Revisiting a past race and 2011

Many years ago..ok ok..maybe it is only 4 years ago, I ran this Laguna Hills Half Marathon, which I think was called Saddleback Memorial Half Marathon. I don't know, maybe I said that in reverse. Oh well. Anyways, this race has always taken place on Memorial Day weekend on the Monday.

http://www.lagunahillshalfmarathon.com/

Well, recently one of my running buddies convinced me to sign up and since it has been a while since I've gotten a new running medal to hang on my wall, I thought why not.

I remember running this course a few years ago when I was still pretty green with the whole running scene. I went from running 10Ks to my first marathon and then this 1/2 marathon back in '06. Yeah, very weird that I ran a marathon before ever doing a half. Who knows what the heck I was thinking back then. Anyways, so here I am a couple of years later going back to the scene of the crime to run what was my very first half marathon which I completed in 2:07. It'll be interesting to see how I do. I remember there was a section of the race that runs into Laguna Woods and I remember not liking that part very much so we should see how I fare in about 2 weeks.

In other running news, I've officially started my 2011 race schedule registration process this morning when I signed up for Surf City Half 2011. They are running a special for past participate and this is one of those races that I am always certain that I will be running year after year. I really dig those surf board medals and sometimes that is all it takes to get me to sign up. Yes, I AM a sucka! I haven't thought very far out beyond this race but I am considering these: LA Marathon, Ragnar LA or Big Sur, Nike's Women Marathon, and maybe Long Beach Marathon again. It is too far out for me to tell at this point how I will be feeling next year so these are more like wishlist races. I might go revisit some races I haven't ran in a few years or I might do something crazy and do more out of the area or state ones. We shall see.

Also, this morning I decided to finally get my act together and got in 11 miles on the treadmill. I know what you are thinking...'you ran on the treadmill for that many miles?'It was actually quite nice to run inside where I can watch TV, have my water and drinks close by without lugging them on my body, nice dry towel within reach and no clusters of knats hitting my face everyone quarter mile. Yes this is definitely the way to go. I am actually planning on getting in that 20 miler that I missed last weekend inside on the treadmill this Saturday. I really need to get this done. I am such a slacker.

In non-running related news, I've been trying to get more veggies in my life. It started out being really easy but over time it has been a challenge. Mostly I think because I am not the best cook as I've mentioned before so I end up eating a lot of salad. Which is not so bad except not being able to add cheese to my salad really takes the fun out of it...hahaha. I am not sure why I am even talking about this except for that fact that I am starting to feel like a rabbit since I've been trying to eat most of my veggies raw. That in itself is very difficult to do but I am really starting to appreciate the way eating veggies make me feel. It actually makes me feel more energized, happier with a lot less stomach troubles. I am a colitis sufferer in remission and eating a diet full of veggies has really helped me heal, I think both physically and mentally. I say mentally because even during the worse of my colitis episodes, I was still out running races in full force and let me tell you that being nervous about an upcoming race or going out for a long run on the weekend was not always so fun and was mentally draining to always have to worry about it. It's been really nice to not have to worry about my symptoms lately and just be able to enjoy my runs and life in general without worrying where the nearest restroom was or if I will be able to make it back home if I suddenly had an episode out on a run. I'm not saying that eating veggies cured me of this but all the changes that I've made in my diet including eating more veggies these past couple of years has enabled me to enjoy my life more.



RuntoFinish is giving away glass straws. How green!