Back News

This year I made the resolution (goal) to heal. I have had many years of back pain and spent years going to the chiropractor, then and last year switched to physical therapy. And yet I am still in pain, off and on. Or I guess I could more accurately describe it as really super duper achy- I don't have any sharp or shooting pains. Spasms in my lower back on really bad days. Sitting is almost unbearable at times. I am standing and typing this as a matter of fact. So. Back to the resolution part. I am actively trying to heal! I finally made an appointment to see a back specialist (took 3 weeks to get in to see him! These doctors must be worth their weight in gold.) last Monday, and he recommended I get an MRI to find out what is really going on. Waited another week, and this morning I spent 25 minutes in a very loud tube with the air on full blast and my eyes closed. I've had an MRI before, for my shoulder (that's another long story involving a water polo incident, a LOT of pain, and 9 total dislocations before I had surgery on that thing), but I don't remember it being quite that loud. Maybe because the tech forgot to turn on the music... Anyway, this time I was sent home with a disc of the images that I could look at on a computer (wish I had gotten one of my shoulder- that was gruesome! And I'm missing out on bragging rights there~), which I did and promptly started to freak out. I did my online research before I went in on the possible problems I could have, including bulging spinal discs and arthritis (freaked out looking that up too). If I can recognize the problem with no one to point things out, then I know that it's bad. Really bad. It was gross, and I had to stop looking at all those pictures. I took the disc directly to my doctor and he called me tonight after reviewing both the disc and the report sent by the radiologist, and as it turns out, I wasn't seeing things when I looked at the images myself. I have a bulging disc and tear between the L4 and L5 vertebrae, and a herniated disc between the L5 and S1 vertebrae. He even saw a little bit of arthritis in that L5 spot too. Apparently these things take 6-12 months to heal on their own. I really don't feel like being in pain for that long (plus the chances that I'll do something to irritate my lower back so it doesn't heal are pretty good too- and that is me saying this and not my doctor because it seems no matter how careful I am or how good I am about doing my exercises it will happen again- more on this in a bit), so I'm opting for the cortisone epidural that will inject medicine right to the source to reduce inflammation so the healing will go quicker. I understand these are pretty painful too. But if it's only a couple days worth, I'll take it.


This picture is kinda gross, isn't it? And yes, I, a librarian, am including a link and a picture from Wikipedia! (I don't have one to share of my actual back- maybe if I get the disc back I'll share one with you if I can figure it out...)

We discussed the possibilities of causes- he said it's not necessarily because I've been running regularly for the past 14 years (with time off due to pregnancy, babies, and injuries of course). He said that having a strong core is very important to supporting the spine (I have rockin' hard abs 'cause I work 'em hard! (even if there is a little layer over them- that post-baby fat never seems to go away!)), as well as stretching and exercising, so I'm not sure what exactly I'm doing to earn a herniation here and there. He recommended that I wait a week or two after the shot before I start slowly into running again (I know, that's it?!), and I intended to go super slow and supplement my lack of running with time in the pool. Which I'm happy to do. If it happens again, we can do another shot. Ultimately though, my doctor said that it is my decision whether I should stop running or not. What am I willing to live with? And NOT running doesn't guarantee I'll never bulge or herniate again. Life altering decisions. I feel WAY to young to have to make this kind of health decision. And too young to be in this much pain.

Well, that's about all the news I have so far. I'm staying positive because he didn't say at this point that I should consider "retiring" from running (if you consider recreational running something one retires from). I'll post on this subject again in a couple weeks to share my progress. I hope all you runners out there will keep me in mind and do an extra lap on my behalf.

Vibrams Update

7.18 miles today! Whoo-hoo! And unlike last Sunday's 7 mile race, I didn't get any blisters (working up those calluses)! Gradually my calves are getting stronger- the muscles even feel more solid to me. My dad has always called me "chicken legs" because I have pretty small calves and ankles. Well, no more! When I run in my Vibrams, I land on the balls of my feet, and this uses lotsa calf muscles! I started out the first day in my new Vibrams runnng only a mile and a half on my trail, and my calves were crazy sore! The upper part of my calf, almost behind my knee. I could only run about 10 minutes before I started having to drop down to a full-foot landing (but still not a heel strike like I would in my running shoes). Today I ran uphill a full 45 minutes before I started needing to drop down to a full-foot landing, when I turned around started back down the hill home again. I could feel the muscles in my ankles, Achilles tendon and that muscle right under my calf (what's it called?) being used today. I signed up for a MapMyRun.com account today so I could click my way through today's run for mileage (no I don't have a fancy GPS Garmin, although I guess I could have run with my iPhone... But that doesn't upload my routes... but there's probably an ap for that :). It shows an elevation gain of 890 feet. I don't know how often I'll use this site since I tend to run on the same trail since it's about 1/3 of a mile from my doorstep. Today is also the third day in a row I've run. I can't remember the last time I haven't needed to take a day or two or even three off to let my knee or lower back heal, and it makes me light-headed with happiness. I bought these shoes daring to hope that my knee (and back) would strengthen up because I'd be running as God intended (barefoot!)- I'm giving myself time to work up to longer distances and really listen to my body and my muscles for signs that I need to back off or for other aches that might crop up (no fair trading one set of injuries for another!). I'm listening to a book called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall that talks about the science of barefoot running, ultra runners, and a tribe in Mexico called the Tarahumaras that have known the secrets of running crazy long distances (50, 100, 300 miles!) for hundreds of years and loving every step of it! This book makes me want to run and run and run and not stop, and revel in the beauty of the nature around me and appreciate a pain-free strength I've worked hard to build. And I'm extremely grateful for all of this- a book full of inspiring stories, shoes that don't make my knee hurt, and most of all for the chance to run~ :)

Bay to Bliss Tahoe Trail Run

It was an early morning for me as Abbey and I headed up to Tahoe for a race- one that we'd been drooling over since we read Gretchen's blog post of this event last year. Seriously, check out her pictures (I decided not to run with my camera, and she's a WAY better photographer than I am anyway). I ran just over 7 miles in my new Vibrams at the Bay to Bliss Emerald Bay Trail Run- I am determined to keep running and be healthy, and so far these shoes have proven their worth! Yes I developed some gnarly blisters, but my knee and back were in great shape after the race- and that's exactly what I was hoping for with this new "barefoot" technique. I'll take blisters any day over a pain-filled knee! It was a beautiful cool morning for a run (temp. in the 50s), with a steep downhill jog to the start line. Which we soon discovered was the first hill of the race. As the race director was giving us the countdown, the wind whipped up in a flurry of pine needles exactly one minute until go time. It settled back down again with 15 seconds to start, and then the rain picked up instead. A light, but cold drizzle that kept us cool on that climb. Looking out to our right a dazzling sight met our eyes- we could see a double rainbow through the trees, with its end touching the lake. Only 2 minutes in and already I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera! But ultimately I think it was best to leave it behind as I had to watch the trail extra carefully for rocks and roots since there wasn't much between my feet and the dirt. Even though I held back on the speed, I felt super agile with my extra grippy and flexible soles and found myself leaping up onto rocks and bouncing over fallen tree trunks. The first half hour passed in a blink of greenery and sparkling water below me, and then the trail became hilly again with steep stone steps to navigate. But by the hour mark, the pads of my forefoot (feet) were feeling very sensitive and every every pebble was making itself known to me. This might not have been the best idea to double the distance I've run in these shoes all in one go, especially only 2 weeks after I got them, but I knew how much my knee would be hurting if I wore my regular running shoes. I took a deep breath and ignored my feet and enjoyed the twists and turns of the trail, the rocky outcroppings and the ever present turquoise bay to my right. I finished in 1:23, (8th in my age group) and didn't stop at the finish line on the beach but stripped off my shoes (saw the blisters! no wonder I was feeling every pebble!) and headed into the blissfully cool lake. Abbey finished in 1:09 and placed 3rd in her age group and scored a sweet medal- her first for an age group win! We lazed in the sand waiting for awards and the shuttle back to her Jeep, and I felt for the life of me that I was on a tropical island beach soaking up the sun. This is definitely a race I want to add to my list of yearly runs. And hopefully by next year I'll have gotten used to running "barefoot"!

Thank you Abbey for driving, and for the miles and miles of comforting, funny and stress-relieving conversation- I needed that as much as I needed this gorgeous run after an extra long work week!

Vibram TrekSport

Yup! I bought new shoes today, and it being my day off, I even got to try them out! I tried on a couple different pairs of Vibrams, but much preferred the Treksport because of the nice tread on the bottom. Now, I love wearing toe socks, so this shoe didn't feel at all funny to me- if fact, I think they're downright comfy! I popped them on as soon as I left the store, drove home, changed and then took off for Whites Creek Trail to give 'em a whirl! The salesperson said I should stick to a super short run to try them out as they use a different group of muscles in your feet, ankles and calves. I ran about a mile and a half of trail and then a little bit on the street to try my paces, and I found that running both up and down the hills I land on the ball of my feet. In fact, I ran about 90% of the time on the balls of my feet and only landed flat-foot on the street with no incline. Does anyone else own a pair? Are you only supposed to land on the ball of your foot (and rotate back to the heel on the flats), or is okay to land flat as well? I guess what comes comfortably, naturally is best. I'll have to look up some videos on these Vibrams and see what the experts say. My left knee has been plaguing me with aches as has my lower back this year, so I'm eager to see if this is from an imbalance of stride while I run, and if so, if it will heal over time. Now I just gotta watch out for those sharp rocks and build up some calluses on my big toes...

Verdi You've Gotta Be Crazy Run 5K

Saturday night it started snowing. I thought it had stopped when I went to bed, but I woke up with a good foot on the ground outside. And it was still snowing! What!?! I thought they might even cancel the race (You've Gotta Be Crazy Run, put on by the Silver State Striders). I hadn't gone running while it was snowing since... well, this same race last year. Well, TLD still made the trek out to the Verdi Branch Library, which Dave manages. Man it's nice to have a warm library to hang in with the crew instead of freezing my tookas off out in the cold waiting for the race to start (which I did, until about 5 minutes before the horn blew). Thanks Dave! Here is a photo of all the brave souls who showed up to run crazy in the snow:


And we're off! Here is Chris leading the pack out:


Turi and I ran the entire race together (You can see me barely, but I was looking at Hannah playing in the snow on the sidelines):


And here is the cutie snowy Hannah:


I started out slow to get in a good warm-up, and also because I didn't want to slip in the snow. But actually, I didn't have any problems with it being slippery, and it was so beautiful to see all the snow-covered trees. I enjoyed the scenery on the way up the hill, and when the big downhill came, I picked up the pace and started to pass people right and left. Last year I won a water-bottle, but I gave it away to a sort of co-worker on Thursday, so I wanted to pick up another one. Well, I didn't end up placing because there was a 20-year age group split (19-39), but I did get 5th which isn't bad considering. My official time was 28:52, and Turi, ever the gentleman letting me go through the chute first, came in 2 seconds behind me. Chris, of course, won. Here he is at the end:

And then he turned around (after a 10+ minute wait) to run the rest of his team in, minus Dave who sat this one out because of a recent calf injury.

Here we are all together back in the warm cozy library:

And the best part? Post-race coconut porter brownies that Turi baked! Oh, and some beer I picked up for the guys on a recent trip to Colorado with Kevin.


And as a final note, I'd like to thank all the volunteers who so dedicated-ly prepared for and ran this race in cold uncomfortable wet-down-the-neck-of-your-jacket weather! I can't express enough gratitude towards these people who give their time so I can get in a great workout! :)

Running Stats for 2009

Yup, I know there is one full day left of 2009, but tomorrow is not a running day for me, and I didn't plan early on to have an exact number of miles to run before the clocked stopped ticking for 2009 and started for 2010. (Wow. 2010. That sounds futuristic, eh? Can you believe that it's here?) So, here are my running and walking stats nice and simple for the year of 2009:

Running: 552.2 miles
Walking: 66 miles

Grand total: 618.2 miles

Last year I made it a goal (at the beginning of December 2008) to run an even 600 miles. That meant I needed to run 46.2 miles in that last month, which equaled about 2 miles a day (I ran 4 every other day though). I accomplished my goal and ran just over 600 miles. I had high hopes of meeting and even exceeding that goal for 2009. Alas, it was not meant to be. I threw out my back. Twice. Once in February and again in June. I fainted for the first time in my life. (It's not glamorous like they tell it in the storybooks, folks.) But after a summer of physical therapy with a close friend and physical therapist, I was back on my feet with a safe new approach and trying my best to play catch up with the lost miles. I have a lot more walking miles than last year, that's for sure! I am today where I was at the beginning of December last year. About 50 running miles short. HOWEVER! I finished my masters degree! I am now an "official" librarian. I was before, but now I am + the degree. :) I would like to run a marathon next year, so long as my back, knee and body let me train for it. We'll see how it goes. I did all my homework at night and running in the morning, so I don't actually have that much more time to train, except for the weekends which won't be spent closeted in my office doing homework. Maybe that will be the time for longer runs and some more serious weight training.

Again, as I said at the end of last year, we'll see how it goes. I don't want to set an impossible (or very high reaching) goal for myself and then never get there. I'll try my best though! But as of now, I am happy with my mileage for 2009.

Moonlight Madness 5K

Team Library Dork gathered for a 5K run around Rancho San Rafel on Friday night last week, one of our favorite team training warm-up, jog, warm-down places. The Moonlight Madness 5K is sponsored by Castle Rock Multisports, and this particular race was put on in an effort to raise money and help local residents with eating disorders. I think it is a worthy cause- a healthy running event to help others take care of their bodies. There seemed to be a lot of people who showed up despite the cold temperatures for a stealthy dark run, so hopefully they were able to raise a healthy amount funds.

The race started at 7:00 p.m., so Chris and I met at Turi's house since he lives so close to Rancho. We jogged over for a warm-up, and met Dave at packet pick-up (he had to work until 6). Here I am picking up my packet. (Notice the sign? :)
We got there about a half hour early and our warm up mile quickly turned cold again as we waited for the start. We hopped around, picked up our sweatshirts, found Dave, stashed our sweatshirts, and then gathered for the start. It was a slow cautious start, and I stuck with Dave while Turi and Chris took off at the very front. I brought an LED headlamp that I strapped over my Nike skullcap hat (which I LOVE because it is warm, covers my ears, and has a slot in the back for my ponytail), and I am SOOO glad I had it! Some people were running out there in complete darkness with no light whatsoever. Dave and I ran nice and easy for the first half. He slowed at the half-way point, but I pushed ahead after a quick sip of water. I passed as many people in the second half as passed me in the first half, steadily climbing small hills that dropped many others to a walk. I raced faster on the downhill sections than I probably should have in the dark, and the guy who was keeping pace with me (with NO headlamp) totally ate it. I turned my head so he could see where he was falling, but I kept going. I hope he was okay... I had a nice strong finish, thanks to my easy start, and had a good sprint (on sidewalk) to the finish. They clocked me about a minute slower than I clocked myself, but my official time was 31:18. I could easily have dropped several minutes if it was daylight. Chris remarked that probably everyone could have dropped 10% of their time if the sun was shining (or the just-past full moon had graced us from behind the clouds). Chris, of course, won the 5k with a time of 19 minutes something, and Turi and I both placed 4th in our age groups. But since I have moved up into the most competitive age bracket (yes, I'm old now- it's the 30-39 group that is stinkin' fast!), the first 2 men in Turi's age group came in 1st and 2nd and received plaques, so Turi got a 2nd place medal. The 1st woman in my age group came in 3rd overall and also received a plaque, so I got the 3rd place medal! They are really nice ones- clean and heavy with a silky neck strap. Here is my bib, sweatshirt and medal:

And the team, together again!

After the race, we carpooled back to Turi's house for Chris's annual Winter Beer Tasting, and some fantastic pizza from Brugos Pizza Bistro. It had a nice thick crust and high quality toppings. (Thanks for hosting Turi and Mich!) It's almost as good as the pizza-from-scratch we make... But back to the beer- here is the line-up:

(Isn't it pretty how the lights are reflected off the table top?) I've turned into a little bit of a wine snob this past year (thank you Abby and Chris for my first wine tasting event!), but have never been a huge afficionado for beer. However, there were 4 beers I really enjoyed! Although don't ask me the names of any of them. :) My favorite was a peach and toasted pecan beer. And then there was that heavy-hitting chocolate stout that we saved for last...

A fun event. A wonderful evening with friends~ I feel like the holidays have officially started! Thanks everyone, runners and beer-tasters alike!

Fall Running

I love autumn! I enjoy the fall colors and the way the air turns crisp in a way that reminds me I am alive, and oh yeah, where is my hot chocolate? (I think we had a very mild and short summer in Reno this year which makes me think we may have a cold snowy winter.) And I love running in the cooler temperatures- it keeps me from over-heating going up the steeper hills. Last week on Sunday Gretchen invited me to come up and run with her by Donner Lake.

It was beautiful, and the sun was shining and the sky was clear. We ran at an easy pace, and hiked up the steepest hills, about 6 miles total. I wish I had run with my camera to capture some of the magnificent views. After a little break and a stretch at the car, Gretchen headed home for some breakfast, and I grabbed my phone and headed back up the trail to take just a few pictures. I ended up enjoying the loamy path so much I ran another 4 or so miles! Here are a few of the pictures I took (although they aren't as nice a quality as my regular camera would have taken):

The Bridge~

A lovely little stretch of trail next to the stream~

Glittering brilliance~

A little hidden path to Donner Lake~

The LAKE! Man this is a cold one!


On Friday I also was re-introduced to a trail I hadn't run in a couple years, plus some new pieces that I hadn't run before up Evan's Creek Trail. It was another beautiful morning, and just the perfect temperature for another easy run. Here is a photo of downtown Reno from the upper part of trail:

And another of me haulin' back down the hill~

Thanks Turi and Gretchen for introducing me to some of your favorite regular running trails!

Run for Education

Today I ran a 10K in the Run for Education at Damonte Ranch High School. It didn't start until 9:00 which was nice, and as a double bonus, it was only a 5 minute drive from my house! Fellow Team Library Dork runner, Turi, ran with me today and played coach, but in the most motivational way possible without ever having to say a word to make me run faster. We chatted, and he was going just a tad faster than I wanted to go, and as a result I was well under my goal of an hour with a time of 55:45, according to my watch, which I feel is always more accurate than the chips we tie to our shoes. That's just me though. It was a beautiful day, and the run was very well organized, complete with shuttle buses from a near by shopping mall. And the cutest little kindergartner singing our national anthem! Turi had his Garmin strapped on to keep stats on our pace and the route. And the post race picture I took from my iPhone- I think my hand was moving when I took it...

After the 10K, they had a half mile fun run for all the Washoe County elementary schools (my parents shuttled them from home after my race, and then stayed for their race too- thanks Mom and Dad!). Sean and Ashton were SUPER excited to run today (but mostly because they wanted to get a medal). Here is a picture of us together with our race bibs, waiting for their race to start.

They were in the K-2nd grade heat, and I was able to run with them. We started back too far from the start line and got stuck behind a sardine crowd of kindergartners and first graders. (To give you some perspective of how many kids were there, I heard them announcing the top attending schools, and their school was second with nearly 200 kids! It was a very well-attended event, even for the 5 and 10K.) Once we managed to weave our way through the little'uns (I had to take the long way around the outside and sprint to catch up with them!), we settled into a sporadic pace, sometimes jogging, sometimes sprinting, but most importantly, never stopping. One lap around the school and it was over! They did great, Sean beating Ashton and me. I'm so pleased that I can share my love of running with them in this way- we take little hikes up on the trails every now and then, but running with lots of people with the same goal is inspiring and motivating for an entirely different reason. Great job today everyone! And thanks for supporting our schools, and our childrens' education~

Ashton (left) and Sean- always together! :) I'm the luckiest mom ever!

Lungs on Legs Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran in a race for the first time since I hurt my back (again) in May. I spent all summer going to physical therapy (instead of the chiropractor) and religiously doing lunges, ab work, and lat exercises to strengthen my thoraco-lumbar fascia. Yes, my butt and lats were apparently too week to support this ligament that stretches across your lower back. I couldn't have made a better choice! Instead of waking up every day feeling like I am 90 years old and wondering how I'm going to get out of bed, let alone get through a full day of work, I get up, stretch, and every other(ish) day head out for a run! I was almost convinced that my running days were over because of the constant pain I was in. Need help with your lower back? Let me know and I'd be more than happy to share with you the exercises I've been doing! :) Here is a pre-race picture:

The Lungs on Legs Half Marathon started and finished at Damonte Ranch High School. The 13.2 mile course wound through the Double Diamond/Damonte Ranch area neighborhoods and even part of a trail. It was a beautiful morning, and the perfect temperature for a race, and fellow Team Library Dork member Dave came to spread some awesome team support and take pictures, even though he's still dealing with a calf injury. I started off at an easy pace, and soon the pack spread out into groups of various running paces, and I found myself running next to a girl who looked about my age. Even though we didn't say anything, I found my pace perfected matched hers, and we settled into a silent understand that we would run together. The miles passed pleasantly, and I enjoyed looking at the mountain scenery (which was visible throughout the entire race) and the houses and landscaping, and noticing the interesting smells in this section of town: the boggy marshland, a bit of sewer, and farmland? It smelled like horses and cattle and farms (brought back memories of when I lived in Germany when I was little!) even though I saw none of these. And manure! This was mostly at the start of the race on the outskirts of the development. Once we got into the neighborhood, it smelled like wet lawn, asphalt, and (I swear!) grilled hot dogs! Around mile the girl I was running broke our silence with a comment on the beautiful scenery (we were running around the marshes at this point), and I replied with something to the effect of the roasting hot dog smell not quite matching the landscape around us. Then I introduced myself and we shook hands. She had been training with a running club in town (with Eclipse Running? Not sure.). We chatted for a couple minutes and both agreed it was nice to have someone to run with, and settled back into comfortable silence. At the half way point I noticed we were right on schedule for a 2 hour half marathon! If I could only keep up this pace... Right around mile 9 I could feel my legs starting to get tired, and I concentrated on my breathing and posture. This is where the trail section started, and as I looked around, I saw some wild horses! That perked me right up! Three were 11 of them, and one was still in the foal stage of life. :) We passed them quickly, without them showing a spark of interest of the steady stream of ants running by. Right after the 11 mile mark I was really feeling the miles, and started to get a strange stomach cramp right in the front of my belly- not the usual side stitch. I didn't want to stop, and I ran for another half mile before I started to feel nauseous. That did it. I didn't want to barf during the race, so I was forced to walk. There went my 2 hour half marathon pace. I told Kendra to keep going (she was getting pretty tired too, and stopping I swear is contagious, and it's SO hard to start running again after walking!). My head started to spin and my legs felt like they had clod-hoppers attached to their ends. After a few minutes, my head settled down, and I picked up an easy jogging pace and made it to the last aid station and dumped down a quick cup of Gatorade. I took a Gu after the first 45 minutes of running, and really wished I'd brought a second one with me. Or some Shot Blocks (which were in my car- how stupid was that?!). I found myself walking sometime during the beginning of the 12th mile, but by then the school came into sight and I was NOT going to walk in plain view of the cheering spectators! Not gonna shame TLD like that. :) That was one painful last mile though- I wanted to walk, and why did they make us run all the way around to the back of the school to finish? That was just cruel, passing the finish only to circle around the school to run through the chute. It was convenient for the race officials, and the layout of the race, but it was really hard to jog past all the finishers and booths and water when I wanted to be finished. Here I am about 1/4 mile from the finish, in the front of the school, nicely faking a positive smile. Nice butt shot, Dave.

But finish I did, and even found some hidden reserve burst to, well not sprint, but run the last 50 meters. Thank goodness Dave was there there for me to lean on! You can see from my expression and slumped form how tired I am in the last few yards:

It was a great race, and flat! I didn't quite get up to this distance in my training, and I thought a flat road race is what I needed to build up some endurance. I greatly prefer trails though- the soft giving dirt is so much easier on my knees and hip flexors. Good training for me and yes I still have a long way to go, but mostly I'm super thankful/grateful that after a good half year of being in pain, I can actually run this distance when I wasn't sure if I had any running days left only a few short months ago.

Some stats for this run:

~30 songs I listened to on my iShuffle
11 wild horses that I saw on the trail
10 streets + 1 section of trail
10+ interesting smells
2 number of times I had to walk about mile 12 (not including the few steps when I paused to gulp some Gatorade at the last aid station)
??? number of times I wanted to walk during that last mile
0 number of times I actually walked during that last mile
1 huge blister (Skipped taping my feet since these were all road miles. Mistake!)
1 awesome running partner

=2:07.42 of running time! Results are up on ActiveReno.com already!

I found the girl I was running with after the race- she finished only 2 minutes in front of me (I thought maybe she would keep the 2 hour pace), and asked if we could take a picture together.

Thanks Dave for coming- I really appreciate your positive spirit! I needed someone to collapse on at the finish line~

Jones White's Creek Trail

Jones White's Creek Trail is my favorite local trail that I run on a regular basis. Biggest reason? It's about a quarter mile from my front doorstep. It does have some great hills (well, it's all uphill), and beautiful lookout points. Not to mention that I get to run next to a babbling little stream for most of it, crossing back and forth over it several times on the ~5.5 mile section I like to run. I brought my camera along with me to get a few shots of the trail; I started around 6:30 this day (yes, these are about a month old now).

I usually start jogging up the street after walking for a couple minutes to the trailhead, which is also my boys' favorite spot to throw leaves, sticks, rock, each other, and various other "goodies" they find along the trail.

After about a mile, I cross over Thomas Creek Parkway, and the trail starts on the other side of the bridge with a little sign, half of which I missed. It just says White's Creek Trail.

And the most important photo I wanted to share with you is my favorite rock. There are several that I use as mile markers, but this one I am particularly fond of because it was a MAJOR mile marker when I first started running on this trail. If I could make it to this rock, then I felt like I earned my breakfast that day. Of course now I run past it twice as far, but I'm never above wishing it a good morning and hoping it is visited by lots of other people and their pets that day. It is a nice big rock, and very friendly. :) And although it doesn't quite meet all of the qualifications in "Everybody Needs A Rock" by Byrd Baylor, I still like to think of it as my special friend.

I also run past the fire station,

and here is the view of Mt. Rose at my turn-around point. If I don't get a stitch in my side from running downhill, this is the best part of the morning.

I have other pictures that I took as mile markers for myself, but they just don't look as interesting in a photo as they do running past them, so I left them out.

Here is a link to the profile of the route I run on a good day- it shows the elevation, and mileage. Anyway, I just wanted to share a little part of what starts off a good day for me~ and invite anyone who wants to join me for a little tour of this narrow, twisty, rocky great-smelling path.

Reuniting of Team Library Dork

This morning Team Library Dork headed out to UNR for some track work. We did sprints, drills and bleachers. We haven't been able to get together to train or race for some time now, so it was good to see them and get a couple fun photos (not all of which are appropriate for posting here):

Jogging,

And posing.

Me, sprinting (and tiny!).

Coach Dave, with his stogy and beer.

Team photo!

And then breakfast at Peg's Glorified Ham and Eggs~

Thanks guys for the great track workout today! And Coach Dave for workin' us to the ground. :) Good to catch up with ya'll...

Memorial Day No Excuses 5k, 1/4 mile Fun Run

The race was on from the moment we left the house this morning, about 25 minutes later than we were supposed to, to drive to Sacramento for the Buzz Oates No Excuses 5k. The 5k was for me, but today was a big day for Sean and Ashton, as it was their first race! They were super excited about it, and practiced running around the "entire" playground at school, and checked in periodically (read: every 5 minutes), "Everyone gets a medal, right?" Kevin drove us to Sac, and we met up with Chris, Abby and Hannah, and Dave. Both Chris and Dave ran the 5k, and Dave even ran most of it with me. 3 out of 4 members is not a bad showing for Team Library Dork! :)

We made it to the race in just enough time to pick up our three bibs (the boys' and mine), find the rest of the group, pin on bibs, tie shoes and get to the start line. The boys are pictured above, before the race with their bibs on, and all excited- Ashton is all in red.

Now, just look at the above photo. Notice anything? Like how much taller my boys are than all of the other children? I went straight to the Active.com site and it didn't say anything about age limits for the different lengths, so I thought I'd sign them up for the shortest distance since it's their first race. Did I bother to check the actual even website? Probably not. Then I hear the announcer say that this is the quarter mile for the 5 and unders! Oops! By this time it was too late to pull them out and get it straightened out. So they ran.

And they won! Of course they did!

Ashton came in first,

with Sean right behind him. I was so proud of them, for running so hard, even if they could (should) have run the half mile. :) And the very best part: participation medals! Here are the three of us with our bibs on, just after their race (and before mine):

I did go talk to the race director afterward to make sure that the 3rd place boy will be mailed the plaque for first place, 'cause that's really not fair that he was competing with 6 year olds. And if you look, you can see him just behind Sean!

Next up, the 5k. The morning was beautiful, and just a bit cool- perfect sunny running conditions! Dave and I settled into our paces pretty quickly, and kept up a nice quickish clip. I was careful to assess how my back was feeling after the morning's long drive, and our faster pace, and decided it was okay to keep it up. The sun started to warm us up a bit, and by the time we finished, I was wishing I had my shorts on instead of capri-length running pants. But there was SO much oxygen, and I felt my lungs filling full with each breath, and I was able to keep my pace through to the finish, even though I was a little warm. I checked the results page (only the 5k was posted) and saw that I came in at 369 (what an awesome number!!!). I timed myself at 26:17, which was about a minute faster than I was expecting, after dragging through the Moms on the Run 5k I ran with Dave on Mother's Day a mere 2 weeks ago, with my slowest PR of 27 and change (I didn't register early, so I wasn't timed). I came in just ahead of Dave (this time!), but a full 10 minutes behind Chris. Yay Chris! He ran it in 16:32, and was pleased with his time. Chris was 4th overall, but only 32nd with the strange age-graded times they calculated (mine was 22:55! Whoo hoo! Now THAT would be an awesome PR to have!).

After the race, we all headed to the River City Brewing Co. for lunch. They have great food, and even better beer! I took a small sip of each of the samplers, and liked at least 3 of them- enough that I'd sit and drink a full glass of, if I were in the mood, and had some pizza to go with it.

Kevin got a liter of the Hefeweizen, which was my favorite- it had an almost lemony finish.

Then, we were off to the Sacramento Zoo! I got to impress everyone (or so I like to think) with all my trivial knowledge of random animals. We saw red pandas, various species of lemur (my favorite right after snow and spotted leopards!), giraffes, flamingos,

a snow leopard (of which I didn't get a picture of this time because he was mostly hiding in the foliage), and the tiger! Ashton LOVES tigers! I think he could have stood there watching the tiger all day long. "I wrote my animal report on tigers Mommy!" Me: "Yes, I know. We researched databases online last week about tigers, didn't we?" :)

And of course, we just HAD to take a break for the carousel! Sean chose the great Bald Eagle,

and I persuaded Ashton to climb up on the snow leopard:

I didn't think to take a picture of all of our group together, so here is a random shot of Dave yawning:

What a great day! I ran (with minimum protesting from my lower back), the boys got to run their first race, we tried out a new restaurant that I'll be sure to return to next time I go through Sac, and I got to take the boys to the zoo! And as an extra special bonus, I played leap-frog with a Lambourghini for about an hour on I-80 on the way home: