Year of the Sneaker: LA Marathon – 2 days to go and very much counting.

So it’s finally here. After 6 months of training and what seemed like a good idea 6 months ago is finally here: The L.A. Marathon! (Heads up, never sign up for anything after finishing a race. Those runners highs make everything seem like a good idea.) I got sick earlier this week, which was not bueno, and had me a feeling a little nervous. But, it seems I’m very much on the mend! (thanks to all my concerned friends for checking up on me J).

Training for a marathon is no joke. It requires dedication probably more than stamina. I have to say that the training and running is 90% mental 10% physical. There were many times when my body was saying “eff you, we’re done” and I was like “uh no we’re not.”

For those of you who say “I can’t run a mile.” It isn’t about what you can and can’t run, it’s about if you believe you’re capable of it.  I know, sounds cheesy, but believing in your capability to train and dedicate is what’s going to pull you through running in the rain, heat, and up hills.  You will learn a lot about yourself as you train. I learned that I can actually convince my body to keep pushing forward and how incredibly important it is to have personal cheerleaders along the way.

Things I’ve learned in training:

1) Don’t layer too much. There is nothing worse than over heating. Yeah you feel cold now, but trust me, you’ll get warm.

2) If you think you wont chafe, you will. I would love to show you my permanent scars under my boobs and on my shoulders. Lube up before you run!

3) Never join a marathon or ½ marathon because 1) it sounds like fun 2) you’re doing it to make someone else happy 3) you want to loose weight.

            - it isn’t always fun, and you will have serious moments of “FUCK THIS SHIT”

- Running is a personal thing,  and doing it for someone else may end up making you miserable in the long run (no pun intended)

            - I’ve gained 10 lbs since running. Part muscle, part voracious appetite!

4) Pushing yourself is important- both for physical and mental endurance

5) Everything tastes magical after a long run

6) Buy a Garmin forerunner. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to get mine! This thing is awesome and great for continued speed training.

7.) Watch what you eat. You don’t want to embarrass yourself because you decided to eat beans the night before.

 8.) Sports bras should keep you nice and compact and prevent jiggling

9) Shin splints will make you bruise from the inside out

10) I never thought there would be a time when I would be more excited about buying running shoes and clothes than regular clothes.

I don’t intend on this being my last marathon, but instead the 1^st  of many. I hope my future will hold some Ragnar events, triathlon, and maybe someday, qualifying for Boston.

Bra Burnin: for my future daughters

10 things I hope my daughter’s will see in their future:

1)      Equal pay for equal work, not this 80 cents for every dollar a man makes

2)      The end of Slut, whore, and any other word that demeans a woman’s sexuality. We need to stop accepting the words as regular lexicon. These words were invented to demean us. Don’t use them against each other. The word bitch is another blog entry.

3)      Have their anger be validated, not seen as a result of some hormonal monthly thing. We get mad because you’re a douche not because I have a uterus.

4)      Politics that no longer use our bodies as issues of debate. (FYI MOST guys I know are SOOO cool with birth control)

5)      I want them to be ok with their bodies, accept every perfection and imperfection

6)      A BAN ON PHOTOSHOP

7)      Not feel the stigma of owning a cat without being deemed a crazy cat lady (ok that one is for me)       

8)      I want the be able to walk at night or alone without fear or the need to protect themselves

9)      A world that teaches “don’t rape” instead of “don’t get raped.”

To be loved for who they are, not what they look like

Bra Burning: Yei Women's Day!

Do you have boobies (big or small)?

Do you lack an Adams apple?

Does you’re uterine linning cause you grief once a month?

Do you have a vagina?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions  you’re a woman! Congrats!

Today is the international day of the Woman. I’ve heard many a man say “Oh I would hate to be a woman.” First of all, shut the fuck up, that’s insulting to my gender to think that being a woman is a horrible affliction. Being a woman kicks ass. As a gender, we have seen major advances for us brought to us by the women’s movement. The pill has allowed us to now have a choice as to when we will have kids, therefore opening up our futures to more career advances (See, right wing crazies,  the pill isn’t just about us getting our ‘whoring’ on).

Recently we (us ladies) were having a conversation about the ‘man-demic’ that is going on (i.e. guys not calling back, or being slackers). I had suggested that a women we have seen a lot of doors being open and we are no longer needing to conform to just one role: housewife and mother. We now can choose if this is the path we want.  It seems that men have been stuck in the same role for a long time : breadwinner. Why can’t men choose like we can? Slowly we’re seeing more men be the stay at home dad, and taking less ‘traditional’ roles, which I think is great. No one should question a man’s masculinity for taking non-traditional roles just like a woman should seem less ‘famine’ if she opts for more ‘masculine’ roles.  If as women we can transcend our gender expectations, why can’t men be offered the same  chance. But I digress, this blog is about celebrating women, the man-volution topic although interesting can wait.

As we celebrate the amazingness of women, we need to recognize that 1) we need more than just one day 2) many women in the world are still being oppressed and denied basic rights  3) we, in the U.S. , are seeing a rise in legislation that is keeping women from basic health care access and impeding or our reproductive rights. We must continue to fight for ourselves and our sisters.  

Celebrate women’s international day by donating to charities that support women and children:

Here are some ideas, there are TONS more

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ (Planned Parenthood shouldn’t be synonymous with Abortions. Planned parenthood provides reproductive healthcare for women who sometimes cannot afford or have insurance)

Kiva.org/women (connect you to women who need loans)

http://www.projectsister.org  (helps those who have been sexually assaulted, the majority of which are women)

WOUGNET (Women of Uganda Network)

Beauty: Nail Art

Hey everyone,

Didn't run this week, so I opted to spend my time with the really important things like nail art. Let me show you how I did it:

1) Start off with clean nails and a base coat

2)  I prefer starting with a lighter color as the base. I've noticed that when I use darker basis they tend to smear into the lighter color.

3) use masking or paint tape, don't use regular tape. Why? 1) because it will peel the paint off your nail 2) regular tape will leave behind residue on your nail

I trimmed the tape into thinner strips

4) end result

What I used

colors: Jamaican me Crazy and Sexy Divide

Year of the Sneaker: 20 miles

I'm the one in the bright yellow

So yesterday I Scott ran the furthest we have ever ran: 20 miles! I have to admit, I was nervous at first, waking up every hour anticipating this feat. I had eaten pasta the night before, got a good 8 hours a sleep and mentally prepped myself. It went surprisingly well! By mile 3 I settled into a good rhythm thinking about my day (i.e. "What am I going to wear tonight?" " I hope The Vow doesn't make me cry" " JESUS! I'M GETTING MARRIED IN 10 MONTHS!!!" )

Action shot

 I had made a mental note at mile 10 to take a 'picture' of how I felt when we took the first loop around Chino Hills High School: "I feel great! Nothing hurts, fantastic!" Well, see this was before we hit Soquel Canyon Road (yes I said Canyon) for the second time. Although I felt better the 2nd time around, I think it definitively took the wind out of my sails. 

Mile 17-18 (the second loop around Chino Hills High School) I began to experience muscle fatigue. I couldn't feel my thighs, and at some point I thought I wouldn't be able to lift my leg anymore. This may have happened because I didn't drink as much electrolytes as I should have.  Our tight knit pace group started disbanding. When we were done I felt a huge sense of accomplishment, and actually felt better than when I finished my 1/2 marathon. 

What did 20 miles teach me?

* Don't get cocky with your runs. The means: stretch, eat right, hydrate. Because just because you've done 13 miles multiple times a 1/2 marathon can still hand you your ass. 

* If I can do 20 miles, what's 6 miles more? (Granted, they say the last 6.2 miles are the hardest)

* 26.2 miles is going to be difficult, it's going to suck. But if Marathon's were easy everyone would do them.

Year of the Sneaker- Surf City 1/2 Marathon

me getting my run on

This Sunday, I ran the 1st 1/2 marathon's of the Beach Cities Challenge with Scott and my L.A. Marathon pacing group. One down, 2 more to go. I feel, tore up from the floor up. I've been running long distance in training, and I didn't feel as bad as I did after this race and as sore as I feel now. But that's my own damn fault:

- I didn't do good enough stretching

- I haven't been consistent with my weekly runs (when training for long distances you should be doing short runs 3 times during the week)

- I didn't hydrate enough

BUT I finished, and even though I swear I'll never run again after I finish a race, I'm pretty excited about the second of the Beach Cities series (1/2 Marathon in Orange County). The LA Marathon continues to scare the shit out of me.

If you want to know:

What I heard at mile 6.5 (1/2 way point)

And the song that brought me home (makes me think of my upcoming wedding)

Naps Suck: AKA- Baby Comas

The other day at work we were all bitching about how tired we are. Frankly, I think once you're over the age of 25 you immediately become sleep deprived and all those years you spent partying and doing all nighter's studying suddenly come back to haunt you. Scott and I have started saying we have a "bad case of the mimis." To all my non-spanish speaking friends Mimis is Spanish word for sleepy. In the south they call it the "itis" ( I think it's a southern word, I don't know! I make up shit all the time).

Me: "Oh hey Mimis!"

Mimis: "SUP BITCH!"

Anyways, back to my story: We were talking about being tired. The the word Nap came up. I hate naps, I've always hated naps. Ask my mom! She would pick me up from day care and the teacher would complain that I didn't nap. 

BUT NAPS ARE AWESOME you say! They aren't and let me tell  you why. Naps to me are like baby comas. I fall asleep deep! I mean deep!

It's suggested that you go through 4 stages of sleep , the 4th being the deepest. When awakened from a 4th stage you may wake up all disoriented and screwed up. This is what happens to me. I wake up disoriented, confused, I can't really walk. I swear my naps are baby comas. So next time you see me yawn and you brazenly suggest I take a nap, please don't be offended when I flip you the bird.


If you want to know what I look like when I wake up from a nap, please see this video of a baby giraffe learning to walk.