I didn't kill the skunks but I sure ran by 'em...

Actually, that was two weeks ago that I ran by them and saw them.  Both times Lynnette said, "Oh dear," and both times I casually glanced over to see the poor little things and I almost tripped over from shock.

But luckily today, on my 18 mile run, I didn't see them.  But I sure did smell them.  At least the one near the LA Zoo. 

It was a tough run today, especially since I skipped last week's 16 miler.  So I went from 10 miles two weeks ago to 18.  And it was rough.  At first, the timer on my watch stopped.  I usually start with a 10 minute walk as a warm-up and I kept thinking that it was the longest 10 minutes of my life because my watch said 4:46 everytime I glanced down.  When I finally realized that it wasn't working, it was a good 15 minutes and that threw me off.  Oh well.  So I started on my interval of 6/1 until I got to what we refer to as "the hill loop," and you can imagine what that entails in Griffith Park.  That sucker sucks.  So I walked the incline, and met up with one of the other START! Training participants, Megan, and we began chatting and that was the beginning of the end for me.  I basically walked the next hour or so, but hey, I made a new friend and it was quite lovely to chat with her.  Since she was running the 1/2 Marathon, she only had to run 10 miles, so we parted at the Gene Autry and I had to run the hill loop again, but this time in reverse.  So if you know Griffith Park, it is basically running from Travel Town up the hill, past the Compost Center, down to Mineral Wells and the golf course. Personally I think that way is worse because the incline is really gradual.  Lynnette and I (unfortunately she couldn't make it today) usually alternate running and walking from fire hydrant to fire hydrant because of the slope, but since she wasn't there today, yes, I cheated.  But quite frankly, today was pretty darn hot so I thought I could afford a little break.  But I did run all the way down once I got past the Compost Center.  So there.

When I got to about mile 15, I was done.  It was so hot and at that point, my interval training was shot.  I basically started to use distance markers instead of my usual 6/1 because I couldn't think by that time.  But it did feel really good when I did run because my body just went on autopilot and I didn't mind it.  And a huge help was when one of the volunteers at our water stops gave me a couple of pieces of ice that I just ran with until they melted.  They were such a godsend.  It really is the little things in life.

Next week:  A nice little break.  We're only doing 8, but in Santa Monica with the other START! Training groups, so it should be fun!

A HUGE thank you to everyone for their donations!  I reached my goal of $1000 this week.  Many thank yous to Robert Lund and Lea and Bong Go for their donations this past week  But please, if you still would like to donate, feel free to -  I would certainly appreciate it and so would the American Heart Association!

Much love,
Rona

A Setback

So I was feeling real good last week after having done 10 miles again last Saturday.  On Monday, Lynnette and I upped our intervals to 6min run/1 min walk.  It felt really long, but nice that we were running for longer periods of time. Just a little annoying because I was sneezing a lot from what I thought were allergies. We did the same on Tuesday, and after the run, I thought I was just achy from pushing myself a little harder, only to realize Wednesday night that the aches and pains and all the sniffling was accompanied by a fever.  Yup, I was hit with what I think is the flu.  Couldn't get out of bed for the next 3 days.  So I skipped yesterday's 16 miler BUT I did manage to get to Mike Hagiwara's Yoga class in Little Tokyo instead.  I figured all of the stretching and energy work would help get rid of the aches and the leftover sickness, and I feel so much better today.  I'm gonna hit Cardio Barre tomorrow morning, and hopefully back to running again on Tuesday.

And as always, thanks so much for your support and the generous donations, especially from Pam & Michael Hayashida,  Francesca Estrada, and Steffinnie Phrommany!  Only $150 away from reaching my goal of $1000!

Love and happiness,
Rona

Another 10

Happy Saturday!  It's been awhile since I've blogged, but I'm still here and running and currently soaking my feet in epsom salts as I type.  We've pulled back a little in our mileage so that we are not overtraining, so last week I did 6 miles and this morning I did another 10.  The great thing is that after my 14 miler a few weeks ago, 10 was not as daunting and I looked forward to it.  I am doing 4/1 intervals now and running 13-minute miles.  Next week I plan on doing 6/1 and then finally back to my old interval of 9/1.

I also noticed that before it took me the first 10 minutes or so to get focused and into my run, but for some reason, this time around it takes me a good hour before I feel like I'm in the zone and I'm not making excuses in my head about why I should stop running and go home and crawl back into bed.  But once I'm in the zone, it feels so exhilarating and free to just run and not think.

As for fundraising, I'm about 2/3rds of the way there, so I need about $300 to raise.  Thank you all so much for your support, especially to Desiree and Lou Ocampo, Lee Takasugi, and Debbie Cheng for your recent donations.  Also, I know that times are tough and there are so many causes out there to support, especially with the recent devastation in Japan - but if you have even $5 or $10 to spare, that would be very much appreciated and will help me hit my goal of $1,000.

Love and healthy thoughts,
Rona