once I fell asleep, but I had a hard time waking up on Tuesday morning. I took it again on Tuesday night, and again, I had a hard time waking up on Wednesday morning. I wanted to go on a hike with my dogs on Wednesday, but I couldn't get myself to it. I guess I should only take ZZZ-quil if I plan to do absolutely nothing the next day (except take my dogs on a leisurely walk at home). So I didn't take any last night and I was able to go for a run this morning.

I got myself a calendar. For once, I found a calender where the first month (July) starts in the middle of the year! I'm so happy for this because it meant that I didn't waste money on a calendar that I only got to use for four months because the first month started in January. Anyway, I found this calendar in the school supplies aisle at Target. It makes sense to find such calendar there because the school year usually starts in August/September! Even though I didn't get to use July or August, I'm ok with this and I have the other ten months to use! I plan to write/jot down all of my runs (for fun or for training) in the calendar on specific day like I'm scheduling an appointment. By doing this, I am more likely to keep myself accountable. I'm less likely to skip a run or rearrange my schedule just because I was being lazy and didn't want to run.

Week 36: Day 1 - 2014

• bike ride (solo) = 34.4 miles, time = 3 hours, pace @ 11.5 mph
• easy walk with dogs = 2 miles

My biking group decided to cancel the usual weekly easy rides. The group organizer wanted to POSSIBLY schedule an earlier, longer (and more challenging) ride because today is/was a holiday and he wanted more people to join the ride. There were no other rides scheduled this morning to replaced the cancelled ride. What a waste, but I guess that was a blessing in disguise. I decided to bike to work (not to actually work) to pick up my pay check. Since today was a holiday, I figured I would be ok/safe because there was less traffic out. There won't be another ride of such great distance (30+ miles) in my future for a long time. My longest ride before today was 22 miles. I think I need to build my endurance/strength with the 20-something miles a few times before conquering a longer ride of such great distance. I also knew that the ride would have some challenging hills on the way home. Except for one very challenging hill near work, the hills overall weren't that bad. I had to walk on that one challenging hill (on the way home). I also felt so tired at mile 25 and I was mentally exhausted reminding myself that I had another nine miles left to go before getting home. I think I had to completely stop and take a break by this time. At some point after that, I had to walk up some hills (a little easier than before) again when I was something like five miles away from home.

On the bright side, I put in a really good work out.

"I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match."

-- Mia Hamm