Sometimes wheels are just nicer.

I went rollerblading today. Josh and I finally had a day off together and decided to make the most of the gorgeous weather, so I put on my wheels and he hopped on his bike. We went on the same trail that Pam and I run at least once a week. It's near the house and mostly smooth so blades wouldn't be a problem.

We had to take a quick detour at the beginning so Josh could put some air in the tires ... the bike had been sitting on the patio for a while and with the change in moisture and temperature over the past few months, the tires were over it. It was pretty funny though, because when Josh hopped on the bike outside the apartment he described it as 'trying to ride through mud' ... in which case I thought he was doing well to keep up with me! There is no way I would have been able to move the bike through mud  ;-)

For those of you wondering ... yes, I did wear plenty of sunscreen and didn't get burned  :)   I even wore a longer t-shirt to make sure I was completely covered. I never want to burn like that again!

So I decided to wear my Garmin GPS watch to keep an eye on the work-out. At one point we were moving at a 6-minute mile pace. All I could think was, "Oh my gosh, there are people in this world who run whole marathons at this pace ... and we are moving fast!" I couldn't imagine ever being able to run that fast. My fastest time ever is a 7.5 minute mile for 3 miles ... and had the race been longer, I am pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to keep up that pace!

The trail also went a lot faster. It was kind of nice for a change. There are days when I struggle to run that trail and here we completed it in an hour. Sometimes wheels just make a world of difference. Oh, and because there was no real impact on my joints, my left knee didn't ache at all :)  Hurray!

So yeah, I very much enjoyed the afternoon with my love. Sometimes it's fun to just get out of the house and enjoy the great outdoors! Though I wish we had time to do stuff like this more often. I want for us to be an active family rather than a couch potato family. You learn so much about another person when you are out experiencing new things together! Not to mention, of course, the health benefits. Exercise should be fun ... not a chore.

Anyway, a good day indeed! May there be many more to come!
Onwards and upwards my fellow runners ... even if you did choose wheels today!

Hello Mr. Snake, thank you for the adrenaline rush!

Pam and I went for a fantastic run today! 8 miles of nothing but strong running. We didnt walk at all today, we just had two brief stops; 1) at 4 miles for a quick stretch and refuel, 2) at mile 7 to refill our water bottles at the water fountain. The weather was delicious! It was warm and sunny with a little breeze, I was glad I wore sunscreen!

I wanted to buy some arm-warmers online but saw that they were $30 and thought that without the rest of the shirt, that was a little steep. Then I found a comment section where one lady talked about making her own arm-warmers out of Target knee-high socks. I have plenty of those and so decided to try it myself. I got a pair of my plain black knee-high socks and cut the toes out. They worked perfectly! So I wore my running tank top and arm warmers, which once I warmed up was able to just rolled down and take off. So I will not be buying arm-warmers for $30 any time soon!

On the run, Pam and I were just chatting as we do and suddenly on the little dirt path next to us, there was a snake! I just pointed and screamed and ran the other way ... Pam screamed and jumped out of the way, which actually scared the snake back into the bushes. So thank you Pam for saving us! hahaha!!!

The snake was about a foot long, maybe a little bit longer and seemed to just be enjoying the sun. I am not 100% sure if this was the snake we saw, but it looked very very similar.

The caption with this photo says that it is a California Mountain Kingsnake ... but we werent in the mountains, in fact we were by the bay ... so I am sure it was a different snake, but I am no expert.

Anyway, it was an awesome run and we felt great! I hope to have another strong run like this later in the week along with some shorter runs.

Onwards and Upwards my fellow runners and non-runners alike!

Ahhh now that's why I run!

I had mapped out a 5k run for today. It was on the bike path so I wouldn't have to worry about  traffic lights. The temperature was a lovely 77F, clear skies and a light breeze (I love Southern California). I decided to take Brutus with me as he had been stuck in the apartment all morning and surely had some energy to burn, plus I like the company some days.
The turn-around for my 5k was on a part of the bike path I'd never been on before and according to the map it was marked. Well ... it wasn't marked and we passed it. It wasn't until two intersections later that I realized this and so we turned around. I was timing my run and was, at first, a little bummed out that the time was going to be off, but then realized that it was like a spontaneously longer run. So I settled back into the run and enjoyed the extra distance. I checked the map when I got home and I had only gone an extra half a mile total, so it wasn't that bad. So I completed the 3.7 miles in 00:39:29, which for me is pretty good. That puts my pace at 00:10:38 per mile. Now ... if I could just shave off that 38 seconds!

I didn't walk for any of my run today and boy did that feel good! And you know when you get to that last 100-200 yards and you sprint for the finish and you STILL feel incredibly strong like you could continue for hours? That was my run today. I felt strong, motivated and energized. THAT'S the runner's high I look for on a daily basis. It's been a while since I felt it that powerfully, so I was a happy camper at the end of it all.

Then it was off to Olive Garden for a three course meal with my fiance. I was glad that I had worked up an appetite! Cross-training in the gym tomorrow night  :)   Keep Running!

With the sun comes the runners :)

The weather is amazing here in Irvine today. A fabulous 76F, clear skies and a slight breeze. Chest cold or no chest cold, I was getting out there!!! It was my first run since I got the chest cold, so I wasnt sure how it would go. Being afraid that I would push myself too hard, I brought Brutus (My little 1.5 year old rat terrier) with me because I knew he would slow me down just a little bit.

Brutus is a fantastic little runner though. We ran 3 miles in just over 30 minutes. He does get distracted from time to time though haha.

I had to take two little 10 second walking breaks when my chest started to hurt. But other than that, it was like I'd never even taken a week off! I really need to find a route with less traffic lights though because running towards an intersection telling a light to please turn green wasnt working at all. Perhaps I will return to my beloved bicycle path tomorrow.

Onwards and Upwards fellow runners :)