the Chic Runner HAS MOVED! www.chicrunner.com

moved. :)

2011-05-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone. Just a reminder that I moved! Check out

http://www.chicrunner.com

and if you'd like to subscribe, put this feed in your reader.

http://chicrunner.com/?feed=rss2

Hope you come on over :)

xoxo

RSS FEED ISSUES

2009-07-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

If you are having RSS Feed issues...

THIS IS THE LINK TO USE WHEN ASKING FOR THE FEED LINK:

http://chicrunner.com/?feed=rss2

Hopefully that also helps some of you.

Check out

the NEW Chic Runner Site now!!!

http://chicrunner.com

I've MOVED!

2009-07-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hello all. If you got this post, you haven't deleted my old RSS feed and added my new one to my new site! Some of you may have thought I've died, but I'm alive and well and just on my new webpage!

Delete the old feed in your google reader by going to manage subscriptions at the bottom of the page on the left hand side. Click Chic Runner and unsubscribe.

Travel to my new site.

http://chicrunner.com/

On the bottom of the home page you can click subscribe to my new feed.

Also, to help the process, you can 'unfollow' the Chic Runner blogger site.

Remember, my new site doesn't have blogger inside of the title, it's just plain

http://chicrunner.com

Go visit it now! If I've missed some of you, have fun catching up :)

Introducing....

2009-06-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

The new site that I've been working on!

the Chic Runner

So, please update all your feeds, bookmarks or whatever you may have to

http://www.chicrunner.com

Remember to take out the blogspot! Mosey on over whenever you get the chance, hope you like it!

xoxo

Foto Friday!

2009-06-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Hooray! So many good things are happening today! #1 on the list, is that I'm getting my new iPhone today! (As soon as I posted this post, um Mr. UPS came! hence the photo above...) Don't worry, I'll be doing a review of it next week after I get a chance to play around with it for a little bit, I still have to post a review of my netbook as well, perhaps I will post that sometime next weekend. #2, going to a rehearsal dinner tonight for the wedding of Mr. R's friend (and my friends too!). #3, I went running this morning! I ran two whole miles! Ha ha, but I did realize that I haven't run in a long time, my body was super stiff. My knees were hurting a lot but it felt good to get out there and run again, and I'm glad that I'm back in the game. I didn't have a bark cough at all either, which was promising! Now I can run again and of course, I wanted to share some pictures of the June Gloom that still plagues my house every morning.

This is the bay I ran by, notice, there is a swimmer in there! I have huge respect for swimmers who swim there.

That's downtown Long Beach in the hazy fog

Houses line on side of the beach, but I LOVE all those palm trees lined up.

Here's the path I travel the most! I love this path but this morning, I was sucking wind. Ha, ha, I will be back in the longer distances soon though!

So tractors drag the sand across the whole beach every morning so that it looks flat and the way it does. I feel like I am letting out some secrets of the beach here. I think it would be fun to drive that tractor though!

YAY! Here's a picture of me. 6:15 am came a little early this morning, but this just shows that I don't always look so dapper. Also, that's the Rock and Roll Marathon shirt. I am not in love with it but oh well, it's a running shirt. So after the run, I stretched really good and did 100 sit ups and 25 push ups. I know I'll be back into the swing of things in no time, and even though I was sick, it was nice to give my body a rest, and let my toenail heal as well. Next week I'll start the training plan that I had originally thought of and it looks like I'll just bump down the mileage for the long runs by a little bit. As I was running 2 miles, I though, how in the world did I EVER run 26.2 miles?

So yesterday I posted about linking to every one's sites and boy I have a lot of new cool sites to check out as well! Thanks for posting everyone! If you would be so kind to also update your blog roll to include my blog, that would be great. Just update it to be http://www.chicrunner.com/, even though my new site is not up yet, it will be on Monday, and then it will be all set up to hit the right site! Thanks again and I look forward to creeping around on some new sites.

So creep around on Monday for the new site will be up and running, and I hope it lives up to this hype I've created for it. Tomorrow I plan to run a nice little 5 miler in the morning and then will be at the wedding all afternoon and of course I'll post pictures. :) I got an black eightyish dress that I will be sporting and I'm pretty excited about the day, it will be lots of fun!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and can fall asleep since you all are so excited about this new site. There I go with the hype again. Gosh, somebody stop me!

xoxo

PS So many of you complimented my sunglasses in my car wash post. They are from Forever 21 if you wanted to lurk over to their site.

over-freakin-whelmed

2009-06-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

So today I am working on finishing up a huge proposal at work. No deals, but don't worry, once I switch over to www.chicrunner.com on Monday. (MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY! said in a superbowl echoish voice) I will have TWO sick contests for you guys, so I guess that makes up for no deals today. At least I hope so.

So in working on the proposal, and finishing up my site at night, I have been super overwhelmed. Tomorrow I'm going to run in the morning though. I went for a nice walk this morning and I felt really good so I'm ready to jump back onto the track. Wow you can tell my mind is going as well with all these lame puns.

So in my last projects for the new super sweet site, I need to include links to all the blogs I read and I would love to include YOURS. This means, just leave a comment with your blog address and I can include it. Try to include it like this:

http://www.beanarita.com

Then it's much easier for me to just add it into the page. If you want, you can write nice things about me too, perhaps that will weigh in on where you show up on the list.. JUST KIDDING! Don't worry I'll be doing this tonight while watching some So You Think You Can Dance and also Wipeout.

Seriously, I am so jazzed on my new site. I almost think I like it more than I like my bag of Peanut Butter M & Ms I picked up last night. Nahhhhh.

So leave a comment with your site. I just am trying to include everyone, and I have been reading every ones sites, I just haven't been a comment fiend like usual because of the building of the new child! Some people I have down already from twitter, so I hope you want to be included on the BEST SITE EVER. I hope I get some new cool blogs to check out by doing this too. :) So it won't be the best site ever, but I think it's pretty freakin' cool. :)

Tomorrow is pictures, a run recap (gasp! I run? crazy!) and anything else that my little fried brain might want to discuss. Be ready!

xoxo

Car Washes and Deep Thougts

2009-06-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

So this morning, Baby Koo got a wash. That was the exciting thing ever since it's been misty/drizzly lately, she was VERY dirty. I was pretty excited as you can tell.

I tried to run this morning and my barking cough didn't like my breathing through my mouth thing, so I barked my way back home. I shall try again tomorrow morning. I feel like my energy is coming back now though, which is good. Last night I drank some bomb wine with the roommate and we discussed life. It was wonderful.

So there's no real transition that works well but I feel compelled to post about what is going on over in Iran. Every night on Twitter and through some new sources I see more and more destruction and people standing up for what they believe in. It has reminded me that we are SO blessed to live in a country where we can talk about anything we want, can find information we want, and do whatever we want. Seriously, seeing people who would die for a cause blows my mind.

I think I began to reflect on this and for some reason, those pictures and those people, really have touched my heart and made me appreciate what I have today. I can get out of bed and get dressed in whatever clothes I want. I can drive my car to work and I'm not scared for my life. I get paid and can talk about whatever I want all day long. I can even write whatever I want on the Internet. Whether you agree with my opinions and thoughts or not, I can still say them and not fear for my life.

It's amazing that some people don't have what we take for granted every day. Right now my stomach is grumbling and I'm thinking about lunch. Some people don't even know when their next meal will be. We are so fortunate to be able to eat food, have computers, and have technology. My biggest fear is that my iPhone won't be here on Friday and I'll have to wait until Monday to get it. How materialistic am I? It's crazy to think that some people are fearing for their lives for trying to get out true news stories from Iran, or are trying to let their voice be heard. It's so easy to take things for granted, like the fact that you can read this post, but man, some things just humble you. I guess that's what the election did for me in Iran.

So whatever you do today, remember how great it is to live in a free country. Be thankful that you have life, liberty and can purse happiness. Also, if you want, you can pray for the people in Iran. Pray for their government and pray that they can survive this time of turmoil.

xoxo

Nuun is tasty.

2009-06-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

I am trying to stick with the Tuesday Reviews of my favorite products that I love because I want more people to know about them. Alas, today I wanted to talk about the wonders of a little tablet called Nuun. Nuun is a delicious form of hydration that I tried out during my marathon training and I really liked it. First off, the taste is MUCH better and not overly sugary and overwhelming when running. They have pleasant flavors that really taste good and are refreshing. I really like their tri-berry flavor.

Nuun is a product that helps you stay away from dehydration. Nuun produces a hypotonic solution so that your body will absorb Nuun faster than the leading “sports drinks” or even water alone. Your body is therefore, able to restore optimal water and electrolyte balance more quickly. When drinking Nuun I have never felt dehydrated on a run at all. I have also never gotten an upset stomach off drinking Nuun either.

Another important aspect of hydration that Nuun provides is the electrolyte count (or sodium). Nuun provides 700mg of sodium for every litre of drink - this amount, in addition to the other critical electrolytes contained in every Nuun tablet, ensures that you are adequately replenishing your body’s stores to help you perform at your best, and stay healthy.

Though many people say that Nuun lacks some of the carbohydrates that other drinks offer, and it has zero calories, for me personally I would much rather eat something on my run, than drink calories because I think that may be what is upsetting my stomach and creating my stomach issues. I have come to realize when running very long distances (anything over 8 miles for me) that calories are super important and your calorie intake needs to at least be something. I think for my next training cycle, for whatever race that may be, I will try to eat foods instead of take gus/beans/shots etc, because those seem to be what messed up my stomach in the first place. I mean, besides the episode at Mile 8.

Nuun is tasty, replenishes electrolytes and I would recommend you guys to check it out next time you are at your local running store. It's just a small tablet that you can dissolve in water. Think alkaseltzer. It's nice because I can take more than one with me on a run and can refill my water and still have Nuun with me.

You can buy it on their website, or you can sometimes find it at local smaller running stores. Check it out! You won't be disappointed in the flavors and hydration.

xoxo

Just around the riverbed....

2009-06-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

Name that movie? Can you guess? POCAHONTAS! When she's on her way to see Grandmother Willow, yup, a talking tree represented as her Grandmother. Talk about weird.

Well that is neither here nor there, so just around the riverbed for me is the fact that I'm finally starting to feel better. I don't sound like a man when I talk and I can almost fully breath through my nose again. This means that if I'm feeling up for it, tomorrow I will begin running once again. Hopefully. You see this is how I work, I start feeling a little sick, then I keep pushing myself and pushing myself, thinking that I will just get better, but my body says, "No Way!" and then I just get sicker and sicker and then finally I have to take off work and sleep for a few days in order to feel better. Annoying right? Every time I get sick that's what happens. So the break was needed and now I'm feeling much better.

There are more exciting things coming to chicrunner too, that I'm super excited to tell you guys about. First, remember when I did my own site, at chicrunner.com, and then there were MAJOR issues of the site being down, problems with hosting, problems with email, problems with people not knowing that they had to add the blog spot back into the address? Yes, well this Friday, there will be a switch back to chicrunner.com without the blog spot, and it's going to be a brand new, amazing, exciting site, and I'm kicking off the new site with 2 SWEET giveaways.

Seriously, I'm jealous of the giveaways because I want the prizes for myself. So stay tuned, I will be linking to all sorts of wonderful things and will let you know when the new site is officially up!

To all you Texans, the lovely Mr. R is attending a conference out in San Antonio this week for work. Perhaps ~~stalk~~ if you see him, don't tell him you've seen him online for that would forever freak him out. He is just coming around to understanding this... but I personally would find it incredibly funny if someone did spot him ~~partying on the river walk like he's 21~~ conferencing hardcore for work.

On another completely unrelated note, here is a picture that I am in love with today.

I'm catching up on every one's weekends! Can't wait to post a sweet review tomorrow!

xoxo

Welcome to my bano.

2009-06-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

Remember the home tour I was taking part in? You know, the one that showed off my kitchen, dining room and living room and the 'guest' room aka my roommates room and then I realized I don't have much of a house left after that? Well they've been busy doing offices, baby rooms and rooms that don't exist in my house, but today I can participate again! Today over at Kelly's Korner its bathroom day!

This is the entrance to the bathroom. Our bathroom is super tiny but we've never actually had any problems with it or getting ready in it. It's also the only bathroom in our home.

Here's the shower, I love the archway that is over it, and it's all tiled. Our shower curtain is black, shocking, I know. We have these cute little crystal shower curtain holders which I really like too.

Here's the inside of the shower and yes, that is a little rubber ducky. I found him randomly in a drawer and we put him in the shower when we moved in. He's stayed there! I love the tiling in our bathroom, and it's a shower tub, but I thought taking excessive pictures of the tub would probably bore you.

Then turn around and you'll see our sink! It's a pedestal sink and I really like that as well. We have one medicine cabinet above it, and the towel rack as well. That tealish thing in the mirror is actually a window that pops out.

This is the little hanging sign that is above the hand towel rack in the picture above. This sign cracks me up. It's funny too because I LOVE making my hair big, especially after a few drinks, it just keeps growing for some reason. I saw this sign and had to get it. Plus it was like 72 cents at Target.

Then you can look directly to the toilet from the sink! Told you our bathroom was small!

This is also where the bathroom gets a little weird. Not surprisingly, our bathmat and toilet mat are black, but if you notice where the toilet paper is, on the other side of the sink? Yup, it's along reach so we got a toilet paper stand. And yup, there is a heater right next to the toilet as well. Oh well it works out, but I have heard some guys say that it's a pretty tight fit in there, which makes me laugh.

Last weekend was the Bachelorette party that I went to in San Luis Obispo and it was incredibly fun. I'm so glad I went, but I was super bummed that I left my license at home. We were going wine tasting. STUPID, but it was TOTALLY something I would do. I told my two best friends and Mr. R and they weren't surprised at all. Luckily two wineries still let me taste (the shame!) and two didn't, but according to everyone, I tasted at the two best wineries. It was gorgeous weather and so much fun. We also went out to a bar that night, and they even let me in with my school id (yup, four year old picture!), some credit cards and my insurance card that had my birthday on it. Double Bonus.

The hostess younger brother and his friend drove us around (and enjoyed it! They were the BEST) and at the last winery, where everyone else was drinking, they took me to 7-11 and bought me some Smirnoff ice, I chugged it while in the parking lot sitting in the car. Don't worry, I wasn't drinking while the car was in motion! The chugging them was a stupid idea, but it was hilarious sitting with them and waiting for the girls. Then we got out and I jumped over some plants? It was strange but super funny. Then I got heartburn from drinking them too fast. Then we went home and watched Twilight and dang, Robert Pattison, I was never attracted to you and never saw what everyone was hooting and hollering about, but sign me up on the stalker train now!

And here is the lovely bride to be! I will just call her Sunwalk, since that is my nickname for her anyways. She is getting married NEXT WEEKEND! I am so excited for her and I know she will make a beautiful bride and their wedding will be gorgeous. Mr. R is in the wedding for her soon to be husband, so perhaps I'll post some pictures for you wedding fiends after that wedding. Sorry, I don't know why the picture is so dark. There are tons of other pictures from the weekend, but I haven't gotten them yet, so perhaps more might show up at a later date. :)

This weekend my only goal is to kick this sickness I have into 2010. Oh, and I'm getting a haircut. Well trim. I'm super anal about getting my haircut every 6 weeks and it's been almost 2 months. I can't wait. I have some stuff going on on Saturday and Sunday, I think I will go look at some new home options for Mr. R, since he is moving late July. New home in CA means very overpriced apartments. Though Mr. R feels safe in all locations, I don't! So we'll see what he has found. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and is able to get your run on. I wish I could be running but breathing through my nose is out of the question. Yea that whole post I did this week about my training schedule... see things like this happen and you can't stick to the schedule. Meh! I'll be back on the streets soon, as in running on the streets soon. :)

xoxo

Communicado.. No?

2009-06-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

So I realized after I got all the comments yesterday and people worrying about my leg and lung health that I got a little something mixed up, I know I shouldn't be doing two fast workouts back to back and the twenty milers shouldn't be back to back. DUH. That was totally my mind and typing not communicating well at all. But alas, don't worry, I will switch around the workouts so I have a slower, recovery day in between all my faster workouts and I will have a week to split up my long 20 milers as well. I know it seems like a lot for the longer distances, and I'm not trying to build my endurance that much, but at the same time, I really feel that a long run on the weekends is really good for me. I am going to work on focusing during my long runs and not allowing my mind to give up half way through. I think that will really strengthen my running abilities.

Also, coaching track and cross country and running competitively in high school for four years and on and off for 5 years, I think I will do a lot of the same workouts I did and had my kids do as well. I think that will be helpful since I used to do them and they are pretty engraved into my head.

Also many of you think this training schedule is super hardcore, but really looking at the schedule, it's not too rough. It's a few smaller runs, with longer runs on the weekend and I tried really hard to switch it up from just going out and running 5-8 miles daily as well, with the hill and gym and track workouts as well. Now, don't get me wrong, you won't be seeing me on a bike or in the pool anytime soon. Thanks for all your advice though, I definitely will be taking it to heart.

Now, I know many of you need new summer workout gear, check out the links below. Lately though, I am sad to admit that there are absolutely no guy deals out there. Every website I check it's the same stuff I posted last week. Do any of you guys who might creep around this blog know of any new websites or places online to get good guy running stuff? Email me @ Danica@chicrunner.com if you know of any!

Women's

Journey Moving Comfort Shorts

Nike Fitness Tights

Prana Sports Top

Prana Sports Top 2

Asics Performance Shorts

Nike Strength Top

Prana Sabin Racer

Asics Microfiber Shorts

Marmot T-shirt

Sugoi Lucky Fit Shorts

Sugoi Sports Bra

Sugoi Marilyn Tank

Sugoi Balance Tee

Sugoi Cap Tee

Nike Knit Shorts

Tank by Moving Comfort

Simple Tank By Prana

Saucony Shorts

Oiselle Shimmel Tank

Nike Bikram Shorts

Nike Plus Shorts

Nike Personal Best Long Tank

Women's Unwind Strappy Tank

Seamless Champion Sports Bra

Reebok Fitness Tank

New Balance Tank

Danskin Spring Blossoms Tank

New Balance Shorts

Men's

Sorry. Lame. I know.

MarmotMesitaTee

I'm still sick. I'm seriously over being sick in the summer. I can't breath through my nose so I know running is out of the question right now. My head feels like it weights 10 pounds and it's all clogged up in my sinus area. Graphic? Yes. Would you expect anything less from me? I can't believe tomorrow is already Friday. Where did the week go? I'm excited though, because tomorrow is Foto Friday! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

xoxo

Half Marathon Training Plan

2009-06-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

So I realized sometime during my marathon training that training plans overwhelm me and really take the fun out of running for me. During my training I got burnt out and wanted to not run as much as I was in the beginning. The training plan I was following was made up for my current running abilities at the time and was perfect if I would had stuck to the plan pretty closely. I dealt with a lot of personal things during the training which also wore me out so I had no energy to run some days. Running hard six days a week is just not for me either. So with this upcoming half marathon, here are the things that needed to be addressed.

1. Bathroom issues - I need to find a good mix of what to eat while running that doesn't lead to bathroom trips. Though I never had had a problem with the half distance and the bathroom issues, if I choose to run a marathon again, I would rather try to figure that out earlier on so I don't have the problem anymore.

2. Speed - After the marathon I realized that I had perhaps stepped back on running fast for a little bit too long and I had lost a lot of my speed that I build up by building my endurance. I am going to work on getting faster and keeping with that pace for this cycle of training

3. Hills - I know the SF 1/2 is going to have some major butt kicking hills and if I don't train on them I'm going to have an epic blowup at the 1/2.

4. Sticking to the schedule - So I got super burnt out, and had a really hard time getting myself out there to run because I think I got overwhelmed with the amount of running, the time it took and everything else in my life. This cycle I am really going to try to stick with the schedule.

5. Diet - So we all know that I eat a ton of crappy food. As in a TON. I eat a ton of fast food, and at work I'm called Lamar because I eat so much candy. This little issue will be addressed after the training plan.

So dun dun dunnnnn, I announce my OWN training plan.

I made this up according to what I think I can feasibly get done and also with the idea that one day, sooner than later I may possibly run another full marathon. This is all still speculation and I hope to discuss my feelings and how the race went mentally sometime next week. I'm still sorting through that whole mumbo jumbo in my head.

Sundays will be my rest day

Each week I will be doing on cross-training or weight lifting type workout. This will most likely fall on Mondays.

Tuesdays I plan to do some simple mileage. Usually at a nice, consistent pace. Anywhere from 6-8 miles. Somewhat of a recovery from weights if I'm a little sore. I will do some striders at the end to shake out my muscles and keep the speed somewhat included.

Wednesdays I will run a faster lactate threshold type workout. This can range from 6-12 miles, with 3 to 8 miles at a faster pace. Mostly the half marathon it will be on the 6-10 mile side.

Thursdays I will do a track workout. This means legitimately going to the track and running as fast as I can. Usually will be doing 400s or 800s all out. Possibly will include sprints (because I miss them dearly) OR I will run hills, which would be a very hard hill workout, where I run up a hill all out about 10-20 times and then slow jog around the back. There is a nice grassy hill that I know I can run up and it will kick my butt but will also get my quads into better shape and will get me more used to running hills more frequently. This is what we did in high school and it really helped me.

Fridays This is my 2nd rest day of the week.

Saturdays This is where my training will be a little different, I am going to include 2 20 mile long runs in the beginning of July before my taper to try to increase my endurance. All my long runs in the training cycle will be longer than the half marathon distance of 13.1 miles as well. I have 6 long runs to get in before the half so I am going to probably break it down like this:

June 13 (but sadly this weekend I think my run will come on Sunday because I have some prior all day commitments on Saturday, but it shouldn't mess up my schedule too bad since it's not too incredibly long and I shouldn't be sore on Monday) - 14 miler

June 20 - 18 miler

June 27 - 20 miler

July 4 - 20 miler

July 11 - 18 miler

July 18 - 14 miler

July 26 (Sunday) - San Fransisco Half!

It seems crazy but I really think this will allow me to build my endurance up and I know I can run that far because of the marathon. I know it will also keep me in better shape in case I do decide to run a fall full marathon. I also hope it makes me faster. Also every night, I will do at least 25 push ups and 100 sit ups, if not more as I go along. I started doing that before San Diego and before I gave up on them, I was really starting to see a difference. I know the core is very important to runners and I want to work on mine. I feel that starting off with 100 and doing them every day will be a good number. If I feel good then I will do more, but I must always do 100.

So now onto the diet of myself. I know I eat a ton of fast food. To cut this down I'm limiting it to eating fast food once during the work week, and once during the weekend. This can be for dinner, breakfast or lunch, but it's only ONCE during the day I choose, not a full day. For me, fast food is Mc Donalds, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, Del Taco, etc. NOT Quizno's, Subway, or Togos. If I get a sandwich somewhere that doesn't count as fast food, because that's basically what I would have brought from home.

This new diet also includes not drinking limitless amounts of Soda. I can have two of those a week too. Luckily, I don't drink coffee so I don't have to wean myself off that either, but I know caffeine and sugars are super bad for you, and I need to increase my water intake. I know I can't give up all my soda but I think two a week is a good number, because sometimes I just need a soda, sprite specifically.

Then we have the candy addiction. This is rough because I love candy. I am going to try to cut as much out of my diet as possible, but if need be and I can't resist the addiction cravings, I can have one bag a week, of whatever candy I choose. This isn't the family size bag or a fun size, this is the regular bag that would be mixed in with the candy at any gas station type of establishment.

I am going to try to eat healthier by eating more fruits and vegetables as well. I seriously lack those in my current diet. Mainly my diet is made up of cheese and bread/pasta, with the occasional interspersing of chicken. So I think including more fruits and veggies will bode well for me. Also last weekend I tried tofu and really liked it so I think I'm going to try to start working on making some of that and including it in my diet. I don't necessarily want to drop a lot of weight on my 'diet' but at the same time that would be an added bonus, but mostly, I want to do it to feel healthy and feel good. I love candy but it doesn't always make me feel the best after I've downed some huge bag.

So that's my plan in a nutshell basically. Well see how it goes and how all my workouts start to fall into place. It starts this Saturday (or Sunday, pending) with my 14 miler. I am trying to get my toe to heal as quickly as possible and it's starting to feel a bit better, which I think will allow me to run well this weekend for the 14 miler I have planned. Now to get rid of this summer cold that has me a little congested and I'll be good to go.

I am excited about this plan because I feel like it fits me a little bit more than such intense running. I like to switch things up and I feel like my long runs will help me build endurance and make the half fly by! Well see how it goes. I also feel that this gives me the option to run another fall full marathon if I choose to.

So tomorrow I'll have some sweet deals! I will be posting my progress with the plan as well throughout my training up until the 1/2 on July 26.

xoxo

Me and Goji = Me and YUMMY

2009-06-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to jump on the 'make my own cereal' bandwagon that I've seen on blog land. First, I love cereal and really wanted my cereal that I was going to eat to pack a little bit more punch than just some super shriveled up dehydrated berries. I am trying to be a little bit more healthy, and I thought this cereal looked like just the answer. Also we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I really have been trying to eat something every morning. Me&Goji is just what I was looking for!

Love their packaging, and though it's in a tube, I feel like you get more cereal from the tube form than from boxes. I also feel like their packaging allows the cereal to stay fresh for longer, which is always very helpful.

One of the things I liked the most is that the flakes are big and the fruit and other options that you can choose from to include in your cereal are large and I felt like they were actually real fruit in my cereal. I got cranberries, coconut, blueberries and bran flakes. The fruit was delicious, and I felt like it was too good to be in cereal. The bran flakes didn't have much taste, but then again, what do you expect, they are bran flakes.

Here is a picture of the fruit, I tried to get a picture to show everyone how big the fruit actually is. The cereal is sitting on the lid of the tube. The chunky fruit makes SO much of a difference in a cereal. I didn't realize how much more flavor it adds and how much better it makes your cereal.

This is another picture of the tube and the cereal that I took out of the tube but this would be roughly what would be poured out with each pour. They don't skimp on any part of the cereal or fruit which is another great factor of Me&Goji.

So overall, I really liked the taste and flavor of the cereal. I also felt like their website had many more options than some of the other websites out there. They have tons of different types of berries and even gluten-free options which is also really cool. Of course, it's more pricey than a regular cereal found in the store and you have to pay for shipping but at the same time, it's so much more healthy and delicious as well. Definitely check out their site and play around, trying it once won't hurt, and it also makes a great granola mix as well where you don't even have to eat it as a cereal.

The robust flavors and health factors alone make it delicious and I hope you all give Me&Goji a try!

My infected toenail is slowly dying so I am anticipating it's departure soon. I am going to get in a few miles tonight, but I can't do much working out with my toe like this because it shoves up against my shoe and just gets pushed back more into my skin which is painful. I also need to get some new shoes! Hooray! That will be done this weekend. Tomorrow I will be posting my plan for the 1/2, so stay tuned. On a completely unrelated but just as important note, what in the world was the Bachelorette last night? Crazy men, I tell you. Now scoot on over to Me&Goji and try to stay away from the chocolate covered goji berries. :)

xoxo

I am an addict to Gum.

2009-06-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

I am addicted to gum. I chew it all day at work, when I run, when I'm at the gym, everywhere. I usually chew gum for an extended period of time also. Like 4-5 hours. Gross. I usually prefer a frosty or fresh tasting gum, nothing too crazy flavored. I want gum to be freshening my breath, which I think is it's intention. I am a really bad person and usually spit my gum out the window as well when I'm driving. Sometimes this is mildly entertaining for me as well. The other day I was driving home from work, and this happened.

I spit out my gum and it landed on my door. Totally missed the rolled down window. STUPID. I think what could even be more stupid is that I then took a picture of it.

How's that for a super amazing and exciting 200th post? Yup, I failed. ha ha.

Tomorrow I will have some new cool stuff to talk about, like my infected toenail that has not allowed me to wear shoes. I did get in a gorgeous, I wish I took pictures, run this weekend in San Luis though. I ran about 8.5 miles and felt good, minus the toe issue. Hopefully, and sadly, the toenail just needs to fall off and then I think that it will heal itself.

This week I will be posting my homemade training plan, what I think my goals will be for the San Fran 1/2 and of course, anything super exciting that happens to me that I think you all must know about immediately. I have a review to post as well. Maybe I'll even throw in some workouts, but tonight is a rest day and will include some great Bachleorette watching!

xoxo

Foto frizziday

2009-06-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

So it's raining outside. Raining in CA? Yea, pretty much all the news stations screamed we were on 'Storm Watch' 2009 this morning while I was getting ready for work. Storm Watch? Really? Is that necessary? It's barely drizzling on my way to work and all I can see is break lights from crazy drivers stopping and going ahead of me. Seriously people, it's just water, that is falling from the sky. The rest of the world enjoys this more often than we do, but I feel like us Californias can embrace it too. It's not a storm if two drops hit my head on my walk in from my car to my office. Sadly, the rain does make my hair frizz like a lion main though! Luckily, it's not raining too hard. It's so strange though, June Gloom is taking on a whole new level of gloominess!

So it's Foto Friday. I love Fridays and I love Fotos. I don't necessarily like the fact that I spell it Foto Friday on Fridays, but oh well, what can you do.

So I saw this on my way to San Diego this past weekend and KNEW I would HAVE to blog it. How hilarious is this! Then in my pre-hormonal (we all know what happened at mile 8) I almost started crying at how cute it was. If you can't read it, it says 18 years with Mrs. Right and on the side it says Happy Anniversary.

Then I saw this. Heart with an s and then l8krs. Ha ha ha ha. Wow, as much as I HATE the Lakers, I put this up for my coworkers who are laker freaks. Emphasis on the freaks. Just kidding Yaya and Carne. :)

Now we all remember how I like to talk about the photo shoot I did with Webbed Foot Photography and how obsessed I am with her and her shoots. So I'm putting up more pictures of myself that she took. I find them amazing and I can't just let them sit on my computer, now can I.

I am going to be doing a lot more of these... I need to get my abs back into shape! Too many trips to Yogurt land, and any fast food restaurant in my general vicinity has done me in.

Can I just tell you that I'm just completely obsessed with this picture. I adore it. I also know I'm completely spoiled because yes, this picture was taken on the 'beach path' that I get to run on EVERYDAY since it's outside my front yard. Sigh, how can I ever even be remotely unhappy.

Then, check out this sweet picture. Now you might remember the 'official' race photos and how I stated I was sad that my time said 4:31 but I had the net time of 4:28. I know why this happens and it's because I crossed the starting line before this clock started, it all makes sense to me as a runner chip time and 'picture time' can be different. Now, I realize this is somewhat cheating, and I could get whatever number I wanted put on the clock, but I did make my "A" Goal in finishing under 4:30 and that's why the 4:31 made me sad. BUT, a faithful reader, who is obviously better at photo shop than me (you can see examples here and here) photo shopped my time to say my net time, which was 4:28. I feel bad for about 5 seconds and then I don't care anymore as my snazzy new time looks good up there. TAKE THAT RACE PICTURE! Now, that was the sweetest gesture ever and I am graceful that she also cut out, the suffering woman in front of me.

This weekend I'm going to San Luis Obispo for a Bachelorette party. Wahoo! Running up there should be amazing and I heard they might have some alcohol laying around those parts that needs to be consumed, but we'll see... :) Have a wonderful weekend and next week I have some more reviews, my training plan for the upcoming San Fransisco Half Marathon, and you know, pictures that I find to be amusing.

xoxo

Rundown Deals

2009-06-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was National Running Day, and Mr. R drank enough coffee to kill a small child so he decided to run with me and was actually excited about it. I was still a little bit sore but his energy was hilarious. He doesn't like running at all and I love running with him. We were about 3 miles out and I said, "Now isn't this fun, being an active couple and running together?" His answer, "No" with a thumbs down. Oh well, I must accept that running isn't for every single person.

I am going to start training again next week for the San Fransisco 1/2 in July. This time for the half I am going to get in more miles and see how some speed workout treats me. I will be posting my training plan soon. Also, I know that SF will be hill filled so I know I will have to incorporate those into my workouts as well, but I am excited because I love running hills and know that running more hills will build my quad strength.

Now deal time!

Women's

Under Armour UA Logo Tee

Under Armour Heat Gear Short Sleeve Tee

Under Armour Sleeveless Tank

Under Armour 2" Shorts (these are super cute)

Under Armour Tech Shorts (cute again)

Sugoi Splash Tank

Sugoi Marilyn Tank

Sugoi Balance Tee

Sugoi Cap Sleeve Tee

Adidas Shorts

Reebok Seamless Skirt

Reebok Dry PlaySkirt

Nike Women's Mesh Long Sport Top (I have this and love it!)

Asics Kara Tee

Nike Printed Tank

Nike Long Sport Tank

Nike Speed Course Running Shorts

New Balance Run Shorts

Brooks Element Shorts

Adidas Supernova Run Skirt

Brooks HVAC Run Shorts

Reebok Training Shorts

Adidas Response Shorts

Road Runner Sports Shorts

Road Runner Fitness Shorts

Road Runner Performance Shorts

Zoot Run Fit Razor Back Tank

Men's

Under Armour Zone Short Sleeve

Pearl Izumi Race Tank

Reebok Woven Shorts

Reebok Premier Split Shorts

Road Runner Sports Pro Distance Shorts

Road Runner Sports Performance Sleeveless Tank

Road Runner Sports Performance Tee

Nike Sphere Dry Fit Short Sleeve Tee

Reebok Performance Short Sleeve Tee

Reebok Performance Crew

Asics Sleeveless Tank

So there are some deals to be had out there! Many of you have asked about my spandex shorts. I guess I am becoming known for wearing those. Here is a link to a whole bunch of Asics volleyball shorts which is what I wear sometimes, Here is a link to some Champion Volleyball shorts, and here is a link to the champion website where you can see their selection. I personally would get the boy style fit ones. Also, you can find them at volleyball sites, like this one. These ones you can even get in different prints and stuff. They are super comfy and fit well and wick away sweat. These are most like the Nikes I wear, along with these, these, these, these, these, these (which are super cute) these, (which are super cute again) and these. So there you go. Go spandex crazy.

Tomorrow is photo Friday... I wonder what I can dig up! :)

xoxo

Poppin' with Deliciousness + Pictures + National Running Day!

2009-06-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

Today could quite possibly be my favorite day of the year and I'm filled with joy. Well the best besides my birthday in October, it's

Hooray! Tonight I'm going to put in some recovery miles. Though running Monday was a little rough, I definitely think it has allowed my soreness to go away. Tonight I'll be running a little bit probably a nice little 2 miles out and back. I'm excited to run tonight and then to start working on my speed for the upcoming San Fransisco Half July 26! Remember, if you want to start running, go slow, and take your time. Running is to be ENJOYED!

I think during training I got a little overwhelmed with the schedule and got really burnt out. I have missed just getting in miles and working on fast miles, and got tired of running for anyone else besides myself. I know that I've learned my lesson and I know that getting in more miles will make me much faster as well. I can't wait to go on a relaxing long run this weekend in San Luis Obispo!

Yesterday I got some sweet 'official' race photos from San Diego this past weekend. Normally I thought there would be a lot more pictures taken on the course, but there was one spot at mile 22ish, which this gem was taken:

And then we have the lovely finishing photo. Don't worry the clock tells lies. My chip time was 4:28, since I crossed the finish line earlier than the clock said. I'm not lying to you people! Yet, I am kind of bummed that the clock reads that in my finishing pictures.

Though I'm not too totally jazzed on these photos, perhaps the woman in the black in front of me ruined them, they aren't the worst so whatever works I guess. I am still waiting for my medal picture that I must see. At least I look like I'm running in these two pictures. There is one that I look like a crazy race walker. Obviously I didn't post it. :)

As for a sweet review that I totally must tell you guys about, the wonderful and delicious Pop Chips. They sent me a sweet package to review (and since I work in advertising, I have to give them MAJOR props on their marketing and packaging) and I'm not going to lie, I was a bit skeptical. I love me some "baked" chips and didn't really know what to expect when eating these "popped" chips.

For me, they felt like they almost have the 'I want to be a ricecake' mentality, but were thin little round chips. Excuse the horrible picture, but this is about how thin they are. They are crispy and not greasy at all. I have seen these in the stores and just never bought them because they were a little more expensive than the other chips, nor am I one to try something that I don't already know. Perhaps I am a creature of habit? Anyways, I took one bite of these and they were delicious! They have much, much more flavor than a regular potato chip and they aren't weighted down with salt and artificial flavors. I didn't feel like a greasy little piglet after. Major bonus.

So they look a little different than chips, but they taste different too, much better. I even had my co-worker test all the flavors with me and he really enjoyed them, even enough to buy them as well. Mr. R stole a bag and I told him he could only eat them if he also contributed to my review. His response when I asked them how they were via text? " BOMMMMMMMBYYYYYYYYYY" Good one. He is now a convert as well, and I saw some bags in his cupboard. I really like the Salt and Pepper ones but all the flavors are really tasty. They are just lighter and better than other chips that I've tried, hands down. Their only downfall is that their bag is a little bit smaller at the grocery store and they aren't the cheapest, but at the same time, sometimes I have seen some deals on them, in which I've stocked up.

It takes a lot for me to pay full price for anything, including food at the grocery store, but I would pay full price for these. I know, I know, sounds bad that I won't pay full price for food, but remember I live in CA. It's expensive. Their taste and nutritional info is outstanding and I felt like I was actually eating a healthy snack instead of just getting some chips that were loaded down with unhealthy ingredients. Next time you are in the super market, check them out, they are delicious and worth the extra .50 cents.

So get out and run and then eat some Pop Chips, or at least visit their site Pop Chips. You won't be disappointed if you try them, promise!

Tomorrow will be some sweet running deals! I am already excited planning my next outfit for my next race. Well I'm already excited for my next race. I openly also admit I'm a freak.

xoxo

Pictures from the Marathon Weekend.

2009-06-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

First off, I have to let you all know that my blog is temporarily moved back to http://www.chicrunner.blogspot.com/. Please update your feeds, and reader. I will let you all know when it switches back, but right now I'm having issues with the hosting and will be here for a while. I promise an exeptionally wonderful giveaway though once the issues get fixed, so stay tuned and for now stay at the blogspot.com location! Now onto some sweet pictures.

It started off on Friday night when I got this super cute pillowcase from my Aunt. It has all different type of running things and accessories on it and I LOVE it! It was such a great surprise and I took it with me to San Diego for good luck! She is amazing and made it by hand. I used to always get pillowcases from my mom for every month when I was away at college, so pillowcases are very special to me.

Once I got down to San Diego, Alisa and I were hunnnnngry girls and so we went to the Richard Walker's pancake house for some grub, it was delicious! I totally recommend it!

There was a huge blogger, tweeter meet up at the expo at 1 pm. Here's maritza, tara, julianne and aron, some of my favorite girls from Northern CA.

....and here's all the Bad Girls of Running at the expo! Yea, I guess I didn't get the memo to wear a white or black shirt :)

Here's my running twin, aron and I! She is the absolute best and I loved being able to run a large part of the marathon with her. We look alike in a lot of race pictures and have some of the same clothes to run in, but in person we look nothing alike. Oh well, she will always be my running twin!

This was the huge group at dinner! There's a ton of people in here and I consider this to be my 'running club' that I'm apart of. It's a forum on the Runner's World Website that I post in. There's a ton of super dedicated and hardcore runners in this bunch. We even have a lot of age group placers in this picture, including an Age Group winner! Amazing job.

This was race morning, with Alisa and Kristen. That was my lucky banana. Yup, we were waiting in the portapottie line! :)

Then I ran a marathon..... Those pictures aren't up yet, but I'll post them when they are released and I steal them.... But here's the afters!

Mr. R met me at the finish! He thought that after I texted him what had happened at mile 8 that I would quit and he texted me, "Do you need me to come get you" and I just texted him back, "No I am almost to mile 20. I hate this." Then 20 minutes later I texted him again, "This sucks ass" He was sending me funny supportive texts while I was dying at miles 20-26. I almost didn't want to check my phone because I was scared I was going to cry. I crossed the finish line and texted him, "Done, Tuck! hahahahaha I want wawa." (Thanks Iphone predictive texting for changing my bad word! ha ha) He was a great sport and was super helpful, I am so thankful that he was there.

Then to my surprise, My roommate and her mom came down! I totally wasn't expecting them at all and it was a great surprise. Notice I'm holding my chocolate milk with a death grip.

The Roomie and I. So happy she came.... and she gave me my prize of the day, worth more than any medal... a tampon! ha ha ha.

Then here is Ryan Hall and me. He signed my name Danick. Cool Ryan. Thanks! ha ha. Great meeting him even though I was pretty delusional and talking to him about twitter. Funny thing is I watched him race in High School many times, we were in the same CIF and state sections, he blew my mind then and still does today.

More and more pictures are slowly trickling in, so I'll post more if I get more. I didn't take many pictures and I'm pretty sure that my race photos will make resemble a puppy suffering on the verge of death, but hey, I got my medal.

Last night I ran for 1.5 miles, and let me tell you, it was rough. I was shuffling along and almost felt the need to apologize to the people I ran past. I got home in around 17 minutes. I really think that it helped a lot in my recovery today though. I just feel like I ran 20 miles, not like I tortured myself. So today will be my day off instead of yesterday. Last night I watched the Bachelorette, and wow, that was interesting to say the least. I have been stretching a lot though and feeling better than I thought I would. This weekend I'm going out of town for a Bachelorette party and I'm SO excited to get away, do some serious relaxing and run a great first long run after my marathon! I can't wait.

I already signed up for the San Fransisco Half Marathon (the first half) for July and I realized today that it's already June and it's next month! I can't wait to go up there though and race again, my beloved distance. I will be talking about some training plans and how I hope to get faster for that race in the near future. Tomorrow I will be posting a ton of reviews of cool stuff that I have tried recently. Hope everyone else is recovering nicely as well and you all enjoyed the pictures thus far!

xoxo

The day after running 26.2 miles.

2009-06-01T01:33:00.000-07:00

So today I'm not as sore as I originally thought I would be. I honestly think I was more sore after running The Malibu Creek 25k. I'm back at work and diligently trying to focus on my projects :)

I really want to run today, but I might, might just go for a slow little jog after work, just to shake some of the kinks out. Obviously, it couldn't be too long or too slow, the bachelorette is on tonight! It's sounds weird that I want to run so bad, but I missed just running when I was training a lot. Though I am obsessive about scheduling and planning, I don't like my running to be scheduled, I like to do it for me.

I can't wait to post pictures from the weekend. I will be posting tomorrow, but here is a little sneaky peeky.

The medal.

So it's not the best picture, but you can see the jist of it. Windsurfer? Really? It is kind of cool that it's a big medal, but seriously, I just want a huge medal that says I ran 26.2 miles, or something along those lines. It would possibly be the best medal ever given out. Sounds like I need to start my own race, whose with me?

Hope everyone else isn't too sore!

xoxo

San Diego Marathon : yes, it really happened.

2009-05-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

So the long awaited race report. This is long winded and just plain words play by play of the day before and day of (which is still today). Throughout the week as I upload and get some pictures I'll be posting some of those too. Don't worry I won't leave much out in here, though Mr. R said I should stop posting about the bathrooms. :)

It began Friday night with me packing up my stuff and getting ready to go down to San Diego. This was the day where I was the most excited by far. Everything still feels like a dream as I type this. I went to bed at 9:30, and had a great sleep. Woke up at 6:00, showered, curled my hair (much to my dismay it was raining in SD and my hair became a lion's mane) and went down to meet up with Alisa, and Kristen and their husbands, who were gracious enough to let me get a roll away in their hotel room. I met up with Alisa and we were instantly friends, she is so incredibly sweet and so fun! So is her husband!

We started out with a quick trip around the expo. I'm not made of money so I didn't buy anything and wasn't too interested in anything there. It's a lot of stuff you can find online for cheaper. I swear I saw a jacket that was made out of the gear check bags for $100. Are you crazy? We then went to breakfast at a wonderful place called something along the lines of the 'pancake house' but I forget the whole name. It was amazing, and worth the wait, annnnd I taught Alisa and Justin my trick about using sour cream on pancakes instead of butter. Sounds gross but it's BOMB. We got some race morning snacks at Ralphs after.

We then went back to the hotel room, relaxed and got ready for the blogging/tweeter meet up at the expo at one. We walked over there and the expo was packed, but I met up with ALL my favorite girls and boys! It was incredible, and I felt like we were all long lost friends. I then changed my corral number to be with the some of the girls at the start. I will include all the links to every one's blogs in my picture post.

Then it was time to go back to the hotel, relax and get ready for dinner. I met up with a huge group at Spagettini's in Little Italy right down the street and it was great to hang out with everyone and meet even more people. Super fun and I gabbed away with a bunch of amazing, super fast runners.

I got back to the hotel at 7:30 and got ready for bed and watched Will Ferrel in Kicking and Screaming. I was laughing hysterically, and was super relaxed. The only thing about the whole entire day Saturday was I felt like I wasn't running a marathon the next day. I guess part of me couldn't believe that it was actually, really here. Alisa came home shortly after and french braided my hair for me, which was amazing for the race.

We went to bed and I was out by 10. I slept great, except for some drunkards wandering the halls that i heard for maybe 5 minute at our hotel. We stayed right across from the "Gaslamp District", where a lot of partiers go, but I fell back asleep shortly thereafter.

Funny thing happened though, right before I went to bed, Josh Cox, tweeted that he was in SD for the marathon tomorrow and asked if anyone else was around for it. I tweeted that I was and was going to be running my first the next morning. I also was watching one of my favorite female track stars, Allyson Felix, race on TV earlier in the afternoon. I have watched her race in high school and actually went to high school that she raced against. She blows my mind. I tweeted her too that I loved watching her race and would be channeling "her speed" during my marathon. Both are incredibly talented professional, Olympic athletes.

I wake up in the morning, realizing that today is the day, and lay in my bed letting it all sink in. I was warm and didn't want to get up yet so I checked my tweets, and BOTH JOSH and ALLYSON tweeted me back good luck in my marathon. Talk about amazing motivation. I couldn't even believe it. I was beyond excited and it made my entire day.

I got ready with my blue tank, spandex and got my gear bag ready. I was still semi-stunned and not nervous at all. I think I felt like whatever was going to happen would happen. I was just ready to get it started. We took a cab to the starting line and I had already gone to the bathroom twice and got in the portapotty line to go once more. I gear checked my bag and went over to the starting line to find corral 6. I still never felt like it was really going to happen.

Saw a few more people I knew, wished them luck and got in my corral. Though I couldn't find the girls I wanted to start with, I was just ready to get going. The gun finally went off and we slowly started moving forward, FINALLY! I still felt fine but I just wanted to go forward.

There were some rolling hills on the first few miles, and within mile 1 I saw the girls I wanted to meet up with and ran with them. I remember just wanting to get to mile 6 because then it would be 20 more miles which was what I had run before. I ran the first 16ish miles with Aron, who was amazing because she put up with my whining about my bathroom issues.

At mile 6 the balls of my feet were on fire already and I knew I wasn't going to break 4 hours. I have the issue sometimes that where my toe connects to my feet it just goes numb and burns with every step. I remembered to tell myself that it was okay, and that any pace, a finish was possible. It was somewhat discouraging to be only at mile 6 though. I had considered also already going to the bathroom which I DIDN'T want to have to do. At mile 8, I unfortunately had to stop to go to the bathroom. I thought this was going to be super helpful to me to make me feel better. Wrong. WAY wrong.

Yup, that's right. I got something that only girls get and it just happened to come at mile 8. WONDERFUL. I wasn't expecting this for a few more days and in the past 10 years of running this has NEVER happened to me. I came out and was just in disbelief. This and my somewhat upset stomach lead to four more bathroom stops for me! I sure experienced a lot of portapotties at this marathon that's for sure. Looking back, and even at the time, I laughed and just thought, no way is this happening. Really?! Out of all things that was the least expected! Oh well, it was just one of those things I guess. Nothing I could do about it.

Around mile 10, we ran up a hill that I didn't know was a hill. This sounds weird but it was a long, gradual hill that lasted a mile. That was incredibly tough for me. I think it was hard for me because some reason I didn't realize we were running up hill. Aron and I talked about some random stuff and it was seriously so amazing to run with her. I was so glad that she was there, and after the hill, she said something along the lines, "Wow that hill was rough!" and I said, "Ohhhhh that's why I was feeling like crap! okay, so I can do this!" We got to mile 13 and I realized it was going to be a long day. I'd already had two bathroom stops and knew I would have to stop more. That was the most disappointing thing.

Aron and I parted ways when she met up with Tara and I still needed to make more bathroom breaks. I saw them another time right before a hill and then they passed me again. Around mile 2o my legs were shot. This was when things got a little weird. I saw two people who were racing get engaged at the top of the hill at mile 20, I was going up the hill and started to cry when I saw them. Then for the rest of the race, I was on somewhat of the verge of tears at any given point for no reason at all. At this point, I was tired but I knew I could get it done. I just kept chugging along and tried my hardest not to think of my legs who were screaming at me to stop. Then around mile 22, I began to walk through a water station and drank some Cytomax and that stuff is pretty amazing! After the water station I would run again and then if I wanted to drink water, I would go through the station walking again and actually enjoy the water or Cytomax. I ended up walking through two water stations. I stopped three more times after my two stops with Aron for the bathroom. Awful, my stomach was not happy.

I got to mile 23 and told myself it was only a 5k to go. I knew I could run three miles. I just kept going and watched the ground. Then I saw the 24 mile marker. I kept just counting down the steps in my head and telling myself that I felt good and that I could do this and it was only another 20 minute of running. It was really messing with my mind though, and my legs were very sore. Then, I saw a friend named Emil and he ran with me from mile 24 to mile 25 and it was amazing to run with him too. He told me to keep going and he is a marathon MANIAC. He's already done 7 this year and 25 overall. I told him he was a crazy person for doing these so often, but he did keep my mind off my legs and told me how much farther to go. At mile 25, I pretty much took off and gave it everything I had left in me.

I am interested to know my last mile time, but I will not have that until I upload Claude, my garmin, but I think it was the fastest mile I ran all day. I was in so much pain but I was so over the race and I just wanted to see the finish line and to stop running. I saw so many cheerers and I was hopeful that Mr. R would be at the finish line. I felt like we were going around the 'bend' in the marine base to the finish forever. FOREVER. I was thinking to myself, I can only go this fast for so long!!!! Then finally, it was over. I did some weird movement thinking that it might look good in a picture across the finish line and started walking after I crossed the mat. My legs were killing me but I wasn't tired at all. My official finish time was 4:28. I made my A goal and finished a full marathon!

I got my medal, which is hideous and disappointing, ha ha, and some water and some of my new favorite Cytomax. Then I found chocolate milk and ditched the water and took a picture at the 'photostation' with my medal and the photographer told me it was "cute." Which I think in my somewhat dazed state I said, "Good." I continued to wander and finally saw the girls I was running with for a while. We chatted and then I got a foil blanket. Finally I went to find Mr. R who texted me he was waiting and I saw him right when I walked out of the crowd. I was so surprised to see my roommate and her mom there too! It was an amazing surprise!!

I stood around and told them what 'happened' at mile 8, which grossed everyone out, and then I think I proceeded to talk about poop, I am full of class, but honestly, my mind wasn't working at all. I feel like I was just talking nonsense. My roommate and her mom walked back to their car and I met Ryan Hall and told him that Josh Cox twittered me. I follow both of them. I got a picture (will post soon) and then Mr. R asked me how we were getting back to the hotel. Doy, didn't even think of that, so we met back up with my roommate who was kind enough to wait for us and then drive us back to our hotel. Walking was slow and steady.

We got back and Mr. R, being the best ATC that he is, got ice for an ice bath and stretched me out a little bit. I was a little nauseous but showered up, and got ready to go. We went to a nearby mall and walked around for a little bit, and he even took me to a wonderful mecca called the Tory Burch Store and in my bewildered state I just took it all in, and it was amazing. We walked around for a bit until I got too tired and then we drove home.

Honestly, I'm not really tired at all, but my legs are very sore. Mostly my ankles hurt to go straight and my quads are very tight. I chafed in a sweet spot on my thighs too so that hurt a lot when I hopped in the ice bath. My hips are sore from my fuel belt and constantly pulling it down but the part of my body that hurts the most by far is my lower back. I am going to stretch a lot and hope for the best but I know I'll be sore for a little bit. I am going to try to run again on either Wednesday or Thursday.

Well if you read that whole thing, you as well deserve a medal as well because I think I may still be in somewhat of a delusional state. I will give out cute medals though, just wait until you see the blue, yellow and red glittery WINDSURFER on my medal.... yes, I'm serious. I think I still can't believe that it's over, and I did do it, and all that crazy/funny/random stuff happened to me, but hey, it happens!

I will be posting the pictures and links and anything else exciting from the weekend soon and I am so thankful to everyone who was tweeting me, and send me such nice messages and commenting. You guys really pulled me through some tough times today, and each and every one of you are so inspiring to me! Seriously it means so much to me. I had a great time this weekend and a great race and I'm proud to say that I ran a marathon. I am going to let it marinade for a while and see how I feel about it before I post my 'feelings' and possible new endeavors. I will also be posting a review of the course for any of those interested in running it anytime soon. :) I hope you all enjoyed this long drawn out report. Everything is such, and still is a blur.

Thank you, thank you, thank you though, from the bottom of my sore little heart.

xoxo

7376

2009-05-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Inappropriate but hilarious. So as many of you know, this weekend I am running the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. It's going to be a blast for all the events that lead up to it, including the blogger meet up, the girls I'm staying with, I just know it will be so fun and exciting. I'm already glad that I chose a "big" marathon for my first, so I'll always have people to run with and stalk.

I'm starting in corral 7, and my race number is 7376. I feel like it's a good number. There's a lot of lucky number 7's in there. Well my lucky number is 6, but 7 is the ultimate lucky number, so therefore that is what I've made myself believe.

My biggest goal for this race is to finish. I know everyone says that that really isn't a 'goal' because obviously I am going to finish the race, but at the same time, a lot of crazy things can happen over 26.2 miles. I also don't want to focus so much on my pace, time, and all the aspects that I didn't really work on that much during my training to not soak in my first marathon experience.

Every 'race' I've ever ran, I've always raced them. I think I learned that in high school when I ran competitively and was much faster than I am now. Even if I tell myself I'm not going too, I find my heart beating and my body tense at the starting line and I always give it my all. For this race though, I have to keep telling myself, it's not a race, it's a marathon. They don't call it a race for a reason. I know if I race the marathon I will be upset with myself and I'll miss a lot of the fun 'firsts', plus, I can always run more if I decide too.

I've decided to break down my goals with A, B and C goals, but first and foremost it is to finish, enjoy the race and soak up everything going around me, and what an accomplishment even running a marathon is.

My A Goal is to finish in between 4-4:30. This would be a decent pace for me, and I think it's possible if everything is going right for me. This includes no crying, no crazy bathroom breaks, no walking, not really any stopping at all. I can run 20 miles in 3:15, so we'll see how things go race day.

My B Goal is to finish in between 4:30-5:00. This is more than attainable for me, pending anything absurd happening to me, but I guess you can't rule out everything going perfectly

My C goal is to finish in between 5-5:30. This again shouldn't be a problem, but pending I break my leg or get trampled we could have some issues.

These goals are all easily within my reach, but I know I will have to pay attention to my body and listen to what is happening on those last miles. I definitely know I will have the mentality of, well I ran 20 miles, what's 6 more?! I also wanted to give myself goals that I know I can achieve because I would be really upset if I didn't make my goals.

So what's more important than goals? Outfits of course. So I didn't know what was wrong with me because usually I can spend money like it's my full time job, but I just couldn't find the perfect racing top for this race.

I narrowed it down to two shirts, and will make a game time decision as to what one I will wear.

No matter what I will be wearing my Nike Spandex Shorts and my Zensah pink sports bra but I cannot decide in between the purple top or the Nike blue top. I know the purple top is new but don't worry, I wore it around under a shirt for a day to see if I would chafe and I didn't. I'm a freak I know. I like the blue shirt a lot too. So many decision. I know it will depend on how I feel that morning and what I want to run in. You may actually recognize the shorts and tank though, they are the same ones I wrote when I shot some sweet pictures with Kymberli

So it's this weekend. On Monday, I will be able to say for the rest of my life, yes, I have run a marathon. Have run? That sounds pretty crazy. I am excited, nervous and I'm pretty sure I might cry tonight while packing my bag for San Diego tomorrow.

Perhaps I might post something tomorrow evening, before I go to bed, depending on what I am feeling, but I'm so thankful for all the encouragement, support and kind words over this whole training period. It's weird because after this race, I have this weird feeling that I don't even know what I'll blog about. Well I'm sure I can always find something somewhat random and interesting in my life to entertain you with, but it's just like it's all accumulated to these upcoming moments. I am so overwhelmed by so many crazy feelings but it's a huge adrenaline rush! I can't wait to write up a super long race report. I think I might have to do it in segments over the next week because I know I'll take a billion pictures and then we have 26.2 miles of coverage. I'll try to leave out any poopy details. :)

Have a great weekend, and I'll see you at the finish line!

xoxo

I have no deals today, but instead a rant on dentists.

2009-05-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

So I have no deals. I have no deals because I didn't bother looking last night because I was so tired and full after a wonderful meal at my grandparents that I promptly fell halfway asleep while watching So You Think You Can Dance and forgot that it was even Thursday today.

Sorry to disappoint. Instead, in this wonderful week of losing my mind, I decided to give you, what I think is an entertaining rant on dentists and why I loathe them. You see, I was born without any wisdom teeth in my head, which one of my best friends once called me a freak for, and I like to think of it as a more evolved species, since you get them ripped out anyways. I also don't have a twelve year molar. Remember these facts, they will come into play later on.

Now, according to my 'How Well Do You Know Me" quiz via the lovely creeping site, Facebook, my most favorite feature of myself are my teeth. Believe me, teeth are super important to me, for whatever reason. I brush twice a day, if not more, whiten with crest white strips on occasion and did the whole braces for 6 months thing plus retainers for a year.

When I was little I LOVED the dentist. They always told me what a good job I was doing and that I had such nice teeth. Then you get a sweet prize out of the chest at the front of the office. There were fish in a tank to look at (think finding nemo and it kind of makes me sad now), everyone was very nice, and I got shiny clean teeth.

Then in college, I had a blood blister form behind one of my front teeth. It was incredibly painful and I had to have emergency dental work to pop the sucker. I went to a new dentist since it was about time that I stopped going to the children's dentist. I went on recommendation of a friend and LOVED the doctor I met with. He was so kind, complementary of my teeth and super gentle, which was nice because shoving a needle in that blister hurt pretty bad.

I decided to make an appointment to go back to the dentist for my cleaning. I got a different dentist in the office. This is where my hatred began.

She was rude, told me I wasn't brushing properly, that I had gingivitis and wasn't taking good care of my teeth at all. Um, I was shocked, to say the least. I hadn't changed anything about my brushing habits and I always get complements on my teeth. I never returned after that trip and that is where the disliking of dentists began.

Finally I found a new dentist close to my house that my mom really liked. I trusted her judgement and also fell for the koi pond outside the treatment rooms. He seemed nice, until he started pushing me. Remember how I didn't have the 12 year molars and wisdom teeth. Well this was the dentist who recommended that I needed to get an implant to make up for the extra space in the back of my mouth. An implant includes drilling a screw into your jawbone, and four months later getting a tooth that screws on top of that screw in your jaw after your jawbone has 'accepted' the screw.

I held out for a long time, but his persistence made me think that my whole entire mouth would fall apart if I didn't get the surgery he recommended. I finally scheduled the consultation and the doctors and staff members told me, oh it's not a big deal, you'll be back to normal life, normal eating in no time.

LIES I TELL YOU. I couldn't eat on that side of my mouth for a good two months. I was so sick after the surgery I couldn't eat for 3 days, and I was throwing up and couldn't go to work. Now that I have the tooth, a year later, I still feel like the process was worthless. Insurance didn't really cover much of it and I still think they should have just ripped out the top tooth and be done with it, since they were worried it would just 'keep growing downward' since it had nothing to 'hit' to stop its growing.

This leads me to recent occurrences. I went to the dentist back in February, and they insisted I needed x-rays. I told them that I didn't think it was necessary and I had just gotten them with the follow up of the implant surgery. Then the hygienist brought in the doctor to consult me on why I needed these x-rays. The last x-rays showed that the tooth was in place and the screw was good and everything was kosher in the implant department. He told me he needed to make sure. If he needed to make sure then he should pay for these $75 dollar x-rays and the pain of the 'bite wings' shoved into his mouth.

I repeatedly told him that I didn't need x-rays but they kept insisting. I almost, almost made a scene, but finally just rolled my eyes and gave in. Who gets the bill for $175 dentist appointment now? ME. Who would much rather ~~save their money~~ spend their money on shoes, food, running gear, and clothes? The best part of it all?

He and the hygienist tell me how great my teeth look and how great I am at flossing.

I haven't flossed a day in my life. Bad, I know, but funny how they complement me on my flossing.

This all was because the account payable called me this morning requested her $175 dollar check and gave me a sad "ahhh ohhhhh" when I said I didn't have dental insurance. I told her I didn't want the x-rays and she said "Yeaaaaaa wellllllll we hadddddddddd to take them." Where are those x-rays now? Sitting in the filing cabinet.

Dentist, our relationship is strained and I'm over you and your surgeries and your x-rays.

This morning I went for a slow 3 miler. I can't find Claude's charging station and I'm starting to freak out that I may have to use someone else's down in SD this weekend.

On another horribly sad note, My 1st gen. iPhone has lived a long wonderful life and now is very sick. You know how some of you have pets and kids. Well this is my 1st born. Of course, I think Apple put a spell on it because there are rumors that in two months a new iPhone will be released. Hang in there little buddy! I don't really get calls or texts, and when I do it's like 4-10 at a time. I can still call people though, but it won't hold a charge at all, so he's just resting on the charger all day long. I am hoping to keep him going for as long as possible because 2 months of me without a phone could cause some havoc.

Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow is one more day until San Diego, and also Foto Friday!

xoxo

Me + Fail Whale = Epic Whale of Fail

2009-05-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

So I have been having some blogger issues... BUT for now the site is up and running, I know you all just can't get enough of me bad things that happen to me that happen to entertain you. I am sorry for the issues, and hopefully everything will be back to normal ASAP, but thanks for hanging with me until then....

Well because I am a good sport, and love me some twitter, I just had to post this for you.

Laugh, ~~at me~~ with me!

I hope the twitter birds will carry me to the finish line this weekend.

Don't mind the weird picture and my sweet photoshopping skills, I was a writing minor, not an art minor. My feet were cropped out! Don't worry, tapering hasn't taken away my feet!

xoxo

Seriously, it might just be me but I can't stop laughing.

Three sleeps

2009-05-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

There are three more sleeps until I will be running in San Diego! I decided to celebrate this by getting an Egg McMuffin on the way to work today. I possibly might do it again tomorrow. Don't judge me.

There's just nothing like starting off your day with 300 calories of pure amazingness. Tonight I'm going over to my grandma and grandpa's house for dinner too. I can't wait to eat some good home cooked meal that my grandma will make me, I'm especially hoping for some mashed potatoes. Last night I had a sandwich for dinner while crying and watching Jon and Kate + 8. Seriously, did they have to take it to that sad level? On another note, I really need to learn how to cook!

I really have nothing to write about this week besides the fact that my mind is consumed by the last six miles of this race I'm doing this weekend. I finally found a shirt that I might wear, but who knows, I'll probably just stick to my blue one that I have been wearing on my training runs. I searched in vain for a new pink one but had no luck at all. Mr. R about killed me this weekend on the 'hunt' for the shirt. There were some options but they were all too tight, too short, too expensive, too baggy. Can someone please invent an inexpensive, cute dri-fit clothing line? Thanks! I would really appreciate it.

I will be running my last five miler tomorrow morning and then I have one more three miler somewhere in there between now

I want to do some product reviews but I cannot type for some reason. My mind is so blank, but luckily I don't have the marathon insomnia that some of you speak of. That would really put a damper on my evenings. Last night I went to bed at 9:30 and in no way am I ashamed of that, but I did dream that we had an earthquake and I don't know if it was real or not.

Wow, I think that 'tapering' or for me, not running, has taken it's toll on my mind. I guess this is what they call 'taper madness', dreaming of earthquakes and eating McDonalds? I'm in!

xoxo

PS. Kymberli of Webbed Foot Photography put up my 'slideshow' of pictures from my photo shoot that we did together. If you want to use up three minutes of your life looking at pictures of yours truly, check out her blog. It's the last 'video' under the latest pictures she put up. Press play and enjoy. She is amazing and seriously, if you need a photographer around Long Beach, Orange County, or LA, check her out. She works WONDERS.

Gracias! Danke!

2009-05-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

Blogging on a Holiday? Yup. Don't be surprised. I got a new baby laptop and I just had to give it a test drive. I'll be blogging about it sometime soon but thus far it's amazing and I'm in love with it! Some ladies have given me some awards and I wanted to give them a shout out for their kind words. I truly appreciate and enjoy reading every one's comments and encouragement, especially about the upcoming marathon.

Shopaholic Confessions
Julie

and

Brandi

gave me the Queen award!

Toronto Girl out West

gave me the Renee Award

A Glimpse of the Girl Next Door gave me the One Lovely Blog Award (send me the link to your blog and I'll link you! Sorry I couldn't find it on my new computer :( )

and Mrs.GI Joe
Gave me the Charming award

Thanks ladies. I don't think you all realize how wonderful it is that people find me to be an running inspiration or funny, or whatever you think. I'm glad that I have all you "in" my life, and just as much as you like reading about my failed runs, my home, my life and my exercising, I like to read about yours!

This weekend I did an eight miler and it was poopy. Not figuratively but literally. I seriously think that Gus make me poop. Too late to really work with figuring out what works the best for the marathon but there are porta potties along the route! Other than the bathroom break the run was great, I felt really fast and just cruised along. I am getting excited for this weekend! I can't believe it's approaching so quickly.

Other exciting things that happened this weekend was my roommate graduated! I think I'll post some pictures on Foto Friday. I also have been searching for the new perfect shirt for the marathon, but haven't had much luck, but today I am going to continue my search and lay out by the pool and enjoy the sun! Good luck to everyone who ran the LA marathon and did any type of Memorial day race.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day! Remember all those who have fought for our freedom.

xoxo

Foto Friday + Long Weekend = Happy!

2009-05-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

So today is the obvious Foto Friday, and it's quite possibly my most favorite day of the week. Though I can't jump on the Kelly's Korner Blog's Dining Room day, since I don't really have a dining room, I did post a few pictures of it with the kitchen post, which you can check out here.

The wonderful Julianne also took this picture for me that I decided I MUST include for my foto Friday. It was at Bay to Breakers this past weekend and these boys are WEARING SNUGGIES! How awesome is that. I guess it was hotter than ever up there during the ~~drunk fest~~ race, so that makes it even more amazing. At least they had their hands free. Perhaps you missed the post where I got my snuggie...

This past weekend and this weekend I have a bunch of my friends graduating from college. Congrats to Roomie tomorrow and all the CUI grads last weekend. I actually met up with them for some drinks on Friday night to celebrate. Guess who else is back from playing volleyball in Europe! My best friend Lobster! I'm so glad she's home and I LOVE being able to call her and talk to her whenever I want. She is amazing and already got an amazing job, so I'm super excited for her. We all hung out at our favorite bar that we frequented ~~every night~~ on very rare occasions during our college years.

I don't know why, but this picture makes me laugh a lot.

So onto some hydration tips. First of all, I didn't realize (man I didn't realize a lot of things, huh!) How you can get dehydrated so quickly especially out running and what it does to your body. With the summer heat quickly approaching, it's super important to take in a lot of fluids. Also, alcohol and soda can dehydrate you even more. I used to only drink Gatorade or G2 or a power aide type drink, but I have come to realize that the sugars in those are not the best thing for you.

I have recently tried the product Nuun instead of just water, and I really liked it. I have yet to try out some other products but these are similar to an alka seltzer tablet that you drop in water and it dissolves and then you can drink it on your run. It's much different than a Gatorade or power aide type drink for me because after running 15 miles, I definitely don't want to drink something that sweet. I would much rather drink something refreshing like water or a drink that is filled with good sugars and electrolytes. I will be posting a complete review of the Nuun soon, but I really liked it and their flavors are awesome.

Make sure that you are drinking a lot on a long run. Also if you aren't with a fuel belt, then try to stop by a water fountain on your run. I am lucky enough that there are a ton of these around my house on the beach path. I usually try to take a swallow of water every mile and it makes it easier to remember to drink. I know that some people have a problem with getting cramps when drinking water but that I why I limit my water intake but I also make sure that I keep drinking water on my run.

Also, not only when you are running is drinking and being hydrated important but it can help you so much in your daily life, which also can help your running. I try to drink 4-6 bottles of water a day and one cup once I get home. It stinks to have to get up and go to the bathroom but at the same time, since I started doing that I have began to see a small difference in my skin and I really feel refreshed when I drink that much water. It sounds lame but it's true.

So now onto some more of my favorite running bloggers!

These first few have been my rock(s) during my training for the San Diego Marathon Aron, Tara, Alisa, Maritza, and Julianne. Though, I have to give all the credit to this Billy guy who convinced me to sign up in the first place. They have all been nothing but encouraging and are the greatest running friends to me. I am actually super excited to meet them all (well minus Billy, he's gotten me into some other interesting trail running and races, so I've met him before) down in San Diego next weekend.

As for some other great runners, Marlene is super inspiring and a great runner. Julie does triathlons and that is way more hardcore than I'll ever be. Girl on Top reminds me of myself sometimes :) JLC doesn't talk about running *that* much but when she does it's super fun to see her progress and I absolutely adore her blog, it's so fun and interesting. Angry Julie Monday is a blogger that is from the OC like me! She is very fun and one of these days I'm going to pace her in a half marathon (tell me when Julie!!!) Last, but not least is Candice and she is the cutest thing ever. She has another interesting blog and though it's not totally devoted to running it's a great read and when she does talk about running it's always inspiring.

Well this is my last weekend as a marathon virgin. I am excited about my last run tomorrow before the race and I am excited to run San Diego. It will be fun and something I know I'll never forget. Can't wait to say yea, I ran a marathon. 26.2 miles, pssssh. :) Hope everyone has a great weekend! Mines full of getting ready for my roommate's graduation, running, cleaning, and errands. Now the house we live in together is officially full of two BAs. Graduates with their BAs of course.

xoxo

PS! Don't worry! SAN DIEGO IS NEXT WEEKEND. Save all the good lucks for then because then I'll need it, but thanks for the good lucks for this weekend, cheers to that. :)

A few steals and Accessories!

2009-05-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

So I lied when I said today I'd throw in my two cents about hydration. I decided since it's deal Thursday I should be talking about my favorite part of running, the clothes and accessories!

First off, for me it's the most important that I love wearing what I run in. I probably have 10 pairs of shorts but I usually flip back and forth in between 3 or 4 pairs. Some of the other pairs are just weird and I just can't run in them. Same goes for shirts. I have a ton of old race shirts and 'old shirts' in general, but at the same time, I usually wear the same 3 or 4, with washing of course!

I used to think cotton was the fabric of my life, but alas, after the chafing post yesterday you've all come to realize that Dri-fit, once getting in to the higher mileage is the way to go. It's more expensive and especially for me it's hard to see myself paying $35-$60 for a shirt that I'm essentially going to sweat in and get disgusting and ruin. It saddens me from the bottom of my heart. So that is why I scour the racks at TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Nordstrom Rack for some good top quality running gear. If you've never checked out those stores 'active section' you definitely should.

Now, many of you have mentioned the fuel belt, and accessories for running. Well my fuel belt, though I feel like a goof ball when I wear it, is SO necessary when you hit higher mileage. Your body needs to hydrate and you are loosing so much water. After one run I was so dehydrated and got so sick, I couldn't even function OR eat Taco Bell. You know it's bad when I turn down some TB. There are many different types of fuel belts, so just google it and you'll come up with a plethora of options

Then there's things like sweat bands, hats, and headbands. You can find a huge selection of running hats here, and here. I, on a rare occasion can wear a headband but most of the time they slide off. If anyone has any great suggestions, I would love to hear them but I think it's my odd shaped head. As for sweat bands, though it's sometimes a little intimidating to look like a 50 year old out running about, sweatbands are the most legit option for yours truly. Plus, they make me feel a little bit more hardcore.

George asked me for any options for running in the warmer weather. Honestly, I would just say to rock the hat, but make sure it's a running hat. They fit the head much different than a regular baseball hat and they are made of much different materials that help keep the sweat and sun out.

Also make sure you ALWAYS wear sunscreen when you run because you can get some gnarly tans/burns. Even if you don't think your face will get sun on a little 3 miler, it has the possibility. I actually use the Mission brand, This Product. It works amazing and DOESN'T sting at all. Most do sting once they drip into your eyes. I also have a problem with getting kissed by the sun a lot, and then the sun leaves me with fatty blisters on my lips. Not attractive, and I have permanent brown spots on my lips from some of the damage. Disgusting, but now I always get out my spf 50 and put it on my lips. It turns them a little white, but I'd much rather avoid sun blisters.

Get clothes you love, you are the one that will be working out in them. Make sure they are comfortable and make you feel good. Since I know my stomach isn't in any Shape Magazine Cover Shape, I don't really like to let it 'all hang out' by wearing crop tops, or many of the tanks I find are incredibly short, which is annoying. I usually try to find longer shirts and shorter shorts for some reason. It's just what I like to run in. Though sometimes I feel like when I wear my spandex shorts that I'm giving everyone a show, I have to remember that I'm running and basically no one around me is even paying attention to me.

There are many more running accessories like ipods, headphones and garmins, but those are all just must-haves, and the headphones that I LOVE and work SO well and stay in my ears are these Sony ones and of course, I have them in pink. They work great though and the music is much louder. I used to run with the apple headphones, but they constantly were slipping out of my ears and the music was so soft. Those headphones are only $10 at target and last forever, unless they fall out of your ear, get caught in a chain length fence and end up like this since they literally pulled you back on your run.

Tomorrow I'll have a huge list of some of my favorite running bloggers, geeeeet those mouses ready to click away!

Onto the deals! Just a few today, sorry guys!

Women's

Nike Strong And Strappy Sports Bra

Nike Camo Print Sports Bra

Nike Shorty Shorts

Nike Printed Long Mesh Tank (love it)

Nike Mesh Long Sport Tank (tons of colors love it!)

Under Armour Metal Sleeveless Tank

Nike Women's Seamless Tank

Danskin Cross Training Jacquard Crew Neck

Danskin Prima Ombre Print Tank

Men's

Pearl Izumi Slice Sleeveless Bike Jersey

Pearl Izumi Richter Race Top

Russell Velocity Short Sleeve

Accessories

Reebok Avon Pink Ribbon Performance Hat

Reebok Slouch Adjustable Hat

Reebok Extreme Performance Hat

You can also creep last weeks Deals here because there were A TON last week :)

Tomorrow my countdown clock on my computer's desktop will read a single digit number until 'Full Marathon'. Wow. That is crazy. Whoever thought running 26.2 miles was a good idea? Well, I guess at one point I thought it was a good enough idea to even PAY to do it. Oh well, it will be super fun, and hey, they don't call it a race they call it a MARATHON... so therefore time doesn't matter! :)

On a random and unrelated to anything I've ever posted. Danica Patrick is racing in the Indy 500 this weekend. Holla to my namesake, go get 'em! Well she is obviously not my namesake since we are not far apart in age, but the girl I get compared to every time I say my name, wouldn't want it any other way!

Tomorrow I'll throw around what hydration has helped me in my training and maybe I'll even put in some pictures, it's foto FRIDAY after all!

xoxo

Chafing and Gus, two neccesary evils.

2009-05-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

So it's odd, because I had always heard and read of others actually chafing when they ran. I didn't understand this at all and personally thought, "This will never happen to me." Before beginning training for my first half marathon, the farthest I think I had ever ran was around 6-8ish miles. I had never fortunately had my legs rub together to chafe my thighs, or had any type of chafing at all. I remember my first 12 miler for the half training plan I was on. I never felt any discomfort or pain at all, but right where my sports bra hit my skin on my chest under my boobs I got a rug burn looking like wound. I still didn't notice it at all until I got into the shower to clean up after my run.

THE BURN. As soon as water hit me I thought, HOLY COW! What is going on. It was a very weird pain especially because I had no idea what had even happened. I felt like I had a cut and I realized that my cotton sports bra had rubbed my skin raw. It was a ~~really good feeling~~ pain in the butt. After the initial shock of what the heck is wrong with me, I realized that yes, I will chafe like the others I've heard about. This is when I realized that my most favorite sports bra that was cotton was also causing this problem.

Thought I loved that bra, and I don't even know how old it was, it was cotton, thus was absorbing my sweat, getting wet and rubbing on my skin and rubbing my skin completely raw. They say the major contribution to chafing is from sweating and rubbing. Some people automatically think that if you chafe, it's time to lose weight, however EVERYONE CHAFES, so don't even think that at all. Chafing generally takes place around the groin, underarms and nipples (on guys especially, I'm sure you've seen the bloody nipples....), but it can occur anywhere, like under my sports bra, great.

To prevent chafing you can do a few different things. You can try to stay dry, but let's be honest, how easy is that when your running and sweating? You can also use a lubricant, and wear the proper clothes. I choose to do both of those. I personally use Body Glide under my sports bra and on my feet just in case any chafing might occur. There are many other types, but all you have to do is make sure the lubricants are petroleum-free and non-staining. They can also be used on your feet and toes, in attempt to avoid blisters.

Now, onto my my favorite things, Clothes! Though loosely fitting clothes and materials might feel good at the start, on longer rungs, snugger fitting clothes are key. You might think that bike shorts aren't for you, but they seriously help with chafing a lot. I have invested in some new sports bras that are wicking materials and also are a spandex/nylon mix. Try to stay away from cotton because that just absorbs moisture. I am IN LOVE with my Zensah Sports Bra in Small/Medium and though it was pricey, it seriously is the best support and I haven't chafed at all with it.

Once you're already chafed though, that's a different story. You should treat the area like a scab, because it will scab up. Mine looked like scales. Try to allow the area to breathe until the skin underneath is healthy again. Chafing is uncomfortable, but at the same time, can also be prevented. I've also since my first chafe experience chafed on my thighs, my ankle and my waist from my hydration belt. Running is a learning experience, and yes, these things do happen to everyone! Even myself!

Now onto Gus. Like chafing, I also, for some strange reason, never though I would EVER have to take a gu on a run, and didn't really understand why people needed them or what type of thing they were. I never took any gus on any half marathon I ran besides I made a valiant attempt at the Kaiser Half I tried to choke down two Power Gels gummy things and since then have learned that these are not the easiest things to eat on a run and as weird and disgusting as it is, I must say that I prefer gus due to their consistency. I personally love the Gu's Chocolate Love ones because it tastes just like brownie batter! I just think of it like that as it goes down the hatch.

Now obviously, I had to start taking these to fuel myself for the longer runs. Still I don't take them until I'm running more than 9-11 miles. You can learn more about the Gu Brand here. If I do run 10 miles, I will take one at mile 5. If I run a 20 miler, I take one every four miles.

At first I wasn't into them because I thought to myself, dang, I don't want to eat 200 calories of a GU on a run?! But then I realized, I was burning around 800-2,000 calories, so I NEEDED to have something on the run. There are many other brands of "energy gels and gus" but mostly they are a specially formulated mix of complex carbohydrates and water that are used to energize your body while you are exercising. Though it does seem scary eating 200 calories in a little packet, they are so worth it, and can really keep you going.

These little gus are very potent and are used to help your blood sugar stay high so you don't crash while on your run, but pretty sure around mile 16 I'm crashing no matter what! There are tons of different flavors, sizes, and potencys out there, just make sure that you find some that work for you. Also make sure you are drinking water when you first try them out, because you might get an upset stomach from their potency and the fact that you are still working out.

I never thought I'd be a runner with a hydration belt, gus overflowing from my pouch, and a water bottle full of who knows what, but I so am! I've realized that just because I'm young and have had some running experience, doesn't mean that running rules don't apply to me! Gus and good sports bras are your best friend once you start upping your mileage.

I found some information on Gus here, and here, and here is a ton of different kinds/flavors.

As for some sweet runners of the day, Borsch is a biker/runner, and recently got engaged, but his weight loss story is super inspiring to me! Glenn is super cool and from Newport Beach. He always works hard no matter what is going on with him, and I like to read about his runs because he keeps it honest. Run for Wine is a hardcore swimmer and is always so positive and fun to read, annnnd TODAY IS HER BIRTHDAY!!! :) Turtles can run is another great runner who is getting her whole family involved. I love her outlook on life. Kim Possible is a marathon FREAK and runs them almost every weekend it seems like. She is the SWEETEST and seriously gets out there and just enjoys running, not worried about her time or anything, I love her outlook on running and life as well. Maria just finished her first marathon and I have followed her journey and she has given me valuable insight as to what to look forward too! D10 has a great running spirit and I love reading her blog too! :)

Tomorrow I will tackle hydration, well what I have learned and perhaps will find some sweet deals for all you workout fiends!

xoxo

Ice baths and Training Plans and New Playlist ideas... oh my!

2009-05-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked me how I figured out my first training plan for my half back in October, and even how to start running. I know many people who have had a lot of success with the Couch to 5k plan for beginners, you can find the plans here, here, or here. I really believe that one of the most important aspects of starting out running is to take everything slowly. If you start running and feel great and think that it's time to ditch the plan, don't. Give the plan a chance, and though sometimes it may seem easy, it just means you are improving! Give yourself a chance, and allow yourself the opportunity to succeed.

Whenever signing up for a race, remember, every distance is an automatic pr or personal record. ENJOY your training! Realize what you are doing and how great it is, no matter the distance or time run. When I started, I didn't think I could actually run 13 miles. The most I usually was running at the time was only 3 miles. Imagine my surprise when I was getting into the longer distances. You have to not be scared of the distance and improving either. Once I signed up, the race motivated me to get out there and complete my training runs, whether they were for 2 miles or 10 miles.

It sounds funny, but remember to breath and just go at your own pace. You are doing it for yourself and if that means 20 minute miles or 6 minute miles, focus on yourself. If you have to stop and catch your breath, do it! Don't think that because you have to go 'run' a mile, means you have to run the whole time, do things in your own comfort level. If you are tired, slow down, I do it. It's not a big deal. Sometimes I feel fast and can run 8 minute miles, sometimes I feel bad and I run 15 minute miles and walk and look around, it's YOUR thing, no one elses.

Each mile you have to take one at a time, usually my first mile is much slower than the rest of the workout, but each mile is different. You have to be able to listen to your body and also don't stop and don't give up. For me, especially on the longer runs, I ALWAYS break my run into smaller runs. When I first started, I looked at every distance as a mile. If I ran 2 miles, I thought to myself, one mile out and then one mile back home, then I'm done. Then each distance grew and I made them into 5ks and then 10ks. I knew I could run a 5k, I told myself it was only 1.5 mile out and 1.5 mile back. Even in the longer distances, I always count backwards. If I'm feeling bad, I just think okay, just keep running to that sign, okay now to the next sign, now to that building. You realize you can keep going. I cannot say it enough, but Believe that you can do it.

As for some other training plans, for my first half, I followed a training plan loosely based on this article from Runners World, there are a lot of great resources on that website for training, workouts and everything, but remember, the most important thing is to do it for yourself, and to listen to your body.

Now onto my most hated, the ice bath. I personally dislike being cold and the ice bath is NOT my favorite thing to do, but I do have to admit, it does help me a lot. Each person is different though. I only do ice baths after a long run, which to me, now is anything over 10 miles, just because I know it will help me feel better. I usually fill my tub and then sit in it for 10 minutes. While I'm in the ice bath, I make sure that I move my ankles a lot. Up and down, back and forth in circles, and I make sure I move my toes a lot too. Those parts of my feet get really sore, and it feels so good to move them around and I feel like it makes them much less sore the next day.

Here are some sweet links to check out about ice baths: Ice Bath Therapy, How To Ice Bath, another bloggers ice bath, Post Run Ice Baths, A HOW TO VIDEO. First off the video is HILARIOUS, but the related videos, be aware don't know what those are about, so be aware. I usually sit in there in my swimsuit bottoms and have my phone to distract me or listen to music. The first few minutes are pretty bad, no joke, but then you kind of 'get used to it' and you can handle it. Plus, reminding yourself how far you just ran and that you can TOTALLY do this, helps too :)

Now, some new jams you ask for?

Well, let me tell you, there are some great running jams out there right now. Also my friend Bama Belle helped me find some sweet jams too!

Faded by Cascada

Turn my Swag On by Soulja Boy (has a good beat)

Welcome to the World by Kevin Rudolf (another great super upbeat song)

Knock you Down by Keri Hilson (LOVE this song always gets me moving best line is "I'm the new slick rick", for some reason I love that line, and they say, "It feels like I'm running a race, but I've already won first place! Yes! Running references!)

Waking up in Vegas by Katy Perry (first time I heard this song I didn't like it, but now I love it!)

Lovegame by Lady GaGa (kind of a crazy song but I still like it)

Goodbye by Kristinia Debarge (Love the beat!)

I'm the Ish (Remix) by DJ Class (totally have to give props to Tara for this one! :) )

A Punk by Vampire Weekend (it makes my head bob around)

We Run LA by Ya Boy (How can you NOT Run to this song?!)

Beggin by Madcon (like the song, once it speeds up)

AND MY NEW FAVORITE SONG RIGHT NOW:

Do what you do by Marz ft. Pack and Mumiez

I am obsessed with this song. It's perfect for running because it has a beat in the back that makes you keep going and it's HILARIOUS because it's the song from the Kia Hamster commercial that me and my roommate are obsessed with. If you are listening to it on your run just think of the cute little hamsters bobbing their heads and you will seriously laugh out loud to yourself. I don't even like hamsters and I think it's cute. Check out the Commerical here. Our favorite part is the hamster in the backseat who just taps his fingers, and I love when they smile at the camera out the window. You smart people at Kia! Soon you'll be thinking: Front, back, side to side, Front, Front, back, back, side to side.

and normal not running person side note: though not the best running song, I do love the Fray's cover of Heartless, if you haven't heard it yet, find it on youtube, it's great!

Here are some more sweet running blogs to check out JoyRun, who is super cute and I love her site, Nitmos is super smart and has a lot of insight, Vanilla crosses the line in so many ways possible and is hilarious, but sometimes his jokes go over my head, ha ha, and the Running Laminator who is great in real world experiences, he's fast and an inspiration to me as well!

Tomorrow we'll tackle some topics like chafing and GUS ha ha ha, yes!

xoxo

PS Watched the Bachelorette last night. (obviously) WOW, not so impressed with that many guys on the show... but seriously, there are more tool sheds on that show that found in an ace hardware, and I'm sad that my hometown the LBC was badly represented. :( Fail ABC. I did notice there were a TON of guys from So. Cal and Texas? hmmm, a bunch of single desperate men in these parts? Weird. Still, I'm obsessed with Jillian and can't wait till next week. Dancing with the Stars fans, get over Melissa, if she wins I will be sourly disappointed. She's a cheerleader. She dances like a cheerleader. Her finale dance was sadly awful and I expected much more from her. What am I, a tv critic? Rant over.

Sweet little dime piece

2009-05-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the wonderful comments on the last post, since I'm still learning the links on my new computer, I did the links again here, so you can check out all 11 pictures she posted here. I am still in awe of how great they came out. Also that leads to more posts about you silly people wanting to know how I look so great...which is mind blowing, but I will let you in on my secrets soon.

So I've been getting some questions regarding running, how I started, what I eat, how I run etc. I wanted to address them all but that would make for much too long of a post, so I wanted to start off the week, or posts with how I started and why I run. Also what I personally do to get myself going and what I use to help me out when I run.

First off, I kind of mentioned why I came back to running in this post, where I talked about losing my mom and all sorts of emotions that running really helped me explore.

First off, I think one of the most important things when you run or are going to run is your mindset. Honestly, I don't always want to run. Some days I do, and some days I don't. It's the days that I don't want to run, and I get out there and do it, I realize how much I do love it. Running isn't always fun, or easy, and it's not the most favorable thing for many to do, but at the same time, it's almost like those sayings, "It's not the destination, it's the journey," and "Whoever said anything worth something would be easy," (or something along those lines) and I feel the same way about running.

I signed up for the Long Beach Half Marathon last year in July when the race was in October. I felt like I needed something to focus on in my life. I needed a 'hobby' of some sort. I'm not artistic, or musically talented and I did run cross country and track in high school. I do enjoy food often and I felt like I was getting unhealthy. When I graduated from college I weight 155, the highest I ever had. That wasn't the reason I started running though, that was just an added bonus item. I had gained that much weight from drinking like a fish my junior and senior year in college, being addicted to my best friend Cheese, and eating fast food like it was my job. I didn't look overweight but I carry most of my weight in my middle. My arms and legs stayed pretty skeletal. I was wearing a size 30 pants which I never even really realized nor was that my big issue.

Today it's shocking to many but I still weight 136. I wear size 27-29 pants depending on the brand. Right now, I'm completely happy with my weight, and that's what I realized has helped my running. Being happy with myself. I mostly lost my weight by stopping drinking so much alcoholic beverages and not eating fast food for every meal. Duh right? Everyone thinks I weigh much much less, or I wear a size zero, which isn't farther from the truth. I wear a size 7-10, J.Crew, yup 10. I don't like to think of it as a 10 though, I like to think of myself as a dime piece. Cracks me up every time.

To enjoy running, you can't be worried about the calories burned, how fast your going, your pace, how far, but just to be able to go out and go run is something that some people cannot enjoy at all. I think the main things for beginning runners, and every runner is to realize that what you are doing and can do is special. You may not even love running, if you want to do yoga, seriously, that's amazing because yoga to me is way more hardcore since I have the flexibility of a tree branch. Just do something that you love.

I think these things really allowed me to appreciate running, instead of going into the mindset of I hate running, I hate working out, etc. Getting up early and running isn't a favorite thing of mine. When I groggily open my eyes and realize that I have to go out, in the cold, and run I really question my sanity, but once I'm done, I feel amazing and empowered. Give yourself a chance to have that feeling too.

Here's what I think people need to remember when starting out running.

1. Believe in yourself, you CAN do it, you CAN run, you have to let yourself do it

2. Start running outside and enjoy the scenery around you, some of the best runs for me have been in new areas, where you can get lost in things around you

3. Don't start out by overdoing it, you'll just get too sore to move, hurt yourself, or hate running. Walking while running isn't a bad thing, taking breaks isn't bad, not everyone is a little speed demon. Take your time.

4. Do it for yourself. Try to enjoy it and relax.

5. Sign up for a race, it's motivation that will make you run, and you might even enjoy it!

6. Not every run will be great, and not every run will be bad, take the good with the bad, running is a huge learning experience.

7. Think of the accomplishment you are making!

8. Buy really cute stuff so you feel good while running :)

Seriously, running is a mind game. You have to be stronger than your mind when it tells you that you're too tired to keep going, that you want to quit, that this is just too far.

As for some other great runners sites check out Oz Runner, I think he's so insightful. Runner Dude has some great advice for all types of runners, and very scientifically proved advice (unlike myself cough cough) The Happy Runner is a running mom who really inspires me as well. :)

Do it and enjoy it. Enjoy anything you do and it will bring you joy and once, maybe after you run for a while, you'll get the 'runner's high' or this euphoric state that makes you love running like all us crazy long distance runners do. I don't keep running because I have to, but because I want to.

That was a lot of random posting in one post, but this week we'll sort everything out, including ice baths, gus, clothes, chafing, training ect, and I'm warning you in advance, I honestly am just going off my own experiences. There are so many other great resources out there, but I'll have some links in every post that could possibly help as well. If anyone has any more questions, feel free to shoot them over to me @ danicakoo@gmail.com.

xoxo

PS I totally forgot to add my earthquake story! So last night there was an earthquake, I was doing what I do best, creeping on face book, and my TV in my room started to shake, along with the floor. I live in an apt. building that was built in the 1920s and just looked around and thought to myself, Oh F! I *usually* run outside during any earthquake which isn't the smartest idea, but me and my co-workers, who have also oddly enough experienced 2 earthquakes together and work in the oldest building in the city that we work in, have decided that we'd rather die trying to get out than sitting at our desks. Risky, I know. Last night though I wasn't wearing pants ( this is a whole different story, but I've been asked by a police officer to put on pants... maybe one day I'll share that one ) and couldn't run outside! So then, for the first time EVER during an earthquake, I did what the experts tell you to do! Ran to the door frame! I stood there and my little heart felt like it was going to die. My roommate was actually out of town so I was all by myself, then it stopped shaking and I went back to my creeping, naturally. Everything was fine, even though I envisioned our walls literally cracking down our home. Too funny, and for the record, I'd take earthquakes over any other natural disaster any day of the week. Shakin' not stirred baby!

gawwwwwgeous dahlin'

2009-05-16T23:39:00.000-07:00

1st off, I'm still figururing out the links on my new computer, so bear with me. You can cut and copy the links or I'm also going to put them up on Monday again from the computer that I know I can work links on... Now onto the good stuff.....

I pretty much had the BEST time ever shooting with Kymberli of Webbed Foot Photography. (http://www.webbedfootphotography.com/). She's so fun and creative, and her and I were just two peas in a pod. From the moment I met her I knew it was going to be super fun to hang out, and she has the best ideas! Sometimes we'd catch ourselves just walking and talking and forgetting to take pictures, which was totally nice! Even Claude was there. I wanted to shoot you over to her blog (http://www.kymberliq.blogspot.com/) to see what she said about the shoot and to see 10 of the other pictures, but let me tell you, she works serious wonders with a camera.

I can't wait to see them all! I am so happy and excited. Tomorrow is my 13 miler. Wahoo.

Anyways, I am amazed and grateful for her! She rocks! Thanks so much Kymberli!!

xoxo

A wonderful "guest" Room

2009-05-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

So as last week when I showed my Kitchen and Living Room after I jumped on the show us your home bandwagon from Kelly's Korner, I realized that was basically my entire house. Today was the guest room, and then I realized my roommates room can be the guest room! :)

You see, my roommate is totally the most stylish person I know. She can make ANYTHING look great and has great taste and is TOTALLY creative. Once you see my room (read: everything is BLACK in mine) you'll see how we are different. She is amazing at accessorizing and the best dressed friend and roommate ever! Minus the fact that she's 5'1" and I'm 5'7" so we can't share jeans, but we do have the same size feet!

So here's my 'guest room'

This is her bed, she has the cutest pillows on it along with her diploma from college in the frame (that she just got like two days ago! Congrats, can't wait to go to the ceremony next weekend! ha ha) and her lap top is also sitting on the bed. She just has white bedding with colorful pillows. Up close the bedding has some kind of off white dots on it.

Her nightstand next to her bed, along with her mini-walk in closet. One thing I'm super jealous about in her room is she got window coverings up and they look so great!

She has two levels of clothes and shelves in one closet and another closet in our hallway. We are good roomies because we both LOVE shopping and clothes. :)

It's stuff like this in her room that makes it really cute. I love her frames and 'little things' that are so cute and have so much personality.

This is the wall once you walk in opposite the bed. She came up with this little vanity idea herself and has the same white and black chair in our dining room for her chair. She had two bookshelves and just installed a black piece of wood in between them. It looks great and is super useful.

This is the mirror in between the bookshelves in the vanity area. If you look in the mirror you can see her cute bed!

Yup, we've been friends since High School! How funny is this picture. Yes, at my high school we got uniforms my SENIOR year. Annoying.

Here's us today! :) Love ya roomie, aka 'guest room owner'

Know how I said she had the cutest dachshund pups back at home with her parents? Well here's the cutest picture of them EVER. Sometimes they get to come stay with us and it's super fun when they are around.

As for the Counter Burger last night, it was PHENOMENAL like usual. Seriously, if they have one around you, give it a try, you won't be disappointed. I LOVE their onion straws and Mr. R loves their sweet potato fries. I got the Taco Turkey burger and wasn't disappointed. You would never guess cranberries are so good on a burger! Mr. R and I also got a special treat and my Aunt Olie and Uncle Olie Pop met up with us along with my Cousin, Olie. :) It was a great dinner, I even took a picture (shocking) with my wonderful Olie Pop!

This weekend is going to be super jam packed but I'm looking forward to it. Today a bunch my friends are graduating from my Alma Mater and that means tonight I'm going out down in Newport Beach. It will be tons of fun to catch up with everyone, but at the same time it makes me feel old that I've been done with school for over a year. Tomorrow I have 13 miles planned. Hooray! Only a half marathon! It feels good to be able to say that. Then I have my photo shoot with Webbed Foot Photography which I'm pretty much DYING about I'm so excited, and then Sunday I'm going to a bridal shower and church. Hooray for fun weekends!

Also, I'm patiently awaiting my new netbooks arrival. It's so cute and small and I can't wait to show you guys, but I think Mr. R will soon stop talking to me if it doesn't come today. It has been all I've been talking about! Have a great weekend.

xoxo

Deals for Summer.

2009-05-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

Must be the economy or something, but the deals were bountiful today! Go out and pick up some great summer gear for warmer weather that is quickly approaching.

Women's

Asics Quadra Flow Running Singlet

Reebok Versatec Short Sleeve Tee

Nike Running Long Sport Tank

Fila Tank

Nike Strength Long Top

Nike Sleeveless Reflective Tank

New Balance Sleeveless Top

Nike Sleeveless Tennis Tank

Under Armour Short Sleeve Top

Adidas Short Sleeve Top

Nike Dri-Fit Short Sleeve Training Top

Saucony Tri-Tank

Danskin Areosilver Cross Training Tank

Danskin Graphic Floral Tank

Nike Dip Dye Yoga Tank

Danskin Tank

Adidas Climalite Tank

Danskin Spring Blossoms Strappy Tank

Hanes Long Sleeve Wicking Tee

Flyshaker Short Sleeve Tee

Pearl Izumi Race Sport Bra/Top

Pearl Izumi Race Top

Sport Hill Zip Neck Long Sleeve Jacket

Reebok Classic Tank

Marika Pretty in Pink Camisole

Marika Sports Bra

REI Oxt Fleet Shorts

REI Oxt Tech Tank

Sport Hill Diva Tank

and these heels that are not running related, but cute! :) Xhilaration Stephanie Bow Pumps

Men's

Reebok Slider Jersey Warm ups

Russell Velocity Short Sleeve Tee

New Balance Cocona Tee

Russell Vented Short Sleeve Tee

Nike Short Sleeve UV Tee

Adidas Long Sleeve Mock Turtleneck

Reebok KFS Tennis Performance Tee

Reebok Performance Run Tee

Fila Color blocked Crew Tee

Nike Training Tank

Reebok Run Tank

Reebok Premier Running Singlet

Nike Therma-Fit HalfZip Pullover

Puma Royal Velour Jacket

C9 Run Tee

C9 Long Sleeve Run Top

Craft Active Tri-Training Top

REI Tech Tee

Reebok Split Running Shorts

C9 Hooded Fleece

C9 Platinum Run Tee

Accessories

Nathan Hydration Waistpack

On another unrelated note, tonight I'm going to grub big time at the Counter Burger. It's my favorite place and they are having a twitter deal for the location in Irvine. Visit them on Twitter here, and add them if you love great food! They always have great promos going on. Turkey Taco Burger... Come to MAMA!

I ran three miles this morning, felt good but tired today. This weekend is going to be jammed packed but I'll post that tomorrow along with more of my house. :) Have a great day and spend some dinero on some great deals!

xoxo

You Bar Review + Driving + Swim + Run = Fun

2009-05-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

So last week Thursday I told everyone I did a crazy run but I didn't want to share about it without pictures just yet. Well I saw the pictures this morning and they are simply AMAZING. Now, I ran with the Long Beach Hashers of the Hash House Harriers. I have never done a run with them but my wonderful friend Sam got me to go for a run with them. This isn't a running group, this is a drinking group with a running problem. This was the ever eventful run when we went for a SWIM. Yes, I just said SWIM in the middle of the run. I was unprepared and wouldn't normally do stuff like that. EVER. I decided to be spontaneous and just swim it.

Well the run started out good, we were just a little bit behind everyone but we caught up. I had to wear a name tag that said Newboot since I was a new person. It was fun seeing everyone out running and enjoying the outdoors. We started running through some neighborhooded areas.

Then we got to this section where it was like, Eagles go for a swim, turkeys trace your trail back to the starting point. I didn't know what to do, but as you can see I stripped off my shirt and went for the swim. I guess I was thinking the inner tube around my neck would keep me afloat.

Sam was ready to rock and roll. Me on the other hand, yup, I was freaking out.

I was pretty much just telling myself to suck it up and stop being a (bad word) I know to many of you this isn't a big deal, but it was a fairly big deal for me. The inner tube helped me, that's for sure.

There is complete proof I was in the water! I should have gotten the raft. :(

We walked back, without shoes for about 1.5 miles. Wearing goggles. I was shirtless. It was more than an experience to say the least. At least there was a generator omitting heat that I tried to dry myself off from.

Then, since everyone was jealous of our goggles that we got at the 'swim across point' AND wore them all the way back, we were singled out of the group and had to drink a beer wearing the goggles. What a run. After things calm down a little bit in my life I hope to get back out there with them and do some more exciting runs.

So Driving to work was quite an experience this morning. I got flipped off for going 75 in the slow lane and two, yes TWO cars zoomed past me like I was creeping along at slug speed. The Koo's cruising altitude is roughly around 65-75 mph, and I was going 75. Does that call for the bird and speed racing by? I think not. Sigh, CA driving. It was on a 5 lane freeway too. Gosh people, just so excited to get to work?

( I have no idea who this guy is, but he was in the picture from bullet1.com)

Then I'm driving down to the next freeway, I hop on, cruse along and then I realize the car in front of me has the 'bullet hole' stickers. It was on an Honda SUV. There was a BABY ON BOARD sticker next to the bullet holes. First off, I think these 'bullet hole' stickers are awful because it doesn't make you look hardcore, it's tacky, and on an SUV, and with a baby on board sticker? I tried so hard to take a picture, but I sadly couldn't.

You Bar Review!
I recently tried the new "YouBar". The concept behind these bars is that you make them to be whatever you want, kind of like the cereal craze that is going around. I honestly really liked the bars, they were tasty and they did actually feel like they were filling in my stomach, instead of eating junky granola bars that only have 90 calories. Has anyone else realized without the packaging those things don't even stay together?

So YouBars were delicious, and you know what else I completely loved, their breakfast shakes! I love the fact you can add milk and drink it right away. I usually just drink water after any run, sometimes I go for gator or an Honest Tea, but this past weekend, after my 20 miler, I went for a protein shake. Now, the word protein scares me especially in shake form. I don't want to become a muscle building freak, I tend to lean a little more towards the skeletal look. I think I just have it engraved in my head that protein shakes are for boys. Well if these Youbar shakes are for boys, sign me up! It was tasty and fulfilling as well. I think I was a little calorie deprived and I felt like it replenished my system into the perfect resting state so I promptly passed out on the couch.

They have a really cool system on their website where you can build your own bar, which I like, because you can put whatever you want into each bar. For me, I love bars without nuts so that is a great option for me since most bars come with them. They show all the nutritional information as you build it and you can get them in somewhat of a 'bulk' package with 13 bars in each box. Just like the cereal though, these bars are somewhat expensive, especially for me. They roughly are around $2.99 a bar, but if you are allergic, vegan or rich, you can try them out and it's a great option. You can make your own shakes and trail mixes too. Double score. You can check out their website and see if you can make a better bar for yourself! YouBar
Wow that post was jammed packed!

Well get ready for some deals tomorrow!

Tonight I'm going to do another 4 miler after work, hopefully it will stay light enough, long enough! :)

xoxo

Love Remembers.

2009-05-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

I miss you lots Mom! I love you lots and I hope you have a wonderful birthday in Heaven today!

Matthew 25:34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by the my father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."

xoxo

20 miler down.

2009-05-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

I had another 20 miler this weekend. I was pumped about it all week, ready to nail it and was even hoping to do better than my last 2o miler. For some reason my legs had been feeling heavy all week long but I tried to push that out of my mind. I'm a pretty positive person and I felt like I would just kill this run for some reason.

Things change once you start running.

I got out the door and started with my gus, my filled bottle and my new pouch. I took my phone because I wanted to take pictures along my route like so many people do to share with everyone of where I was running. Mile one was rough but usually mile one is rough when I'm running in the morning because I'm still a little tired. It just never got better though. I think I hit the proverbial wall once I stepped out the door for my run. Not a good sign

I ran a few different loops, didn't calculate my run correctly and ended .5 of a mile away from my house. Usually this doesn't make a difference to me during a run, but after 20 miles of playing mind games with yourself, when you are done you want to be home. There were some failed things about this run that were totally my fault. I didn't take my ipod. GIANT FAIL. I had nothing to entertain me, I was incredibly bored and didn't run far enough 'out' in my first loop so I was doing weird loops to make up for distance and that's how I got confused and miscalculated.

Each mile I tried to think of different people. I thought of Aron, Maritza, Tara, Alisa, Julianne, Maggie, and all the girls that will be in SD, I thought of some random twitterers but I just never got in the zone. I tried to distract myself by taking pictures, and looking around me, but there weren't too many people out when I started and when I hit the wall BIG time at mile 10, there were people out probably just wondering what in the world I was doing. I was gimping, running fast then slow, I just couldn't pull out of the funk, but you know what I realized during this wonderful long run? That sometimes it's not about being the fastest. It's not about the best time, having the best day, feeling great and totally nailing the workout, it's about running. It's about getting out there and doing it. I didn't want to run at all on Saturday, but I still did it. Looking back yea, it was a crappy way to spend three hours, but at the same time, I'm pretty proud of doing yet another 20 miler. It's just that you have to believe in yourself and do it. Then you can do it, then you can basically do anything.

Then my spirits were cheered a little when an older hot dadish type ran with me for about .5 of a mile. We chatted for a while, I told him I was training for San Diego Rock and Roll. He told me
"Well girl, you look good so don't even worry!" I smiled but then his measly nine miler was done. I trudged forward.

Even though it was one of my worst runs ever, It taught me a lot of lessons. I knew I couldn't stop. I knew I had to keep going. I knew that this would be like what the marathon felt like. It's not the best idea to do every one of your runs alone, but that is what I do.

I laughed at the pictures I had taken, felt bad for the two dead seagulls I saw, smiled at bikers and even hummed to myself. I was pretty cuckoo on this run, but I knew I had to finish. One point I even resorted to tweeting, which oddly enough, I think I was running the fastest all day when I was tweeting.

So you want to see the photo tour of my 20 miler? Wait no more.... It was quite interesting to say the least, but hey, I'm glad I can run, I'm glad I completed it, and I'm glad it's done with. Now I can taper, even though I think I've been tapering for over a month...

I tried to take a picture of myself during my run, this was the best I could do.

Then I run past the Queen Mary on a pretty regular basis. It was still a little bit cloudy but there she is!

There's the beach path that I started on and mostly what I run every day when I am training. It's flat and gorgeous. There's even the Belmont pool in the background! For those of you who are looking at possibly doing The Long Beach 1/2 Marathon or Full Marathon, that is the 1/2 Marathon course!

I recently found this, it's a boardwalk path and I love running on it. The wood is actually very nice to run on and the houses are HUGE and fun to look into. Usually I catch myself staring in all the windows and get embarrassed when there are people inside and catch me looking at them! :)

I realized after my run, that I really liked my new pouch, I wore it on the front to stop the bouncing of the water bottle and disperse the weight more evenly. Then I realized where I was wearing it all day made it look like I was wearing a loincloth or worse trying to hide something. Wha-wha.

On top of the bluff above the beach path. There are always characters up here and I sometimes run up here to switch things up a little bit.

Hi, I'm ChicRunner and I want to DIE! This was on my walk home. So tired. So sore. So far away from my house. Oh well, whatever happened happened.

Then instead of wasting money on ice for an ice bath, I just decided to walk back out to the beach and went in the ocean for my ice bath. It was cold and dirty, but I waited it out and then went home and took a shower. Hooray for my last 20 miler before the full marathon.

Though yesterday isn't my favorite day in the world, I had a good day with my roommate's mom and family. We rented a boat and cruised around the bay, drinking mimosas and eating cheese and crackers and strawberry shortcake. YUM.

On another completely unrelated note, Kymberli from Webbed Foot Photography and I are doing a photo shoot this weekend and I'm ecstatic. Almost as ecstatic as when I found a new HUGE Forever 21 right down the street that I didn't even know about this weekend. I can't wait and I will be sharing some wonderful pictures with you guys as well. :)

Can't wait to catch up on all the Race Reports and every one's weekends. I am thinking that I'm going to be posting some reviews this week and next week everyday for a week I will talk about running and the many things associated with it, like gus, ice baths, training, and starting out. I am no genius but I will offer my thoughts and ideas on the topics and address some of the questions I've gotten recently.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

xoxo

Mi casa es su casa.

2009-05-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

So as I said yesterday, I was going to jump on the bandwagon over at Kelly's Korner and for photo Friday I wanted to show some pictures of my house. Well it's not so much a house, but more of an apartment. One of my best friends that I met in middle school and I live together. I have really loved living with her and I absolutely LOVE where we live. We live less than a block away from the beach and also less than a block away from a ton of cute boutique shops and restaurants. It's a super fun and young area and I love living with my roommate too. We live in an apartment built in the 1920's and when we walked in, we both immediately fell in love with it. There are so many unique features that we both love and it has so much charm, like all the cupboards don't close! :) It's so cute though and has really cool sconces, arched hallways, all wood floors and high ceilings. Last week they did the kitchens and I missed out so I thought I would start with the kitchen and then work into what they are doing today, living rooms! :) Enjoy!

This is on one wall of our kitchen. It used to be an ironing board pop out, but then I guess at some point it was converted to a shelving section? We love it though, and the cute little cupboard underneath? That holds around 50 shot glasses. Hey, were are still young! :)

This is our kitchen basically. It's very small but we don't need much room. We live off of eating macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese and edamame. As you probably noticed we don't have a dishwasher. At first I thought this was going to be horrible, but when you don't eat a ton of food, it's not that bad. Also, we keep saying we are going to put a curtain over our trash bag section/cleaning section under our sink and we never get around to it. Notice the cupboards. Yup, they don't stay shut. Notice the Hello Kitty Toaster, which I posted about how great it works here. A toaster is a toaster though! :)

Here's the other side of our kitchen! ha ha, the stove looks old and it's a little kooky but let's be honest, we don't use it all that much. Yup, some more cupboards that don't stay shut and all our cool magnets. The fridge? I posted what was in it a while back, Check it out and don't judge me. :)

Now This is the table and 'booze cabinet' That little built in cabinet holds all our hard alcohol, you know, to go with the shot glasses. The table we got at Target and the chairs are from Ikea. I really like the table and it is a great addition to our house. Sometimes my roommate and I sit at the table and eat our lavishly prepared grilled cheeses here.

Here's another view of our table in our little mini dining room. I seriously love the chairs. Also you will probably notice we have a TON of windows in our little home. It lets in great light during the day but these pictures were all taken at night.

This is the room leading off from the dining room, and our den/living room. Those pillows are like a little dachshund, which my roommate has two of that live at her parents. That huge frame? Those are all pictures of us throughout middle and high school. It's kind of embarrassing. We keep saying we are going to move that little frame holder to the dining room, but alas, perhaps I will do that this weekend.

One of my favorite parts of the place, that little window on the door OPENS. It's hilarious. This little table we found at an 'alley' sale by our house along with two of those lamps. It was an alley sale since very few people have garages where we live. We keep our keys on the table and that picture is of us in Cabo, Mexico in the pool. It's one of my favorite pictures of us.

Here's pretty much our entire living room/den area! We have the ottoman, the entertainment center and the couch. The ottoman is COMPLETELY full of my roommate's DVD collection. She is amazing at collecting DVDs. You can also see my other favorite part of the house, the 'fireplace'. It's just a sculpture on the wall, but I love it. It's so cute, strange but cute. Since it's usually just her and I, we don't need much seating or room.

Here is my pride and joy, my 42' plasma flat screen tv and the entertainment center that I just got. It's from Ikea and I was so impatient to get it put together that I put it together over a three hour time period until 1 am one night. It was a lot of hard work, but I love how it looks and holds some of our DVDs and my Wii.

Here's a close up of the fireplace. We keep saying we are going to hang the mirror somewhere, and the letters. In due time I guess it will happen. We just need someone to help us girls! Anyone, Anyone?

So that is my kitchen and living room! I hope you all enjoyed it.

The run I did last night was pretty much the craziest thing I have EVER done and it included a swim... in my running clothes. I want to give a full recap, but I am hoping that someone will post some pictures soon so no detail is left out.

Have a great weekend, tomorrow I have my last 20 miler before the San Diego Marathon. I can't believe that it's getting so close and how excited I am feeling. I am going to try out more of my new gus on my long run and that will be the true test of them. I will write up a review of them soon!

Also, you should go on over to The Southern Social and vote for my 1st date outfit, just because you love me, but if you don't vote for me at least pick the one with the green and blue because that one is second best. :)

xoxo

Deals + Dead Birds

2009-05-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

Deals this week were more for the favor of the girls. Sheesh, there are TONS of cute tanks, and summer wear on sale. I want it all! :) Sorry boys, better luck next week Enjoy the deals, and scroll down if you want to read about last nights 'speed' work :)

Women's

REI Tech Shortsleeve Tee

Craft Active Tri Top

Brooks Run Skort

Nike Gym Long Top (A possibility for the marathon)

Nike New Strength Top

Danskin Criss Cross Tank

Nike Skinny Training Tank

Nike Long Running Tank

Nike Long Everyday Running Tank

Saucony Run Lux Tank (love this, wish it came in more colors)

Nike Printed Open Back Tank (love this too!)

Nike Long Sleeve Just Do It Tee

Nike Short Sleeve Training Top

Nike Vneck Short Sleeve Training Top (love it, especially the band at the bottom)

Asics Short Sleeve Kara Running Top

Fila Heritage Cap Sleeve Tank

Nike Celebrate The Sport Tee

Nike Pro Layering Tee

Nike Athlete Tank

Nike Refined Border Tank

Nike Skinny Straps Tank

Nike Reflective Baselayer

Nike Must Have Tank

Nike Essential Tank

Nike Low Rise Workout Short (love)

Brooks Vibe Shorts

Reebok Split Shorts

Fila Skort

Reebok Seamless Skort (SO ADORABLE! must restrain myself)

Brooks Power Top Sports Bra

Nike Sports Bra (lots of cute colors)

Nike Dri-Fit Striped Tank

Nike Volmeros (super good price and lots of sizes)

Men's

Reebok Premier Split Running Shorts

Russell Velocity Short Sleeve Tee

New Balance Short Sleeve Tee

Nike Sphere Shirt

Reebok Tank

Accessories

MountainSmith Hydration Waistpack

Nathan Reflective Waist Sash

Nathan Reflective Vest

Nathan Sidekick Accessory Pouch

Arc'Teryx Headband

Last night I did another 'speed' workout and I kicked it's BUTT. I got in 8 miles with a 2 mile warm up, then 2 miles @ 7:49, 1 mile @ 7:59, 1 mile @ 7:57 last one slower at 8:14 and 1 mile cool down. The first four miles were great, and I didn't realize I had the wind at my back, the way home was kind of rough because the wind was IN MY FACE and it was FIERCE. I felt very TIRED after this workout. It was good to get in those quick miles though. I know it seems like I'm fast, but it was A LOT of work to keep myself going at that pace. It's not like I can usually just crank those miles out quickly.

Another reason why I ran so fast last night is that I have an 8 mile loop by my house and it goes through some sketchy areas. Though I personally do not live in a sketchy area, I have to run through some sketchy areas. No one likes me running at night and I don't blame them, I am a somewhat small framed, uncoordinated runner, not a fighter. I think if someone tried to take me down, I would kick and punch but they wouldn't have too much of a fight. This means I have to get my run in before it's dark so that I don't get in a fight, get carted away to some unknown place, and that I'm home before dark so I'm safe. This means a hard workout, especially since yesterday there was a ton of traffic on my way home so I got home even later than I planned.

I took a new gu last night that I got to test out and I can't wait to tell you guys about it, not only was it tasty, but I didn't have the sudden urge to go to the bathroom out on my run, and I felt great my entire run. Best part is that it doesn't have caffeine, so I wasn't wired and cracked out on Gus till 3 am. The run was good, I was SWEATY and dirty but here are some things I noticed on my run:

I saw the underwear man AGAIN. Same outfit. Same sweat. It freaks me out
I think I want to try rollerblading.
I haven't sweat like that in a long time.
I love my new Nike Top, and I realized my twin aron has the same one and ran in it this past weekend. We are so alike it's crazy.
The sunset was gorgeous, but it was because of the fires. Wha-wha.
I live in an area infested by parrots, parrots can make some scary callings in the night, and when they fly in their herd it's even scarier.
Smells REALLY do bother me a lot on my run and I smelled fish, sewer smells, and boat gas last night. Gagging occurred. But this is what leads me to the topic of dead birds

Have any of you had the opportunity to run in an area where there are dead rotting birds? I only know this smell because we had to run under overpasses in high school and there were pigeons nesting, procreating and seemingly dying under the underpasses. I remember that smell because I think it honestly haunts me. Last night I was running back home on a different street than I normally do, which is so unlike me, I am a creature of habit, and I smelled it. The rotting bird smell. I seriously almost threw up for the last mile. I tried to plug my nose. I tried to breath through my mouth but you know when a smell is so strong that you taste it. Well dead rotting pigeons and parrot birds don't taste good. It was revolting. With all this information, I decided I won't take that route anymore.

I feel like I'm finally coming back into the game though. I feel healthy and strong and my running is improving a lot. I am really looking forward to this weekend and my 20 miler surprisingly. I can't wait to talk about running more with you guys. I was thinking about it a lot on my run last night and I think it's a mindset and an appreciation. Wow I sound like a cult leader. All hail the chic runner cult.

Tomorrow is photo Friday and I'm going to jump on the Kellys Korner bandwagon of showing pictures of my house room by room every Friday. Well since I live in a super small home it won't be a long post and I probably won't post every week since I have a total of 3 rooms, but I tomorrow I will share about the running group that I'm going to meet up with and run with tonight. I'm excited and nervous. New runners are scary! :)

xoxo

Housekeeping + Randomocity

2009-05-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

Said in a Tommy Boy Chris Farley character voice of course.

So I've been getting tons of running questions lately, which I will answer soon on a post but I have to tell you, I'm not really anything more of an amature myself! I will answer them to the best of my ability and let you know how things worked on a personal level, and what motivates me though. Stay tuned for that post, I'm thinking early next week.

I've also gotten some personal questions as well about my job and what I did in college, like classes I took, what my major was etc. Well besides party like a rock star, perhaps a little too much, I'd love to talk about schooling too! :) That will be in another post coming up soon, I am thinking perhaps Wednesday of next week! :)

Danica @ Danica's Dailies is having an Annie Mac and Cheese Giveaway ---> Travel here to enter but don't because I want to win!

I also have some reviews coming up of Youbar, popchips, vitalicious vitamuffins, and honesttea... I think I'll start posting reviews on Saturday.

As for some thoughts on the Biggest Loser last night, I really have no words. Michael in the words of Mr. R needs to, "cut the cord". He is the biggest baby on the show and went home and fell back into his old ways of caring about other people and not putting himself first. I think Tara and Helen should definitely battle it out against Ron because Ron has no chance of winning. Call me evil, but that's my personal opinion. Tara and Helen deserve it more, according to my personal thoughts on the manipulating Ron. I feel like he would have killed someone to get his son to the finals, and I don't know how he's going to do once the 'game' is over. I was really impressed by them running a 'full marathon', especially with the last section over sand? Who does that to someone. It was cool to see the other contestants from other shows come out too. I can't wait to see everyone next week at the finale!

As for me, I've got a nice eight miler tonight after work. These past two days I've done a few shorter distances (read: 3 miles) and yoga and now I'm SO sore from yoga. I forget how running only gets you 'so far' in weight loss and being in shape but I'm going to start working in more weights and yoga into my routine once the marathon is over. It's almost "taper" time, though I'm pretty sure I've been tapering for the last month, so I'll try to hit up the gym a little bit more!

I am still insanely looking for the perfect race day shirt. I thought I had found one this weekend but alas, it's too large on the bottom and a little to tight through the shoulders. I'm keeping my eyes peeled.

I also have some Tory Burches up for grabs if anyone wants them. I bought them this past weekend and can return them if no one wants them but they are just a wee bit small. I know there are some Tory lovers out there though, and wanted to give you a shot. They are size 6, and brand new. I got them for $80 and if you want them you just have to pay $80 + shipping and handling. They retail for $295. I want them to go to a good home and am so sad to part with them. :(

Look out for some deals coming your way tomorrow! :)

xoxo

This Garmin Review is sponsered by the number Cinco

2009-05-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

Last night I did some yoga to center my chi, and it felt great. I realized I need to stretch more! This morning I ran 3 miles and did another 25 minutes of yoga and I am really feeling good lately. No soreness and I'm starting to feel a little prepared for San Diego Rock and Roll. I have my last 20 miler this weekend so after that I'll be on the taper road. Happy Cinco De Mayo to everyone, I'll be watching the Biggest Loser tonight, nothing crazy! I know you all want to know what I think about the Garmin so here you go!

I was always told that I needed to get a Garmin. No one could ever really tell me why though, and to be honest, I've only used it in a pretty basic way thus far, but I plan to use it and all the different settings as I continue to learn more about it myself. Therefore I warn everyone, this is a very basic overview of the Garmin and it's capabilities. I am still learning myself and I will post about any other great features as I learn about them. Honestly, I'm quite happy with just the simple way I use it now, so I know there's more things out there, but at the same time, I like to keep it easy and simple.

I was an avid Nike+ user, but was starting to see an issue with it's mileage tracking once I started to hit higher mileage. I ran a 25k (15 miles) and my Nike + told me I ran 17.86 miles. That's when I knew that the mileage was off. I had calibrated it numerous times as well. Also I had gone through around 5 or 6 Nike pluses because of calibration issues and the sensors randomly dying or not being able to connect. I had heard about many people's love for the Garmin, but no one could ever tell me why it was so fantastic. I did hear that it will change your running and racing a lot though.

I finally started researching the Garmin family and decided that I wanted to get the Forerunner 305. I decided on this one because it came with a heart rate monitor and seemed to be less expensive since it's an 'older' model. I researched the 305 on Ebay and craigslist and found one for $130 with free shipping that was brand new. Finally the box arrived and the Garmin was mine. The first rule of having a Garmin is that it must have a name. I named mine Claude and he is the star of the Garmin Review.

One really cool and very accurate thing about the Garmin and that makes it much better than the Nike plus is the fact that it tracks you by GPS satellite. This makes your miles accurate and the mileage is an option that you can show on the Garmin's screen when your running. Here is a picture of the Garmin's Screen

This is the front of the Garmin. The setting I use it on shows the time in the top screen, (18.55) and the bottom two screens are split into two different modes. On the bottom left you can see my pace (20.42) and the mileage that I've gone thus far (2.06 miles) The buttons below, on the left is the lap/reset button and on the right is the start/stop button. It's pretty easy to use and the face is obviously very large and visible. You can change the settings to see different 'modes' but I only use this mode thus far. There is another mode to show how many calories you've burned as well as mileage, time etc. In the upper right hand corner, if I was using the heart rate monitor, that is where it would say what my heart rate was as well.

This is the side of the 305. The arrow buttons change the modes on the front while you are working out. You can see that the 305 is pretty thick and bulky, but I haven't had one problem besides a few adjustable ones and you get used to it. I will discuss the only 'downfall' towards the bottoms in the pros and cons section.

This is the underside and as you can see it straps on with a simple watch band. The band is plastic and it stays put fairly well. It is a very large band though and I have oddly small wrists.

This is the back of the Garmin. The numbers are my serial number and the four dots on the back are where the Garmin is charged from. The Garmin plugs into the computer for charging or the wall plug and charges quickly and easily.

This is the Garmin next to a pen. You can see how thick it is. I realized after I uploaded this picture it's somewhat of an optical illusion though since the pen is so much closer to the camera. Epic Fail. You can see how large it is in the next picture though.

It is pretty basic as a 'watch size' but it's fairly large in bulkiness. It's very thick and the curve doesn't fit on my wrist well, but I have had some other people wear it and try it on and there were no problems at all for them. I think possibly it's because of my wrists and the bone I have on the outside of them that sticks up.

That bone can be easily rubbed raw and scabbed by Claude, that is why I choose to wear my Garmin up a little bit higher or sometimes I wear it on the inside of my wrist to stop chaffing.

A lot of people run and race without any type of tracking system but I have been very pleased with the Garmin, but it is nice that I can track my mileage, pace and overall distances run. It's also great because it maps out the path you took on your run/walk since it has the trackability feature from the satellite.

I really liked how easy it was to use directly out of the box. Perhaps that's why I haven't really delved into the Garmin and really figured out everything on Claude, because it's so simple and easy to use just how it is now. It stays charged for a long time (supposedly 10 hour battery life) and I've only had to recharge it once since I've gotten it.

To start the Garmin, once you are outside, just turn it 'on' via the on button on the right hand side and a screen will pop up with a progress bar that lets you know the Garmin is 'locating satellites'. This is the only annoying thing about the Garmin. Sometimes it 'locates' the satellites immediately and other times, for me it takes up to two minutes. Once the satellite is found you hit start and your workout is started.

I really like the calorie counting feature but the Garmin uses speed traveled — not heart rate — to calculate calorie output on the Forerunner. It doesn't bother me that much though and I even think I like that more since I haven't used the heart rate monitor yet, nor do I want to have to wear the heart rate monitor to find out how many calories I've burned.

Another cool feature of the Garmin is that once you have a few courses you like, you can save and race against them, marking points along the way. You can set up interval workouts with specific distances or time or repeats. You can also use the GPS navigation feature to see your path on a map once you upload your workouts and you can save locations you want to remember — and find your way home if you get lost. (Would have been a good tool for my friend LA Runner when he was lost on his Skyline to Sea 50k) :)

Another great thing that I like is the fact that the buttons are easy to use and you don't have to go through them all to find one thing, i.e. the start and stop button. It has an auto-pause feature that stops the timer when you stop moving and restarts again when you get going — great for stoplights and water breaks.

The only problems I really have with Claude is that is doesn't really like my wrist bone and that I can't really get it to easily work with my Mac computer at home. I am going to have to spend some time with that to find a fully functional way to upload data to a website so I can view it no matter where I am. I have a website to check out, but I just haven't had the time to sit down and work with it for a while. Also this may be weird, but there is no clock that I have found that you can 'show' during your workout. I guess this just means that I have to look at the clock before I leave on my run and then just add the time gone to know what time it is, but it's a little strange.

The Pros:

Easy to use, no set up needed, can use the 'normal' functions and still understand the product, a lot of features that I haven't even discovered, available with the heart rate monitor, not as expensive if you search, large display, possibility to update workouts to websites, long enough battery life, different modes, GPS tracking system which means accurate distances, looks better than the 301 that looks like a giant black twinkie, charges via usb

The Cons:

No exactly the most chic accessory, not many color options, not really kosher with my Mac at home (but I'm working on it), no clock

I will definitely continue to learn more about my Garmin and will post. I'm sure I'll get many comments telling me lots of other 'great features' but honestly, I like it just the way it is! I thought it was a little expensive, but now that I have it, and if I was truly training to get speedier I can see how it would be very helpful in determining my pace. I did a speed workout last week and I did find myself able to hold my pace for much longer because I knew how much was left and exactly how fast I was going because of my Garmin. It's a great training tool and I am really glad I did purchase it. It's worth the money and overall thus far I would give it a A-grade! I will let you know if anything sway my opinon of the Garmin anymore, including more discoveries.

Hope this was helpful! If you have any questions, feel free to email me @ danicakoo@gmail.com

xoxo

Adoption April : Adoption Q &A

2009-05-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

So this is the last post of the "Adoption April" series that I decided to do, even though it's now May, I still have the question and answers that I got emailed. If you are just catching up, you can read the whole story from the first, second, third, fourth, and last weeks to now. This post is just questions that people may have emailed me or that I have gotten in the past that may help others understand adoption better. I don't mind talking about my adoption at all and I'm glad that you guys had some questions, seriously I've gotten some weird ones. My favorites are mostly, "Who do you call your parents?" or something like, "Are you and your brother born from the same mom and adopted into the same family?" Come on what are those chances....

Bonnie asked me these questions:

1) Do you think that subconsciously you have ever had trouble being in committed relationships because you were adopted?

I don't think I have the issue that some may deal with being 'unwanted'. I was always raised to believe that my birth mom was UNSELFISH enough to give me up for adoption because she realized that she was not in a place in her life to support me and give me the 'best life I could have' I solemnly believe that giving up a baby for adoption must be one of the hardest things that a women may ever have to do but at the same time it in incredibly unselfish of her. I don't think I have a problem committing because of abandonment because of my adoption at all. I can see how other people might have an issue if they were raised to believe that they were "unwanted" or "unloved."

2) I get the impression that you found your birth parents, although you haven't written about that yet. I'm very curious to see how that turned out. Also, I'd like to know if you have any thoughts on why some people who are adopted feel that they MUST find their birth parents and others could go either way. If you did find your birth parents, how did that happen? I know many adoptions are open these days--and you're young so maybe yours was?

I haven't found my birth parents but am not against finding them and feel that it would be interesting. I know some people who want nothing to do with their birth parents and I completely understand that too. With some people they might not be as open about their adoption but I think it has to be an individual choice. Some people are just curious about it, and just want to see what's out there, like myself and other people wouldn't even dare to think about that because of some feelings they might have towards them for how they were raised. I know there are some sites out there, but I think the best and most efficient way that I've found to start a search for them is through a private investigator. Some people may have the feeling of HAVING to find them for personal reasons. I think this is an 'to each their own' answer but everyone has different feelings about adoption.

3) Outside of the blog world, do you have trouble opening up to people about your true feelings about being adopted?

I honestly love talking about adoption and how I was adopted and how it is an option for people. Many people tell me well, I want to have 'my own kids' and sometimes that stings, but at the same time, I understand that. I am blessed to have the life I have and am forever grateful for my birth mom giving me the opportunity that I have now to be able to the live the life I have lived thus far. I really would love to advocate for adoption and think that it's a great thing that many couples don't take advantage of. I also think there is some kind of stigma that is associated with adoption, like you will get a drug baby, some baby with diseases or a homeless baby, which isn't true. There is also a stigma that you can only adopt out of the country. I'm not saying that everyone should adopt, but I do think there needs to be more education available to those who are even considering it, because I feel like people just don't know enough.

4) I would also just appreciate any general advice to people like me who are not adopted in how to better understand BFs and GFs who are adopted. I mean, as far as things you should say or ask about and things you shouldn't say or ask about--if anything.

I think every case is different, both me and my roommate have no problem discussing our adoption but at the same time I also know some people who it's very personal and I feel like if the person wants to talk about it, they will. I know it's hard to understand but at the same time, it's all depends on how they were raised to view adoption and how much information they have. I wouldn't mind any questions, but try to limit the ones that would have the possibility to hurt their feelings like, "Why didn't your birth parents want you?" or, "Why were you given up for adoption?" and "Are you a crack baby?" (classic one) I would ask more feeling questions, like, "How does it make you feel that you are adopted?" or you can always just say that you think it's cool. Don't be scared to ask, because they might like to talk about it, but just make sure that they want to and don't mind discussing it. :)

The Running Laminator asked me these:

1) How should a parent begin the process of "telling" the child that he/she was adopted?

Personally, I think it's best that the child adopted knows from birth, or there might be a feeling of 'secrecy' that could potentially hurt the relationship and family in the long term. If you are raising a child that is adopted, there is NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF at all. God placed that child in your life for a reason, and it's a blessing. I think that a child should know from the beginning at that it should be celebrated, not a weird secret. It definitely made me understand adoption and why I was adopted better.

2) Does being adopted ever make you feel different from other kids in terms of relationship with parents? If so, in what way?

I have never felt any different from my parents at all. I have always felt like we had a good relationship when I was growing up and to me, being adopted wasn't weird because it was never treated like it was a weird thing.

IRJessica asked me this question:

Do you think if your parents had older birth children, you would have been adversely affected?

Honestly, I don't know. I wonder about that too, and if I would have different feelings towards them, but with how I was raised and how everything worked out for me and my family I think even if they had older children it wouldn't have bothered me.

Joanna asked me these questions:

I was just wondering about your birth mother and father. Do you talk to them? Stay in touch, etc?

Since I haven't met them, I don't talk to them but I would like to have some kind of relationship with them. I think it would be interesting to them to see what my life is like and I would love to know what they are like. I wonder if we would have the same sense of humor or look alike. The other day I was adding up how old they would be today with their birth dates that I have and it was weird because they would be 45 and around 50. I have never thought of that before! They are old! Even today I still feel like they are young, which doesn't make sense, but I would love to come in contact with them.

Did your adoption parents name you Danica or did your birth mother? Do you know why you were named that?

My dad actually named me Danica. My birth mom never named me, but in her honor I would love to name one of my children with her name because of the selfish thing she did for me. I was named Danica because my dad liked it? :) My dad named me and my mom named my brother, who was also adopted and was from another birth mom. Danica means morning star. I know my name is SICK and I honestly could do a whole post on how great unique names are and how I think my name has 'helped me' in life. :)

Susan asked me this question:

What do your adoptive parents think of you looking/considering looking for your real parents?

When my mom was alive, she always told me that if I wanted to find them that she would have no problem with that and it would be interesting to see what they were like. She said when the time was right they would come up. I haven't really had an in depth conversation with my dad about it, but I wouldn't think that he would have an issue with it either. My parents were always open about my birth parents and I know that they know I wouldn't be going out to find them for the wrong reasons.

Marlene asked me this question:

Would you consider adopting a child?

Yes! I would. I think it would be great, but I am no where in my life where children and babies look like fun just yet. I was a nanny for a 5 year old boy for a year and a half in college for 3-4 hours a day and that was about as much mommy as I could handle for a while. One day I hope to have children though, either the 'natural way' or through adoption. It just depends on whatever God wants for me and my husband at that time.

Sorry it's so blurry! :(

I am so glad that I was able to share all about my adoption with everyone! :) I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I loved sharing and if you ever have questions regarding adoption, feel free to email me! :)

Garmin review coming up tomorrow!

xoxo

Blame it on the ch-ch-ch-ch-ceviche

2009-05-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

The title has nothing to do with the post, it's just something funny that we say where I work all the time. Oh well! Onto some pictures!

Well it's another NikeMom's Foto Friday. Hooray! I love me some photo Friday and I have some interesting photos from the past few days. First off, here's one of me and the bro, T last weekend when we went out to dinner. This was the same night when he was walking away for me and I called his name to remind him where to cross the street and someone looked to him and said, "Hey bro, your mom's calling you." FAIL.

Then we have some great pictures from my recent 20 miler. This was me ready to go!

Then we have the lovely ice bath picture. I literally just used cold water and a bag of ice, but it was almost melted at this point. I wore my bathing suit and it WASN'T fun but I listened to my ipod to pass time. I really like my alfalfa hair in this picture.

Finally, yesterday I was a good car owner and got my car washed and oil changed. I drive a Scion TC and my nickname is Koo. My liscence plate even says, "The Koo". If my mom knew what I was driving around in she would probably tell me that I was, "living in filth." It was getting to the point where my car was getting too disgusting. I don't think I've washed it since October! To my defense though, "The Koo" is parked outside ALL day and ALL night. There is no covering, so it's constantly being bombed by leaves, bird poop, fog, mist, rain, etc. But now! Now look how speedy and clean my little squirrel is! I am a proud mama. Driving home last night was kind of weird though, because my car was SO clean.

I am still contemplating the race on Sunday. I think I will probably end up doing it though. Yesterday I ran 7.25 miles, with the first 5 miles at 8:44 pace, and the next mile at 7:47 pace and then a cool down 1.25 mile at 10:00 pace. I was TIRED after that. I haven't done speed work in so long and pushing myself that hard was tough, but I felt good getting in some speed work. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will be posting the Adoption April Q&A's on Monday and my Garmin Review on Tuesday! Good luck to all those racing this weekend, kick some serious butt!

xoxo

Hi, My name is ChicRunner...

2009-04-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

and I'm a shopaholic... Yea, it's pretty much a fact. I know I can't stop myself and I'm already contemplating a new outfit for the marathon in May. I'm thinking tank, with some arm warmers and one of my fave running skirts. We'll see when the time gets closer though. I haven't found the perfect tank yet.

Women's

InSport Tight Shorts

InSport Low Rise Split Shorts

Endurance Tank

Nike Dri-Fit Shorts

Saucony Women's Shorts

New Balance Race Shorts

Nike Woven Baggy Shorts

Nike Seamless Short Sleeve Top

Asics Short Sleeve Top

Nike Human Race Tee

Men's

Brooks Short Sleeve Tee

InSport Tight Short Sleeve Tee

New Balance Tempo Top

New Balance Tempo Tank

Brooks Revelation Short Sleeve Tee

Brooks Sherpa Shorts

Asics Shorts

Accessories

Power Bar Triple Threat Bar 15 pack

Power Bar Fruit Smoothie Bar 12 pack

Mountain Smith Waist pack

Mountain Smith Two Bottle Waist pack

Mountain Smith One Bottle Waist pack

Reebok Breast Cancer Cap

Power Bar Endurance Sports Drink Mix

Luna Sport Recovery Drink Smoothie 12 Pack

Random Running Discounts/Videos

New Registration Format regarding the 2nd Annual Market To Market Relay presented by Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital. The race is an 84 mile team relay from Omaha to Lincoln in Nebraska. In 2008 the event sold out 3 months in advance and had over 50 teams on a waiting list. Register on May 5th to May 9th in an online lottery that will be available at www.m2mrelay.com. At this time you will have the opportunity to put your team’s name into a “hat” and then 50 names will be pulled from that hat to compete in the race. The race will have a total of 150 to 170 teams but the rest of the teams in the race will be teams that participated in 2008, won their division or a contest, sponsor the race, or meet the minimum speed requirement for the Citizens Class A Division. Check out the website for all of the details including course maps, results and pictures from 2008, and much more. www.m2mrelay.com

Carl and Karl Underwood love running. They love marathons, half-marathons, and half-half-marathons. They love 5Ks, 10ks, and think 401Ks sound pretty fun. They think cross-country, steeplechase, and the first 90% of pole vaulting aren’t too bad, either. The Underwood brothers are Running’s #1 Superfans and their mission is to share their love of running with the world. Check out Carl and Karl as they celebrate the many virtues of running with anyone who will listen: You tube video page Check out other Carl and Karl Underwood videos here: Running Super Fans (Which is really funny :))

Finally here is a Special Offer for the 98th Annual ING Bay to Breakers 12k : May 17th, 2009

ING Bay to Breakers 12k has a special offer for my blog’s readers! You can get an additional 5% off the early registration price for this year’s race. Don’t miss this opportunity to join (and support!) one of the most original and zany road races in the county. Visit www.ingbaytobreakers.com for details about the race. Register online by midnight on April 30th, 2009 (Tonight!!) to receive the early registration price with an additional 5% discount Register here! Enter this coupon code 5CHICRUN09 (case sensitive) and click ‘redeem’ before completing your registration. Please direct any questions to info (at) ingbaytobreakers (dot) com (This is an online offer only. Discount is valid only for the registration fee. It is not applied to optional purchases such as the MUNI pass or packet mailing fee)

There you go, I hope that fulfilled your deal craving of the day. This weekend I'm going to finish putting together the finishing touches on the Garmin Review and I think I'll race on Sunday, I haven't decided if I'm going to pony up the money yet, so Banditing might be an option, but I do hate breaking the rules so I will probably pay. Plus, I think the shirt is going to be cute. I have to go to the Nike Store to register, so I might look around for a marathon top there as well. Tonight I'm going to run after work on the beach path, hopefully there aren't any creepers out! :)

xoxo

The Colorful Characters of the Beach Path

2009-04-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

I tweeted a while back about what I saw on a run and I knew I would have to post about it soon. I live in an area where there are a lot of homeless people, and a eclectic collection of people. Many of them, on hot days, seem to go to the beach in front of my place, thus ensuring an interesting crowd to watch as I run by. It was super hot two weekends ago, so it seemed that EVERYONE was at the beach. Take for example:

One larger woman was in the water ahead of me. I was watching the 'group' she was with because they were very loud. She then started walking up from the ocean and I almost had to double take. She was wearing a black trash bag as a swimsuit. She had a hole for her head, and two arms. I had to slow down to take in this site. I first thought about how unsafe this seemed, and also how swimming in the ocean, the trash bag must 'go-up' as you swim around, since it wasn't attached to her legs or anything. Let that visual sink in.

A little later, I saw the same guy I have seen many times before. He was running in his BOXER BRIEFS that were tight and incredibly short. I have seen him in the mornings other times too and he wears the exact same outfit. He sweats, but only in one place. It is weeeeeird. You're blinded by his white legs and then you're like WHOA. Not okay. Get some shots over those briefs buddy.

Another really strange thing that happens on the beach path is that people come out and walk (good for them) but have their blue tooth on and just chat away on their phones. I've seen so many people doing this, it's like they go out to walk the beach path and make an important call. It's usually when I run by they are going on and on about something. Sometimes it's interesting to eavesdrop a little bit.

Then I decided to run on the bluff path instead of the beach path for the run home. This is on a bluff overlooking the beach. This is where I saw a lovely women who was using a shopping cart as a stroller. She had two kids in the shopping cart and even had the thing you hang on the stroller for the kids to play with. It was a little strange to say the least.

Oh how I love residing in the same town Snoop Dogg grew up in. Never disappointing in the people watching department.

And it's really, really gorgeous. Sigh.

On a completely random and unrelated note, Mother's Day is quickly approaching and there are two sites that I LOVE for gift giving. I am a stationary freak, and I love getting and giving personalized gifts. Check out Expressionary for some GREAT stationary and stamp gifts. I love their stuff and it's GREAT quality. Also you can get a 40% discount (hello! That's huge!) if you enter "Mom40" at the checkout. Another great site is Personalization Mall. I have gotten some great gifts off there and especially love their canvas printing selection. They have great prices and you can make some really sweet stuff on their site. You can get free shipping on any order over $50 if you use the code "Momshipfree". Creep both of those. :)

Tonight I got a lovely 8 miler planned. I'm hoping it's not to windy. Also are any of you running this PCRR Cinco De Mayo 1/2 or their super cute site can be found here on Sunday? I think I will run it because 13 miles would be a great and fun distance for me to run this weekend, but running this race is pretty pricey. So that's some expensive fun. We'll see if I can get dragged out there. It looks like a great race though, so maybe I'll jump in last minute. I would hate to bandit, but $75 bucks is $75 bucks. I won't even drink any of their water at their stations! :) Shall I race or not.... that is the question.

xoxo

20 miles were a lot different than I expected.

2009-04-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

So finally I ran a 20 miler. I didn't know what to expect, and to finish was not what I expected at all. I still can't believe I actually did it. Part of me thinks that little Claude was lying to me, like my nike plus used to, the little cheater, but alas 20 miles down in the books. So I don't want to toot my own horn and I know some of you run this all the time, but it was a big first for me, and there were a lot of things that happened on the way that I knew I would HAVE to share with you guys.

The night before I just kept telling myself that I could do it. I wasn't scared of it, and I knew if I had to walk, crawl or slog my way through it, I could at least try. I got up at 6 am and wanted to take off at 6:30. I had a muffin, three shot blok and got my fuel belt ready. I packed in three bloks to have at the 4 miler make. It started off great. I was really amp'ing myself up over it. I kept telling myself that I COULD do it, and I WOULD do it. Repeating something in your head is really helpful. I was going to run an 8 mile loop, a 4 mile loop the opposite way, and then the 8 mile loop that I ran earlier. Each end of the loop was going to pass by my house because I hadn't had time to get the extra pouch for my fuel belt yet so I was just going to grab my gus from home.

The farthest I've ever ran before this weekend was only about 17.6 miles, and there were a lot of breaks in between since I ran the 10k and ran to the starting line and home after. I started off wearing my arm warmers, shorts and a t-shirt. I felt very good for the first 7 miles. I didn't look down at Claude to see my pace, I just let myself go, and enjoyed the fresh beginning of a new day. I was instantly in the 'zone' and every mile ticked down I just though to myself, "Okay, that's only 18 left, now 17 left, now 16 left." I ate shot bloks at mile 4, this was of course when a nice old guy was running by me and he said hello. I was half chewing, half choking, half trying to breath and I mumbled/drooled out a hello back. He probably thought I was some crazy freak.

It was during this time when I started to imagine myself running a full marathon. I started to think of what I was going to wear on race day, what it would be like to cross the finish line. I started to think about all the girls I'm going to be running with from San Fransisco and Oregon, and how excited I am to see everyone and what a great weekend it will be. Then I started to think, well this is my FIRST marathon, I feel like I should dedicate this to someone. I thought about making a shirt that said, "In memory/honor or something along those lines, of my Mom." I thought about putting a picture on the shirt, what I would want it to say. Then I started thinking about this more and more, and I thought about well if I ever make it to Boston, I would much rather dedicate that race to her, or the race I BQ at to her, and I don't know if I want a shirt with her picture on it, or people to feel bad for me, etc. etc. Then my thought process changed to something else and I forgot about that.

Once I got to 8 miles I had to RACE to the bathroom back at my house. I realized this could be an issue, we are going to have to work on that. Then I got three more shot blok and took off again. While at home I also took off my arm warmers. I felt good on the 4 mile loop still and kept counting down the miles. For the first 8+4 loops I didn't listen to music and just enjoyed my run, not caring about my pace. There was one spot where it smelled like a heap of dead fish, and another where it smelled so strongly of bacon. I realized I cannot smell things on my run or they make me gag. I thought I was going to throw up during these smelly points. There was a huge 177 mile relay race going on and I would smile at the racers walking or running by and sometimes encouraged them with something random like, "Way to go!" I'm so original, I know. They were running from Santa Barbara to Dana Point in relay teams. That was kind of exciting.

After four miles, I stopped at home and went to the bathroom yet again. I made sure both my 'home' stops were only three minutes. I took yet another gu and took off to finish this run. At this point it was pretty hot out so I decided to brave the elements and run without a shirt. That is the only way I'm getting back in shape. If I run without a shirt then I feel like I have to do extra sit ups. :) I grabbed my ipod for this last loop of the run as well because I knew this was going to be where I needed distractions. I took off and was into my run about 13 miles. Then in the distance I saw a huge crowd of walkers on the beach path. I knew this wasn't just a random group of walkers, but it had to be yet another organized event. I was interested to see what it was again. I got closer and closer, and realized it was the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. After a little research this morning I realized it wasn't the actual walk, but a Training Mock Walk, but still everyone was wearing pink and excited to be out and walking and raising awareness to breast cancer on this Saturday. It looked like it could be the real walk there were so many people.

Unexpectedly, I all of a sudden felt my heart start to burn with a familiar hurt, and my breathing was hard. This is when I lost it. I started crying. It was mile 14, I had 6 more to go and I was crying while running next to these walkers. My nose was sniffling and I was just looking down and reminding myself to keep going. To keep putting one foot in front of the other one. They were walking against the route I was running and all saw me crying while running along. Though I had my music on I could hear my breathing and it was weird like shallow wheezing.

I had done the Avon 3-day walk when my mom was still alive my junior year in High School. I had worn the pink gear, I had walked the 60 miles, and my mom (and entire family) were there supporting me through the entire thing. It was a great experience and seeing these women walking was just inspiring and it reminded me so much of my mom it turned me into a wheezing/running/crying mess.

I kept telling myself to suck it up and stop crying, but I couldn't. It was a weird weird mile. I hate crying in front of other people and I just took some deep breaths and kept running. I remember feeling a tear go down my cheek and I thought to myself, really, REALLY you are seriously CRYING?! Then, just as quickly as I started choking up, I stopped crying and was okay to finish the run. The last 6 miler were good. It was once I got to mile 17, I was hurting, my butt was killing me. I have never even felt pain in my butt when I run at all. I got back to my house and thought about my run. I had completed it, I had broke down in the middle and still kept going. Sometimes that's all you need to keep going. I took an ice bath and then showered and laid in my bed for some time watching the Penn Relays and the NFL draft.

I think it reminded me so much of my mom and how she would be so proud of me for running a full marathon. It reminded me so much of how many people are affected by breast cancer, and how many people we need to find a cure for. I'm sure people were like WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH THIS GIRL. When you are tired, and running, and crying, it's hard to breathe.

Doing this run brought so many emotions out, looking back on it now, I would have NEVER expected that something like that would remind me of my mom, none the less make me cry and break down in the middle of a long run. It also made me realize that I can run a full marathon. I was beginning to get nervous and I know the brutalness of a full marathon doesn't even come until the 20th mile, but you know what, bring it on. If you go in with the attitude that it's going to be too hard, that you won't like it, that it's going to stink, that you're hurt, that you can't do it, guess what...

It is going to be too hard, you won't like it, it is going to stink, you will be hurt and you won't be able to do it.

I've played this mental game with myself, and almost got caught up in it again last night. Sunday after the 20 miler was my scheduled rest day and last night when I got home it was cold. I was exhausted and didn't want to run, but decided to go out to 'loosen up' I planned to run a four miler but when I started I was incredibly sore. I didn't even realize how sore I was. I told myself that I HAD to do four miles, and that if they were slow or fast they were going to get done, so I ran 2 miles out away from my house so I couldn't go back after two miles. After the first mile, I had gotten rid of my sore stiffness and was chugging along and knew that I would be fine for four miles. So fine that my last mile was 7:45. I had to allow myself a chance for success.

The two weeks leading up to my 20 miler, I probably put in about 8 miles in each of those weeks. Believing in yourself works wonders. Running is hard, it's just a mental game of pushing yourself to your personal limit. It's not easy, but no one ever said anything that was worth it was easy. Allow yourself to succeed.

xoxo

Adoption April : All About My Birth Parents

2009-04-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

This is the fourth post in my "Adoption April" series. The Intro, first, second, and third posts can be found at those links if you wanted to read more before jumping into this one. This one is going to touch on all the facts that I know about my birth parents and how I feel about them, and if I want to meet them and why. Also it will discuss why I was a 'surprise' as stated before when I explained why I was adopted.

I know my birth mom's name is Wendee Sue and her last name at the time of my birth was Anderson. She wasn't married and I don't know her exact age at the time of my birth. She had brown hair like mine and was very skinny. I know she was very skinny because she walked out of the hospital, after having me, wearing a size 7 pant. The reason she was so skinny is because she didn't even know she was pregnant with me. She went into the hospital with 'stomach pains' and they told her she was having contractions and she was going to have a baby.

Talk about shocking huh. So the way I was born is a little bit different than a more traditional way, but that is also I think a huge part of why I was adopted. I think it's kind of cool that I was a surprise but I'm sure Wendee wasn't too into it.

My birth dad's name is Michael and his last name is either Martin or Martinez, so they think. There isn't much information on either of them that my parents collected from them but I am glad that I know their names. I also know their birthdays and I know that Wendee was born in the Midwest.

People always ask me if I want to meet them both or my birth mom. I do! I would love to meet her, and I just haven't actively pursued it that much, you know life can be kind of busy! I am considering looking more into a private investigator and see what my options are. I know that is expensive though, so that would also take some time. Finding people isn't the easiest thing in the world. I would completely understand if she or he didn't want to meet me though, but I feel that it would be important at this time to get a family medical history report since so many diseases are genetic. I would hope that they would understand that and would be able to give me the family medical report. With that alone I think I would be happy as well.

I know I would be okay if they didn't want to meet me, because I still think about their situation. Sometimes I wonder what she looks like, and what he looks like, even if they are still together or still talk. I also wonder if I would have any other siblings through either of them. Isn't that weird to think about? I think that it would be cool to meet them, and see what their lives are like. I don't want anything from either of them at all, and if they weren't comfortable with meeting/talking/communication, I wouldn't force it upon them either. I couldn't even imagine the shock that they both must have had when I decided to enter the world.

As of right now, I have no idea where they are, what their lives are like, what they look like, or anything of that matter, but it does interest me. Also if I were to communicate with them, I would understand both of their apprehension if there was some. What would you do if your daughter that you hadn't seen or heard from or about in 23 years all of a sudden reached out to you? It would blow my mind. I think there has to be a level of curiousness of both my and her mind though. Is that curiousness enough to pursue communication? I don't know. Time will only tell.

I also realize that they will never replace my parents, and I would never even think that that would happen. I feel that if I was seeking them out because I felt abandoned or like I didn't fit in with my family, or like I was unwanted, it would be a different issue, because then I realize that my feelings would be hurt if they didn't want to have anything to do with me. I am interested to see what you guys think about this. I'm sure there are going to be some interesting comments. :)

If you have any emails for the next and sadly last, Adoption April (whoops it will be May) Question and Answer post please feel free to email me at (danicakoo) (at) (gmail) (dot) (com).

Here's a funny picture of me and my brother. Funny thing, someone asked me if I was HIS MOM THIS WEEKEND.

Sorry that one is so bad quality. Me and the T. (who also just found out about my blog this weekend and did some reading on it... his quote, "Don't use my name, I don't want it to make it any easier for the government to track me.")

As for the 20 miler. I did it this weekend. I still can't believe I actually did it. Claude was along for the ride as well, and stuck with it. I have some funny pictures from the run, but maybe I'll post them on Saturday but tomorrow will be the complete recap. Some very interesting things happened on the run and I can't wait to share with you guys. I know, you're all on the edge of your seat in anticipation.

xoxo

Nada. Zero. Ziltch.

2009-04-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

So I have nothing to say today. You're all shocked I know. Well pick your jaw up off the ground. I'm worried about my 20 miler in the morning. I can only imagine how many bathroom breaks I'm going to have to take. Sadly these are the things I'm worried about. I thought this would be fun though, Amanda tagged me in this game, and who doesn't want to know more about me??

Crazy 8 Tag:

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Lunch: I brought hummus. Delish.
2. Running 20 miles tomorrow, because then I feel like I KNOW I'll be able to run the full marathon in a little over 30 days
3. Warm weather, so I can keep working on my tan. (don't worry, don't send me hate mail. I wear sunscreen!)
4. A Possible upcoming photo shoot... (I'll let you all know more lattttter :)
5. Doing nothing tomorrow after my run, preferable while watching the Ducks annihilate the Sharks (again!) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once more and watching some Angel baseball.
6. Going to San Fran and meeting up with all my girls and running the SF half in July.
7. What flavors of Gu the store will have for my long run tomorrow morning. I hope they have chocolate.
8. Getting my car (the koo) washed on my lunch break because I haven't washed it in SIX MONTHS

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Was on a conference call
2. Ate a chicken quesadilla from my favorite place, Super Mex
3. Was stuck in traffic on the way home from work
4. Went to Target and returned 2 things
5. Walked to Yogurtland for dessert
6. Ate a chicken salad sandwich
7. Ran three measly miles. Fail.
8. Drank 6 1 liter bottles of water. Consequently went to the bathroom 200 times.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do/Want To Do

1. Move out of CA
2. Go to the beach every day
3. Run faster! :) ( I know I know, I have to train harder, DUH)
4. Go back to Kauai!
5. Get a puppy
6. Run an ultra (one day!)
7. Get married (one day, far far away...)
8. Give back to people/community more (working on it)

8 Shows I Watch
1. The Office
2. Parks and Recreation
3. Millionaire Matchmaker
4. Make me a Supermodel
5. Dancing with the Stars
6. Biggest Loser
7. American Idol
8. The Hills (wha whaaa)

And how could I resist not putting in some more Kauai pics for this photo Friday by the lovely Nike Mom. Come on, the trip hasn't worn off yet! :)

This is overlooking the Hanalei Valley again. Just me being a little creepy.

This is basically summing up me and Mr. R's relationship to a T... This is at Wakiki Beach in Oahu during our layover. We are addicted to the beach. I basically always wear outfits that resemble this and he always looks likes that... We are also ADDICTED to Starbucks. Funny thing is I don't even drink coffee and neither does Mr. R, only on occasion. I am a Starbucks drinker of all their other drinks, especially the soy Chai Latte.

Well everyone, have a wonderful weekend. I'll report back about the 20 miler on Monday! I am just telling myself, 10 miles out, 10 miles back. I'll probably let you all know I'm alive still via my Twitter... Last night Mr. R called me a tweetwhore! What! :) He is slowly learning about twitter. One day he'll come around :)

xoxo

Ps. To those who asked about the Victoria Secret Swimsuit, there is no padding, no nothing in that baby. It's just swimsuit material.

Stimulate the economy...

2009-04-23T09:34:00.001-07:00

So I know you all got some tax returns, and if you had to pay, bummer, but still with all these deals, how can you resist? Also right now, it's almost summer, but it's the BEST time to buy winter running gear. Jackets are on huge sales right now, especially North Face stuff including their fleeces. I love to be warm, so you can search around for some other deals if you needed any winter wear.

Women's

Adidas Track Jacket

Adidas Hoodie

Nike Short Sleeve Tee

Nike Singlet

Saucony Run Lux Shorts

Mizuno Breath Sports Bra

Ryka Racer Back Top

Mizuno Jinx Sports Tank Top

Marmot Long Sleeve Half Zip Pullover

Alpine Design Women's Half Zip Turtleneck Fleece

Nike Racer back Tank

Nike Dip Dye Strappy Yoga Tank

Nike Women's Striped Seemless Tank

Adidas Clima cool Tank

Nike Gym Basics Long Sport Tank

Fila Cross Back Tank

Asics Running Singlet

Men's

Nike Jacket

C9 Hooded Fleece

C9 1/4 Zip Hooded Fleece

C9 Long Sleeve Running Top

Mizuno Maverick Shorts

Saucony Elite Shorts

Rain Jacket

Arc'Teryx Long Sleeve Half Zip Jacket

Nike Dri-Fit Reflective Running Shorts

Reebok Premier Split Running Shorts

Nike Race Day Shorts

Accessories

Powerbar Endurance Sports Drink Mix

Accelerade Advanced Sports Drink Mix

Clif Lemon Lime or Strawberry Shot Bloks

North Face Photon with Bottle

As for the workout schedule, I got a run in tonight after work and hopefully I'll be able to fit in 6 to 8 miles, depending on the daylight left once I leave the office. After running stairs the other day I was feeling it in my quads a lot. It felt good to be sore again. I have been really busy at work so I haven't had much time to even think. I am still working on my review of the Garmin so that everyone can understand why they DO need one :) I wasn't so convinced, but now that I have one it's amazing. I also have some cool stuff to review for you guys so that will be coming around soon too. Now go buy something!

xoxo

PS all my baithing suits in my pictures are from Target, minus the Orange Blue and white one, which is from Victoria Secret and is only like 30 bucks!

Hawaii pt. 2

2009-04-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

So more glorious pictures for you to be jealous of. Grab a coke zero

After Waimea Canyon, we saw the spouting horn. It's a blowhole that makes a lot of noise and it spouts water. Pretty sick. We watched it for ten minutes and then decided getting sun was more important.

This little guy was chillin' on the beach! :) Monk seals are known to go to the shore after a feeding and they rest there. Don't worry he's NOT DEAD. They state of Hawaii is very protective of them and have someone guard them and they are also roped off so they will be 'safe'. They put up signs like this one too.

Don't worry he's living the life.

The next day we went to the spa and got a massage. Ahhhhh. Then we decided to walk down to a beach by our hotel. Nothing really where we were staying was 'close' to the beach and a lot of beaches take a steep downhill to get there and a steep uphill to get back.

Yikes.

Yea, not so dangerous? It was a nice beach with barely anyone on it.

That night we also went to Postcards Cafe.

It was pretty good, and the hummus was amazing. I have a thing for hummus. :)

This is hideaways beach, you have to hike down 191 stairs/muddy rocks that are disguised as stairs to get there. Luckily there is a rope like thing to hold on too.

After Hideaways we drove to another beach, that had a little river that you had to cross to get to the beach.

It was kind of cold in the afternoon on this day and I was burning. I was stupid and didn't put any sunscreen on my legs the day before thinking they already had some color. I forgot I'm not 10 anymore and burned crazy lines on my legs. Giant Fail. Luckily the next day I was fine after slathering aloe on them.

The next day we went to another beach, called Tunnels. It's known for great snorkeling and Mr. R got some snorkel stuff. I am not one to snorkel. I hate when the fish get close, it freaks me out. He said he saw a turtle.

This was a picture taken on the way to Tunnels. See what I mean about being so green and lush?

Sadly, this was also the day we left to come back home. We checked out and got ready to come back to the 'mainland'. Before leaving though, we stopped in over by the airport/harbor and got some delicious dinner at Dukes restaurant.

I know. I know. Wearing leggings as legitimate pants, not acceptable, BUT I was trying to be comfy on the plane. Also didn't want to do the hand on the hip, yet again, so I made an awkward arm thing. Cool. Anyways, Dukes overlooks this bay. This is where Mr. R saw one of his students. CRAZY.

Other than that... The trip was simply amazing. I got some fat cold sores from spending a little too much time with my 2nd lover, the sun, which stinks now, but oh well it was more than worth it. We flew back on a red eye on Friday morning and then Friday night was KAYVMANIA. One of my roommates little brother's best friends (I know him because we went to Hawaii together and we are kind of close in age) turned 21. He rented out the BigRedBus and we rode around in it and it took us to four different bars. I didn't drink much but when I did it was keystone because that was free on the bus. So classy.

Me and the best friend, yup, we are wearing matching shirts for the party.

Party till you pass out. What am I? 15? Hilarious none the less and though I was tired it was a great time.

So that sums up my trip and last weekend.

Last night was wonderful. We decided on the counter and it was great food and the Angels finally got out of the losing slump. Mr. R got me the newest coach breast cancer awareness keychain, which is too cute. Tonight I'm going to get in some miles after work and I hope it cools down soon. Right now I'm really craving a cupcake or some Redbull. Perhaps a lot of sugar free Redbull.

Tomorrow = deals coming your way.

xoxo

Hawaii pt. 1

2009-04-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

So here's the long awaited Hawaii post with enough pictures to crash your little pcs so be patient, sit back, grab a coke zero, and let these load up. :)

After our flight over to Oahu, where it was pouring rain when we arrived, we had a short layover and met up with the other couple we went with as well. We had previously planned to go see Pearl Harbor and grab a bite to eat in Waikiki. We grabbed our rental car and got a free upgrade to a Chrysler 300m instead of a ford focus. YES! All you have to do is ask. Seriously, it worked for us. Though I have seen Pearl Harbor before, it's always sobering to see it and this time was no different. It is eerie and they have a movie and tour of the memorial. It was a great part of our trip and I'm glad we went to see it again.

Oil still leaks up from the Arizona, resting on the ocean floor.

The memorial from a distance.

In memory of those who lost their lives there.

Riding out to the memorial.

The sunset in Waikiki where we got dinner and walked around for a little bit before we had to take our hopper flight over to Kauai, where it wasn't raining!

After traveling for over 21 hours and not sleeping, we were all exhausted. We decided to sleep in and awoke to a wonderful sunny day. We decided to go to a Farmer's market, see the local lighthouse and do some grocery shopping and 'regain our bearings' (Mr. R's favorite saying...)

Here is the Kilauea Lighthouse. It was gorgeous. At the farmers market we got some delicious salsa, a wonderful organic pineapple and some banana bread. We stopped at a few beaches that day and just saw a few sights before going grocery shopping.

Stopping at a Beach along the road for some tanning, aka where I got fried the first day. Angel Pride! (Sadly, they are not doing so well and the couple we were with on the trip loves the Mariners, who did the Angels lose to the entire trip? THE MARINERS. BOO!) That night we decided to go to the Hanalei Dolphin for dinner, which was WONDERFUL and I would have to say my favorite place to eat on the island during this trip.

Can't you tell Mr. R loves taking pictures?

HUNGRY! We are right by the Hanalei River. Many choose to kayak up the river, but we all know the T-rex arms wouldn't handle that well.

The next morning was Easter, and we decided to go to an early sunrise service on the beach pier in Hanalei. It was hard to get up early but it was worth it and gorgeous. How many times in your life can you say you've gone to Easter service in Kauai on a beach? After church we stopped by the overlook that was right across the main street from where we were staying.

It overlooks the Hanalei taro fields and the mountains of Hanalei where there are tons of beautiful waterfalls. It was a nice warm day so we went to the beach...

The next day we wanted to go and see the other side of the island (Poipu) since we were staying on the Princeville side, and we wanted to see Waiema Canyon. This was an amazing day of sightseeing and driving. We also hiked to a waterfall.

The Canyon. It's like a mini grand canyon.

The main lookout point where all the tourists go.

Overlooking the Canyon.

First of the waterfalls we visited along the hike. The book we were following told us it was moderately strenuous.

Well it was downhill one way and uphill the other way. Easy on the way down and HARD on the way up was a better description. Overall it was about 3 miles round trip. Claude went along for the hike!

A view from the end of the hike, we are standing on top of a waterfall.

On the edge by the waterfall! It was a LONG way down

The pegs got me there :)

Overall I would have to say that one of my favorite things that we did on our trip was the hike. It was something that I wouldn't normally do and I really enjoyed it, even though the way up was a little tough. I realized I need to work my quads and calves more! :) I love going on hikes and am going to try to go on more around my home as well. It's a great workout and so refreshing.

We had great weather while we were there and it was so relaxing and nice to be 'away'. Even though it rained at night and halfway through our last day, it wasn't a big deal. Kauai is my favorite island of the Hawaiian chain by far. It is so lush and really is very tropical. When I think of Hawaii, and how I always thought it would be, I always think of Kauai.

Tomorrow will be the other post with all the other pictures! :) Stay tuned!

Well it's still blazing hot here in CA. I don't know where this hot weather came from, but this morning on my run I was melting like a popsicle on a hot August day. It was only 6:30 in the morning. Not good. But, this morning I ran 3 miles and ran stairs in the middle. 75 stairs 5 times. I can already feel it in my quads and calves. Tonight Mr. R and I are going out to dinner to celebrate our one year and six month anniversary. Normally I don't celebrate anniversaries or anything, but it's fun and I got him a gift for no reason so now I have the opportunity to give it to him. I LOVE giving gifts. It's my thing I think. And don't worry, we are only going to CHICK-FIL-A!!!! Which is my favorite place, or possibly we might go to The Counter. Another great place. There are neither by my house and both by his, so I love going down to his place and getting chickfila for dinner.

I'm getting my endurance back! Just like you all said I would. Thanks for the encouraging words while I was in my rut. I am getting nervous about the marathon, but I know going in with the non-competitive mindset will be best for me for my first marathon and then afterwards I can take it from there and see what I want to do with races and different distances. I know I will be able to finish. I have a 20 miler scheduled for this weekend and once I've done that I know I will be set to go.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

xoxo

Adoption April : My thoughts on Adoption

2009-04-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

So I'm back! Back at work, and after an eventful weekend that included Kayvmania (pictures and explanation to come) I'm excited to get back to blogging, reading and running! But most importantly, it's still Adoption April! This is the third post in my "Adoption April" series. The Intro, First Post and Second Post can all be found at those links. Today I wanted to post about my thoughts about adoption and why I think it worked well for my family and me.

I know many of you have children of your own, or are at the stage in your life that you are having children or considering this for your family. Personally, I have never thought of myself actually having kids. I don't know why I think like this, but I think possibly that it has to do with the fact that my mom didn't 'have me' so I can't imagine myself being pregnant or actually having a child. I still haven't made a complete decision on whether or not I want to physically have children but I think that also will depend on when and who I marry and all that sort of thing. Go ahead, comment with what ever you think, but remember everyone is different.

I do think that adoption is such a powerful thing, and honestly, I will consider it when I am ready to have children. I think a lot of people think that adoption is only adopting drug babies, problem babies, or children that have gone through foster care, which isn't true. I was a completely healthy, albeit small, baby and was adopted into a loving home. My birth mom never contacted my parents to ask for me back, there were never any issues with her or my birth family. I know that could have been a possibility, but it hasn't happened yet... :)

BABY DANICA!!!! :)

When I was growing up, most people honestly couldn't believe I was adopted. I looked like my family and had the same attitude and mannerisms as my mother. Now, I am JUST. LIKE. MY. MOM. It was never a 'weird' thing to talk about with my friends either. Surprisingly enough, one of my best friends and now roommate is also adopted. We sometimes talk about it, and our feelings, but like me, she has known her entire life that she was adopted. She also harbors no bad feelings towards either sets of her parents. It's a fun bond that we share together and it's also nice to talk about our adoptions together.

I never, ever felt different than other kids. I never felt like I had a different relationship with my parents or different family setting. I think the openness that my parents had helped this, and I also never felt unwanted, or uncommitted too. I never felt abandoned or like my birth parents didn't love me or want me and that's why they 'gave me up'. They were mature enough to realize that they couldn't provide the best life for me and wanted to give me a chance at a better life. That is why they gave me up for adoption.

The best part about adoption is that I was openly welcomed into a family that I wasn't biologically part of. I NEVER felt unaccepted, or questioned if I was suppose to be there. Granted, I grew up with my family, grandparents and cousins that all loved me unconditionally and I think that always made me feel welcome and loved. I was a part of my family unconditionally. I think that has made the biggest difference for me.

I wasn't born into a family, I don't know my exact heritage, or who gave birth to me, but at the same time that doesn't make me less of a person, or question why I'm here or what I'm doing without my original family. I have always thought of my adoptive family as my one and only family. I would like to meet my birth parents one day but I honestly don't have the money to hire a private investigator and everything at the moment so I know it will come with time, but I am looking more into it. I understand that they might not even want to be in communication with me at the same time. I feel that the only important thing that I would need to possibly get from them is my families medical history for any genetic diseases that I might be exposed too. If they would like to communicate than that's also great. I will discuss more about them in my next post which is suppose to be all about them and my feelings and what I do know about them.

Sweet outfit! :)
Please feel free to email any questions you may have for the last post of adoption April to (danica) (koo) @ (gmail) (dot) (com).

So a quick running update, bullet point style

I was in a huge running rut
I took over a week and a half off, only running twice and running two shorter runs
I don't know how anyone can run in Hawaii, it's WAY too hot and the Humidity... killer!
My toenail finally came off... BOO!
BUT! underneath there was a new toenail! Yay! I don't look like a freak!
I got back to running this weekend and realized that I'm out of shape so I am going to work really hard to get back into shape and nail the San Diego Marathon that is also only 41 short days away!

This week I'm going to work on getting my endurance back (shouldn't be too hard) and then I have a long run planned this weekend that will get me back nose to the grindstone.

As for the Hawaii post? I've decided to separate them up into two posts, one probably tomorrow and one on Friday :) It was amazing and wonderful and now I have a sweet tan. We did lots of cool stuff and I took a ton of pictures so I'll share some with you, don't worry. I also have some good reviews coming up, including a review of the Garmin. Hope everyone had a wonderful week without me.

xoxo

Mindless Clicks.

2009-04-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

So I have some sites that I MUST visit daily. (I'm sure I'm missing them right now in Hawaii, ha ha) but I wanted to share them with you, perhaps you seen/heard of some of them, but there are some classics.

Hostess with the Mostess - Great ideas for parties and planning. I went to an event that she hosted back in LA in the winter and it was SO fun. If you need to get some creative juices flowing, visit her site!

Cake Wrecks - LOVE this blog. She posts the funniest stuff about Cakes that have been messed up. I could look at them all day long.

Fail Blog - AMAZING. Super hilarious and seriously, though I wonder if EVERYTHING is 100% real, I can't get enough.

Out blush - Always posting great stuff that I WANT! Probably don't necessarily need.

You Tubes Kittens Inspired By Kittens - my roommate is a YouTube FANATIC and always finds the best stuff. I watch this video ALL the time. We repeat phrases out of it. I don't even truly love cats and I love this. We are eating pepper and chips! Watch it, you'll find yourself saying the weirdest stuff out it.

Ukrainian Cover of Hot and Cold - another HILARIOUS video. I don't know who makes these, but they are genius

F my life - I could read these all day. It possibly be because I have the humor of a 12 year old.

Overheard in NY - Another hilarious site that has so many funny things uploaded throughout the day, they have a beach one that is even funnier.

This is why youre fat - Wow, I could look at these ALL day, but then... you want to throw up. Watch out.

Do you have those sites that you must visit? I love these sites, or perhaps I love laughing at other peoples misfortune! :)

xoxo

Taxing...

2009-04-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well lets just say that today is a wonderful day... to some. I hope you all finished your taxes in time! I got mine done before leaving for Hawaii, thankfully, and this year was the first year where I made more than 10 dollars. It's amazing what a full time job can do for you! :)

This was also the first year that I had my professionally done and let me tell you, it's so worth it. I just handed over my papers and the wonderful tax person did them for me. Stress free.

I hope you all are going to have wonderful returns as well. :)

This is where I'm spending all my returns. Ps. Happy Birthday to Mr. R's brother. :)

xoxo

I love me some race photos

2009-04-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, why do race photos always come out horrible? Does everyone else experience this?

I know it might possibly be because you are out of breath, hurling your body towards the finish line, sweating, and wearing 'running clothes', but man, I really need to smile more, and not look like I'm ready to die. These are the pictures from the last race I ran, the Seal Beach 10k. Notice the super cool Zensah armwarmers too, that I never had to adjust and they never moved!

I think this was at the beginning of the race, maybe? And why does my leg look so weird?

If these don't make you laugh... then I don't know what will...

I am always looking down when I run, I don't know why!'

Hooooooray! A half decent one! Yes! Now let me order it for $500 dollars, not!

This last one looks like my foot is going THUD. ha ha.

Does anyone else think race pictures are a total rip off? I mean, I could have a spectator go there, take pictures of me and I wouldn't look like I was going to throw up in all of them. Have any of you bought the pictures?

It would be great to start a company and charge minimally for the prints, or even for the file. I've never personally bought any but maybe for my San Diego Full Marathon I will.

xoxo

Adoption April : Growing up Adopted

2009-04-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is the second of the Adoption series that I wanted to post on. You can read the intro of the series here: Adoption April, and last week's first entry here: Adoption April : Why I Was Adopted. Today's post is all about how I grew up being adopted. From what my parents told me from the beginning and how we as a family treated adoption.

I think that how my family addressed my adoption is what made my adoption special and made it work as a family as well. If I adopt, as my parents did, I could never imagine keeping a secret like that from my child, and being adopted, I don't think that that would have been a good idea. I think if my parents told me "when I was old enough to truly understand", or at some milestone birthday it would have had a different effect on me. I also am glad it wasn't a secret because then I feel like I could have resented the process or being adopted. Since I knew from day one, I have never thought about resenting adoption or my birth parents or parents.

My parents thought that me knowing I was adopted was an important part in my life. I am really thankful that my parents told me and I have never once questioned or been mad at my birth mom for 'giving me up'. I have always been told that my birth mom knew that she couldn't give me the 'best life' and the most opportunity, so she decided that adoption was a better option for her at the time, instead of keeping me. I totally agree with her decision and see her reasoning. If I was to get pregnant right now, I would honestly consider the same options. I don't think that "giving me up" is a good way to look at being adopted and why should you be angry about someone giving you a better chance at a life? I don't think adoption is because someone didn't 'want you', it's because they were wise and unselfish enough to let you go.

Many people have different ideas about adoption and I know some people are totally against it, don't understand it, and whatever your thoughts may be, the way that I was raised worked the best for my situation and made me understand and realize what a great thing adoption is and how great it can be for any family.

Around our house there were books that explained adoption in 'kid terms'. My parents would read me these books if I chose and I think this is what helped me understand at a very small age. These books might had had me come up with questions, and the questions were always answered to the best of my parents abilities and their knowledge. It was very open topic to talk about. They were always also willing to talk to me about it at any time. I feel like this really allowed me to understand that it was a good thing and it's not that my birth parents didn't want me, but that they chose to give me a 'better life' because they couldn't offer me that. Nothing was 'my fault' about my adoption, and I wasn't adopted because my birth parents didn't want me.

I think that is a great way to view adoption, and I think my adoption also was very easy to deal with because my parents never tried to hide anything from me. Another thing that was important to our family was that we always celebrated my brother's and my "Adoption Day." It was celebrated on the day that we were legally adopted into the family. Back when we were in school both my parents would take off from work, and we would do whatever the Adoption Day person wanted to do. We would eat whatever they wanted to eat, go do fun things, like Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Beach, Mini Golf, Bowling, surfing (My brother is a hardcore surfer). I even remember making my entire family wear purple because it was my favorite color that day. Strange, but true! It was a day dedicated to the adopted person.

A lot of great memories were made on these days, and it was almost like a 2nd birthday because we would get cards and small gifts. I think it was also important to celebrate the day because it brought recognition to the fact that we were adopted, and my parents were so happy to have me and my brother that they celebrated it. Looking back, that is why my Adoption Day (January 23) is always so special to me. It was the day I officially became a part of my family and it was to be celebrated!

I think by growing up in a home where adoption was accepted and that I always knew I was adopted really helped me understand the concept. I also think that having really open parents who were willing to talk about the process and who explained to me that adoption wasn't because I was 'unwanted' but because God wanted me elsewhere was also very important. My entire family and all my friends always knew that I was adopted, which I also think was a wise decision. I'm glad my parents didn't tell me when I turned 16, or 10 or something like that, and it was always just a known fact for as long as I can remember.

I think it was because of my 'open' adoption that I don't have any resentment towards my parents about adopting me, or my birth parents about giving me up for adoption. I could see how people could harbor these feelings if it was sprung on them that they were adopted.

Here's a picture of me and my little brother when we were little! :) Can you tell that we aren't related.

Those BANGS!!! :) A family picture from a long time ago.

Next week Monday I'm excited to share my personal thoughts on Adoption and how I feel that adoption has affected me and how I deal with some of the questions that I do get on occasion. Remember, the last post of Adoption April will be an open Q&A, so feel free to email me with ANY question. Seriously, I don't mind at all. Email me (danicakoo) (@) (gmail) (dot) (com)

xoxo

Easter Weekend...

2009-04-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Since it's Photo Friday, I wanted to share with you guys some pictures from LAST Easter weekend! I went up to Mr. R's grandpa and grandma's house. I don't even know if they live in a city or where we were, but it was gorgeous.

From their front yard. They don't have neighbors. How cool is that? That's Mr. R's Car, Babs the Audi too. :)

Mr. R and I went on an ATV ride across their land.

There were a lot of these cows mooing about, I am scared of them! They are HUGE.

See! I could live on a farm... cough... cough..

It's always so nice for me to visit the area where Mr. R grew up. It's so different from being in the city and I LOVE it up there. It's nice to unwind and makes me think that yes, one day I will be able to move out of CA. I love you CA, but sometimes you are just a little bit to crazy for me. I can't even imagine being able to run and not thinking about getting run over by a car! Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter Weekend! As for Mr. R and I, this year we will be in HAWAII! I'm actually flying over there right as this is being posted... :)

xoxo

Winner Winner!

2009-04-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

So the winner according to Random Number Customizer is....

THE RUNNING LAMINATOR!!!!!!!

Thank you all who entered and I hope you enjoyed the contest, and at least will visit Online Shoes for your next pair of shoes, whether they be running shoes or fun shoes, they have great selection and free shipping and free returns which are a big plus. :) Stay tuned because I'll have another giveaway coming up soon!

Here's some deals for those who need new running stuff. Also right now is the perfect time to buy winter running gear as stores are trying to get rid of it!

Women

Asics Sleeveless Top

Nike Dri-Fit Traning Tank

Nike Strong And Strappy Tank (love it!)

Nike Pro Ultimate Short Sleeve Shirt

Champion Spandex Shorts

Nike Gym Basics Long Shorts

Jockey Roll Down Waist Band Pants

Brooks Power Top Mesh Tank Top

Brooks Running Skirt

Alpine Design Dri-Fit Turtle Neck

Adidas Clima Proof Wind Shell Jacket

White Sierra Microfleece Top

Heavy Weight Spyder Turtleneck

Nike Low-Impact Long Tank

Nike Pinnacle Long Sports Tunic (Love!!)

Nike Everyday Running Long Tank

Adidas Clima Cool Tank

Nike Seamless Tank (love!)

Alpine Design Women's Fleece Top

Nike Dri-Fit Long Sleeve Top

Nike Long Sleeve Banded Top (love!!)

Nike Short Sleeve Banded Tee

Asics Short Sleeve Running Tee

Nike Long Tank

Men's (sorry guys, not to many sales for you today!)

Brooks Pacer Shorts

Nike Dri-Fit Shorts

Reebok Premier Split Shorts

Nike Dri-Fit Race Day Shorts

Brooks HAVC Shorts

Accessories

Salomon Ultra Trail Running Waist pack

Nathan Sidekick Media Pouch

Nathan SideKick Fitness Pouch

As many of you know, I'm a huge Angel fan, and sadly, we lost a great pitcher last night to a car accident in Fullerton, CA. Please keep the Adenhart family and Angel team in your prayers. You can read the tragic story here.

Lastly, tomorrow I am leaving for Hawaii! :) Though I'm excited to go, I won't be blogging regularly. There are still some scheduled posts that will be going on, like ADOPTION APRIL! I also have some random things that I have been wanting to post about so they will be mixed in as well, but no deal Thursday, since I like those to be all the latest and newest deals. Good luck to everyone racing this weekend, and I'll be back soon, don't worry! Remember, if you have a question for Adoption April, feel free to email me at (danicakoo)(@)(gmail)(dot)(com).

ALOHA!

xoxo

ZENSAH REVIEW

2009-04-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

So I got some products from Zensah right before I got sick but I was excited to try them out and had to wait an incredibly long time to do so. I got a pink sports bra, some pink arm warmers, a pink running skirt and some compression socks. I decided to run in the sports bra and use the arm warmers this weekend for my extended long run/race.

I am VERY picky about sports bras, so I was skeptical this one would be tight enough, hold everything together and not chafe. I am right inbetween a 34B/C so smalls are WAY too tight and mediums usually fit okay, but sometimes they squeeze the fat on my underarms which doesn't look very chic. For some reason I also chafe like a snake shedding it's skin on my long runs.

Then the arm warmers... The first person I ever saw wearing them was LA Runner and I wondered what in the HECK they were used for. After a while it dawned on me but I still didn't see the need for them at all, or if they would even work, plus I thought I would look like an idiot with them on. I thought the same thing about my hydration belt and now I have one and love it. Little did I know that the arm warmers would be amazing. I even saw a few comments yesterday wondering what I was doing with them. I agree, it's weird, but wait till you hear about them.

The sports bra is seriously great. I like my sports bras unusually tight and this one fit nice and snug but wasn't suffocating. I even noticed it holding everything together at all the right times. That's right, I checked myself out in the buildings I ran by and saw that I wasn't all over the place. It wasn't too tight to wreck with my breathing and I felt very, shall we say, supported, at ALL times, which is nice. Sometimes when it's too hot my sports bras get damp with sweat and this was not the case at all. It stayed dry and the material was VERY comfortable. I was really surprised with what a difference this sports bra made. I wore it for a very long run too, 16 miles, and it held up great.

Another great thing about the sports bra was that there was absolutely no sign of chafing at all. I usually have some kind of chafing in a ring around chest from the top of the sports bra and also underneath the sports bra. I had absolutely no sign of either spots chafing. I was comfortable, not to warm and I even ran without a shirt for 2 miles and felt great, not like I was giving a free show to those around me. It was a great support sports bra and fit really well. I totally would recommend them, and they have a cool colors on their site.

Secondly the arm warmers. I was very VERY skeptical that these things were worth basically anything. They are fairly expensive and I just couldn't see myself buying something without getting to try it out first. I didn't even know the true need for these. I didn't know what to expect or how warm they would keep me, anything. I slipped them on over my arms before I left and they were at least very comfortable on. I didn't know what to expect once I went outside. It was pretty cool out, and I did want to wear a long sleeve shirt but I HATE having to tie it around my waist, neck or whatever I can, once I get warm after running for ten minutes. The sleeves are simply AMAZING. I was shocked how great they worked. My arms felt warm the entire time and they are the perfect length so that Claude doesn't hit my wrist bone either. They are breathable, and felt like nothing was even on my arms but they kept me the perfect temperature.

Even when it got a little warmer, they were so comfy I just left them on. I wore them for all of my 16 mile run and never felt more comfortable in my life. I wasn't too hot or too cold and they worked out great. I would totally recommend them to anyone who goes out for a run and doesn't want to get cold. Seriously, I was really skeptical, but now that I've tried them I know I'll be using these instead of long sleeved shirts that just overheat me. Plus, they make you look WAY MORE HARDCORE!

There is a section that got cut off that said that it was really easy to bend and move my arm in because my other arm is bent. And I totally realize that I spelled hight instead of high. FAIL big time, but I am not going back into photoshop (though my skills are obviously amazing) to fix it. You get the point, they go up high.

Though Zensah's products are a bit more on the pricey side, I totally think they are worth it. Arm warmers are a great way to stay warm and not have to haul a bunch of crap with you on your run. Also you can slip stuff inside them and keep it there, like a key. They never bunched or even moved when I ran, moved or anything. They were not to tight or sufficating either, which was great. When you do get hot, you can just push them down around your wrists and they don't even bother you. Give them a try! Thanks again to Zensah who allowed me to try out the arm warmers and made me a follower! I can't wait to wear them in the summer months on longer runs with a tank top!

I am so busy getting ready for Hawaii that my running is suffering. I only went for a little 3 mile jog yesterday and we'll see what I can fit in tonight inbetween laundry and packing! Get ready for tomorrow, when I announce the winner of the $100 onlineshoes.com giveaway, and have Deal Thursday! :)

xoxo