Running Journey

Five Guys

Last night Nickie & I went to the new Five Guys Burger place in Beaverton for dinner.  I heard about it recently and the fact it was supposed to be like In N Out.  The have never-frozen beef, fresh cut fries cooked in peanut oil, etc.  They have no freezers or microwaves in their stores.  I can't find any evidence that the burgers come from grass-fed cows and it is not organic beef.  It's probably corn-beef like you find at most fast food places.

My review is that it is no In N Out.  In N Out tastes fresher and healthier and is not nearly as messy.  We got the regular cheeseburgers with the standard toppings.  Their regular size is two patties (next time I'd get the small size).  It comes with fried onion and a bunch of other sauces that end up making it soggy.  Next time - light on the sauces and no fried onions.

It WAS a good burger.  It's a suitable substitute for In N Out if the fast food craving hits you.  If I had both next door I'd pick In N Out but Five Guys is pretty good.  If you go - think about getting the smaller burger and don't get all the "free fixings" unless you want a soggy burger!

Tonight - no burger.  Just running (and probably something healthier for dinner)

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

My 2 Days in SB

Back to Santa Barbara.. Yes I was just there recently for 9 Trails.  It IS "only" 85 miles away from where I currently live...

My weekend started out with a dismal trail run on Saturday morning.  I was supposed to run a 10 mile loop near my house.  I couldn't find my running gloves so that was a bad start.  It was cold.  Maybe 40 degrees.  I was using handheld bottles so couldn't really cover up my fingers very well and they got cold fast (pretty much instantly).  It was not long before I started to wonder how far I'd make it.  I had to stop every few minutes just to try and warm up my hands.  This run starts in a canyon so even though the sun was starting to come up, there was no sun breaking through to warm me up where I was was.

I was also tired.  I think my run Thursday night took a lot out of me.  I should have figured that was the case if I was actually pushing speedy Kayla a couple times during our run.  In addition - I was alone.  This trail is very new to me and all the noises spooked me.  I head a noise a couple times that sounded like a rather large animal.  Could have been deer.  Could have been a lion. Who knows?  With NO ONE on the trail, getting progressively tired and feeling nearly frostbit in my finger I cut my run short and turned around at about the 2 mile mark.  Phooey.  I went back home with my  head hanging a little low but days like that happen.  I was not down too long before I had plans for the weekend!

I drove up to SB to Nickie's place and go there around noon.  Most of the details from our couple days together are on my  other blog but I will say we had an amazing time.  Something like:

Italian Lunch
Visit the Courthouse Clock Tower
Walk around by the pier and harbor
Relax
Amazing sushi dinner
back home for a couple hours of poker
Sunday at the SB Zoo
Couple hours of pool playing at a dive bar
Mexican dinner.  Mmmm

That's the abridged version.  I'll looking forward to showing her around LA and OC a little bit this weekend before we both head away to visit our families for Christmas.

I do have pictures from this weekend I'll be posting soon!

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

My Bulldog, Drinks & Thunder

This could probably be a couple posts but what the heck.  I'll throw it all into one :)

I didn't get much sleep Friday night due and the fact that I had to get up at 3:15AM to head up and volunteer at Bulldog where I arrived just at 5AM.  It was the start of a tried but wonderful day.

It was dark when I arrived and people were scurrying about.  I started my volunteer shift a little early and helped unload shirts and goodies bags from the truck.  Then my task was runner check-in.  I had the first half of the alphabet and got to see many familiar faces and a few others who read my blog and I hadn't met before that day.  I was looking forward to a fun day though knew it would be long. After Bulldog I was to be off for a night out with Diana. 

After all the 50K runners were checked in we started with the 25K runners at 6:30.  The 50K race was off and the 25K race started at 7:30AM.  My shift was supposed to be until 10:30AM but after the two races started there was very little work left to do.  I did spend some time helping cross off runners who had been no-shows for the race - including yours truly (well I showed but didn't start of course), Jorge & Sal.  Both of the later two likely contenders for fist place.  With many of the volunteers standing around after that I went over to the half-way point in the 50K race around 8:30AM.  Again there I saw many familiar faces, most of them smiling at looking good.  I saw eventual women's 50K winner Michelle Barton, as well as all the other front runners.  I saw some of the faster OCTR entrants who made the first loop in under 3 hours including EKP, Jennifer & Mark.

Around 9:30 I made my way back over to the starting area to make sure I wasn't needed for anything (which I wasn't).  Everything was under control and runners from the 25K were starting to slowing trickle in.  I saw Kos first who finished in about 2:12 good for 12th place overall!  Kiko was there as well finishing right around the same time as Kos.  Other OCTR 25ers were trickling in, including Skip, James, Dan, Jon R, Paul, Pete, E-Rod, Michelle M, Sue, and Robbi.  Sorry if I missed anyone - we had a lot of runners there!  I actually took a nap around 10AM until about 10:45 in my car.  It was refreshing though probably not enough.

After my little nap I was able to see the fabulous Michelle Barton finish first female in the 50K at about 4:37.  Geesh.  Michelle in first place?  Is there anything new to report? ;)  Good job Michelle!  Way to knock 30 minutes off your first place win from the year before.

Kirk gets the good sport award for my many jokes at his expense.  But he also gets the award for best sprint to the finish.  He was running hard to break 7 hours and finish just a few seconds past.  A bummer for sure but still a great run for him.  EKP had already finished the 50K and not long after Kirk, Kim was done as well.  Jennifer had run around 6 hours which impresses the hell out of me for the lack of training that she does.

We soon found ourselves waiting for Wendy to finish the 50K.  It was to be her first ultramarathon and her training had been pretty  much non sufficient for this tough first ultra.  7.5 hours passed.  Then 8.  I figured she would have been in around 8 hours but there was still on sign of her.  We watched and listened as runners toward the back of the pack finished and soon the remaining count was down to about 5 or 6 runners left.  Where was Wendy???  We anxiously waited and thoughts began to cross my mind - what if she dropped?  How is she doing?  Kos went out looking for her at about 8:15 mark or so.  She had 9 hours to finish the race.  He was gone for a while.  At about 8:50 into the race we saw them.  Eric and Wendy were running up the paved road leading to the final stretch into the finish.  Wendy was running which is pretty impressive after being out there for 9 hours.  And she looked wiped out.  I had never seen her look so tired before!  Her unofficial finish time was about 8 hours and 55 minutes.  She was the last official finisher and can now call herself an ultra runner.  Amazingly enough I talked to her on Sunday and she was feeling great and not too sore!

After dropping off Wendy on my way home I took a quick shower and was off to my nighttime fun.

Diana and I went to a place called "The Cabana" in Laguna Beach.  Parking was a nightmare but we finally fond a spot and made our way over.  Neither of us had ever been  her before and the food was great.  It was really nice to be able to unwind from standing out in the sun all day.  We had a few drinks and some good conversation.  We met the owner as well whose name I don't remember but he was super nice.  After dinner we walked around Laguna for a while to let some of the alcohol wear off before we left.  The skies were clear and it was a beautiful night.  I slept good that night.  Then came Sunday morning...

Those of you not from or having ever lived in California might not quite grasp this. But it RAINED Sunday morning.  There was thunder.  It was strange.  We've had a super dry year and the rain we got probably did little to affect that much but it was rather different.  It NEVER rains in SoCal pretty much from the end of June until November every year.  It was a fluke for sure.  It was cool and cloudy for much of the morning and into early afternoon but then it warmed up fast and things were back to normal.  When Diana and I went into a little cafe for lunch it was cool, long sleeve weather and cloudy.  When we left it was sunny, warm and time for short sleeves.  Very strange day indeed!

Happy Monday Y'all,
Jessica

Lotsa Weekend Stuff

After our morning group run Saturday I got ready and made my way over to the monthly OCTR party which this month was a pool party at James' house.  We had a decent turnout, good food, too many snacks and I stayed for about 4 hours.  The crowd was dwindling and it was time to go home and get ready for my next event.

I donned my running clothes again and around 9PM was heading to San Juan Capistrano for a special event.  Bill Ramsey was running the Relay for Life for cancer research.  But he was not part of a relay - rather he was running 100 miles solo.  I wanted to go support him and so I did.  When I arrived, Robert Baird & Robo were there running with him already.  AK showed up a short while later.  I did the mile loop and the quarter mile loop with him and he was looking good!  I stopped for a while to talk to AK about all things trail running, LA vs. Orange County, etc.  While I was standing there talking to him my foot was starting to hurt pretty bad so I passed on running any more laps and wished Bill good luck before I headed home around 10 or 10:30.

Sunday was a lunch and movie day.  Kayla and I went to go see the new Harry Potter movie.  I'm not a big fan of the serious but the movie was pretty good.  There seemed to be a lot more story and character development than action.  We went shopping around after the movie and I had my footstrike analyzed at the Adidas store.  It confirmed what I thought - that I have high arches and a very neutral footstrike which means the most important thing for me in a shoe is cushioning.  I also found it interesting that on my injured foot I turned slightly toward the outside then back to the middle then slightly outside again.  The question is - is that because I am injured or did that motion contribute to the outside of my foot injury in the first place?  Something to talk to my doc about.

Dinner at Villa Nova.  Mmmm... I went to one of my favorite restaurants last night with a couple of friends.  We had a great time and shared a wonderful bottle of Pinot Noir.  Seriously good wine.  We had a few hours of "interesting" and lively conversation and then it was back home.  I have a pretty low key week this week.  Maybe that's a good thing...

I also have an appointment with my Foot Doctor up in Long Beach one week from today.  Yay!

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

My Lunch With Usher and other Musings

Hah.  Got you didn't I?  So.. I was supposed to have lunch with a friend who had to cancel.  I really wanted to go to Native Foods so I went anyway.  I sat down at a table near the front and shortly after a man came over (it was packed in there) and asked if he could sit with me.  I said sure, after all I'm pretty friendly.  Well this guy sort of looked like Usher - except better looking and not as short :)  We had a good conversation and he was pretty friendly as well.  Not sure exactly what his job is but he works in the building next to me and seems to be constantly working.  After a while he got up to leave (had to get back to work).  He was talking on the phone when he left but grabbed my hand in a very gentlemanly way and say "it was nice to meet you" and he was gone.  So thereby is my lunch with Usher. 

I was looking over my schedule for next week and thinking how much fun the next 9-10 days will be.  Things have been slow lately but I guess when it rains it does pour.  I even had to turn down an invite to the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach next Friday because there is a lot going on which looks something like this:

Thursday - Pack for Tahoe
Friday - Lake Tahoe
Saturday - Lake Tahoe
Sunday - Lake Tahoe
Monday - Snow Patrol Concert
Tuesday - open/run
Wednesday - OC State Fair/Toad the Wet Sprocket Concert
Thursday - Wine "date" night over a bottle of Opus One.  Mmmm.
Friday - Open
Saturday - OC Trail Runners Pool Party

Geesh.  Will I even have time to run?

My Goals

I have a lot of races on my schedule for this year.  You probably noticed in my little sidebar over to the right.  I like the energy of races and they are also a great way to meet people.  I also have the "race yourself into shape" training philosophy.   Not all races are "as important" as the others but scheduling them forces me to stick to my training plan and not slack off.  I always regret it when I slack off.  I used a similar model when studying for some Security certifications I have.  I just picked a date, scheduled the test then I was forced to study.  With that being said... here is my plan and goals.  Writing them down also helps make them more reality :)

7-May    xterra 4 mile (no specific goal.  sub 50 minutes would be nice)
14-May  vail 10k (no specific goal - just support "training" run)
21-May  saddleback 5k (I'd like to break 27 minutes here)
4-Jun    holcomb 15 (no goal - just upping my race mileage)
16-Jul    tahoe 50k (no specific goal - preparation for longer races)
30-Jul    wild west (no specific goal but want to run well to not drag down my team :)
13-Aug    waldo 100k (goal is to finish.  I'm taking the early start to help accomplish this)
20-Aug    bulldog 25k (no specific goal.  if I'm not trashed from Waldo I want to run the 50K here)
3-Sep       baldy 8 mile (no goal - just fun "training" run)
10-Sep    heart 5k (I'd like to set a PR.  I run this race every year because of my heart surgery.  sub 26 minutes would be awesome but I'll settle for anything under 26:20)
24-Sep    noble rat 50k (no goal - training for JJ100)
1-Oct      tc marathon (looking for a marathon PR - goal time is 4:45)
22-Oct    jj100 (goal is to finish and not settle for the new "I wimped out 100k" option
19-Nov    9trails (goal is to break 11 hours, and I'm shooting for 10:30 - last year was 12:02)
26-Nov    highdessert 50k (no goals)

So in reality, my "main" races are:

1. Wild West Relay
2. Where's Waldo 100K
3. Heart 5K
4. Twin Cities Marathon
5. JJ100
6. SB9Trails

I also have the bigger goal of 7 ultras in 6 months (+ the marathon).

Hmm... then there is my diet/nutrition/weight issue.  Late last fall I met with Julie Vuksic to talk about my nutrition plan.  She specialized in endurance nutrition.  I started a plan and that quickly fell to the wayside when I got injured.  She spoke to OCTR last weekend and that re-ignited my desire to eat smart.  I dug out the stuff we went over late last year and am reviving it starting this week.  I signed up for calorieking.com because they have a great tracking system and pretty thorough food database.  So far this week I have realized I eat too much fat and not enough carbs.   The other problem is that in December/January I was only about 5-7 pound away from my goal weight.  Well... today I hate to say it but I'm now about 14 pounds away.   Yikes.  What happened?  I maybe don't look it if you see me, but I do feel it.  So I'm working on that and hopefully by JJ100 I'll be at my goal which means about .5 pound loss per week.  Pretty reasonable.

So there.  Now my goals are in print.  I said them.  It's the sort of accountability that I need.

Happy Running,
Jessica

My Martini Blues

Sometimes when you are sick you need to get out and do something to help you feel better.  The last few days I have done nothing and today I laid in bed basically all day.  I missed my best friends birthday in February while I was in Thailand.  So I told Kayla I wanted to take her out for Martinis.  A favorite of both of ours as you could tell by looking at my Martini party pics from back in January.

I left my house at 6:30PM to sunshine and rain.  An interesting mix for sure.  I opted for the toll road instead of the 5 Freeway which even at that time of day would surely be suffering from traffic congestion.  Especially with the rain.  Through a few drops on the freeways around here and suddenly no one can drive.  I remember all the rain we had the winter I move out here and the newscasters were seriously telling people not to drive if they didn't have to.  For real?  Where I am from you don't even thing about driving in the rain.  I've driven on roads covered in sheets of ice.  I've driven on roads after snowstorms that were not yet fully plowed and had 5 foot high snow drifts in the middle.  I've driven IN snowstorms and at points literally floated across the snow in my car.  Scary stuff.  But a little rain?  Blah...

We went to Martini Blue in Huntington Beach.  A little undiscovered OC hideaway in my opinion.  Aside from a small bar they have 3 separate rooms.  On this particular night there was comedy in one room, acoustic blues in another and acoustic singer/songwriter in another starting at 9PM.  We were there for the martinis and the entertainment was an added benefit as far as we were concerned.

The blues room was our first choice and we prompted drooled over the 48 different martinis on the menu.  How do you pick?  We'll have to come back at least 7 more times based on the 6 different martinis we had between the two of us.  The music was quite enjoyable and so were the martinis.  The crowd was sparse.  Me and Kayla in a both and one table of people who I think knew the musicians.  The singer joked at one point that he was  blowing it for me and Kayla who were obviously Sony Record producers who had come to check out the show.  After his break, and several martinis later we went over to the singer/songwriter room and enjoyed live music from a couple different musicians.  We began to wonder at one point just what kind of place we were in.  After ordering drinks in this room the server came by and said "The Man will be bringing your drinks out soon".  Holy crap.  "The Man" was there?  And he was brining our drinks??

The Man wasn't quite what I expected and his name is actually Dan.  Though he did respond to being greeted as "The Man" when he first brought our drinks.

It was a great night.  Good drinks.  Good music.  A venue with lots of character and options. Almost forgot I was sick for a bit (the healing power of martinis).  Definitely worth a visit if you are near Huntington Beach.  I know Kayla and I will be back.  We have 42 more martinis to sample!  I don't feel too much worse for the wear today but I do hate being sick.  Who doesn't?  Part of my recipe for my cure is to get a couple hours by the pool today.  I need to feel better for tomorrow night.  Nattie and I are planning a trip down to San Diego to see Anya Marina and grab some dinner.

Get your run on,
Jessica

My Sushilistic Pics

Pics from Saturday's Sushi night (from Taylor's Camera):

Not a complete experience without this:

Spicy Tuna Roll - one of my favorites here

Pretending to feed each other

Happy dessert

Before we left

 

My champion will soon be getting some action

Tonight I'm going to get sushi at a place appropriately titled "I Love Sushi" in Costa Mesa.  This will be followed by either my attempt to paint or by me just watching others be creative.  On this same day I am going out for sushi I have created an initial shopping list for my juice fast that will start Monday (good idea Olga starting on a weekday!)  I think I'll go shopping Sunday after the OC Marathon festivities wind down.  Hopefully these ingredients will last most of the week, but I'm sure I'll need more of something along the way.  My Champion Juicer is really excited to get some action again.  It's been lonely. 

Juice Ingredient List
4 grapefruits
2 pineapples
10 pears
10 oranges
10 apples
3 sweet potatoes
3 yams
2 cantaloupes
10 carrots
1 watermelon
celery
2 cucumbers
8 lemons
strawberries
4 kiwis

My plan is 10 days but I may cut it shorter (minimum 7) if I end up on a date or start running again...  Either of those often require me to eat some sort of food.  However, a date at Jamba Juice sharing Wheat Grass shots does sound rather romantic doesn't it?

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

My Fast How Fast?

A couple years ago I did a juice fast for 10 days.  The first couple days were the worst then it got a bit more tolerable.  It was a combination spiritual fast and cleansing fast.  I'm considering going on this adventure once again.  Finding a time has always been hard because you can't really exercise when you are doing this.   At least not the kind of running I like to do. 

However, a few things have fallen into place that make this probably a good time to do it.  First - as you know and will hear from me OVER and OVER again - I currently can't run.  So I don't need the extra "energy" from eating a normal diet.  Second, I have a surgery coming up.  Granted it's still a ways away but a good body cleanse might be a good idea before that happens.

Fasting has many benefits (some may argue its harmful).  But I am a proponent of the benefits it offers.   Clarity of mind, detoxification, healing, etc.  I have personally experienced the benefits first hand.  Fasting allows my body to focus on other tasks it gets distracted from due to digestion and processing of solid food.  Who knows -  maybe my foot will heal faster :)

My diet and nutrition have also gone downhill as of late.  It started about 3 weeks ago when this whole moving process started.  I started eating (some) fast food again.  Drinking soda.  Things that were gone from my daily diet.  I can feel it.  I'm starting to have this all around crappy feeling.  maybe part of that is due to the fact I've only run twice in the last 3 weeks as well...

Now I just need to pick a time.  tomorrow?  Next week?  I could pick Saturday which is the 2 year anniversary of the day I arrived in California.  I need to buy some fruit.  And watch my potassium intake which is going to make this tricky.

I'm also trying to get a good referral to a podiatrist in Orange County.  Any suggestions??

Happy Running,
Jessica