Run Southbay Girl Run

What a marvelous day!! Perfect temperature (59) , the sun is out, I'm not too tired and I was really motivated for this run!! It took about 1 1/2 miles for me to warm up and for my foot to feel good and for Velcro to get all her sniffs out of the way! But once we finished that warm up it was smooth sailing. We ran half on the road and half on the trail at White Point Park-so that Velcro could go off leash. Luckily it wasn't muddy this time!!! It was a decent run-the second half was faster and had less stops than the front half. But all in all I'm somewhat pleased!!

By the way Southbay Girl has paid her fees for the Country Music Half Marathon-which basically guarantees I get a job! ha ha!!

RUN: 4.15 Miles with my trusty companion, Velcro

It's a new day for Southbay Girl

Nothing like a 2am wake-up call by your neighbor to remind yourself that all is not lost! My neighbor, who has a heart condition and has had open heart surgery at least once, called 911 last nite at 2am-the fire dept and the paramedics were all out in full force-running up and down the stairs. Velcro was barking-I was up outside making her listen to the paramedics who wanted her to leave her house and go to the hospital....as all of this was going on I realized she not but 7 years older than I am. WOW! I should be so happy and feel so lucky that I have my health!! And it's not just my neighbor-alot of health shit has hit the fan around our family lately. Why does something happen to one person and not the next? I just wanted to say how blessed I am for my health which enables me to run, eat well and stay healthy and be around for my son and my family!

Southbay Girl....

I just can't motivate today! I'm supposed to run but I have no energy and am a bit down! I haven't had enough sleep(I got in way too late last nite and then was up early this morning to a meowing cat!), I'm battling a sinus infection that is now irritating my eyes-actually I woke up quite achy so maybe I am sick and have been ignoring it all along-that might account for the tears today, I have no money, I feel like I'm the crazy pet lady because I spend more time talking to my animals than humans, I feel so cut off from my son's life right now-I hate the fact that I haven't been there for him and that my mom is raising him-what kind of mother am i?? Men? What are they-I actually had a date 3 weeks ago-but in true men fashion he's fallen off the face of the planet..... I really should run, walk, do something but instead I sat in a dark movie theater watching Diane Lane track down a nut job internet killer-the movie was good but probably not a good movie for me to watch right now.....The only silver lining is that my petsitter has given me a little petsitting job that starts the 12th Feb-shoveling cat poop-hell I'm good at that! But it's cash and right now I'm feeling like I should have gone to nursing school or vet school right out of college instead of following in my dads footsteps into this f-ed up film business! I can only hope the strike ends soon-I never knew how much my life revolved around what I do-it's somewhat encompassing this business. Of course I had no full-time tv show. I was a dayplayer-going from show to show...so I can only hope that my DP, who I had drinks with last night, gets a job...or one of the many tv shows that I worked on before the strike hires me back if and when they start back. This really makes me want to go back to school! But I have so many years invested (pension, insurance etc) that I have to stay in it a few more years to get all the benefits. I'm just rambling-I guess I needed to vent and this seems to be the perfect place! I know in the grand scheme of things there are people out there that have it much worse than me. I'm not feeling sorry for myself I'm just wondering when this bad spell is going to stop-when will it start to make the turn for the better!! Sorry!

Run, run, run, even if it is raining!

Sampson, pictured above, has recovered from his trash incident. Silly boy.

Last nights 4+ mile tempo run was very wet! We were running on about a 1.5 mile loop. The first loop was supposed to be at a easy pace to warm up. The second loop was to picked up to at least 30 seconds faster that you usually run (without a pace monitor I haven't a clue) and then the last loop at an easy pace again. At the start of the second loop the rain started. At least it was above 40 degrees. I was very wet when it was done. My shin was sore, but I did complete it all and I felt great for the most part afterwards, even if I was the last person in and totally soaked! I don't think I picked up the pace on the second loop by any means though! LOL . Monday, I did run 3 miles on my own too! WOOT! I spoke with my coaches (that sounds neat!) about my shins. They suggested that I not run two days back to back. So for next Monday, I should cross train instead of running. I will give this a try and I hope it helps my shin to feel better.

Monday: 3 miles

Tuesday: 4.5 miles give or take a bit

Other than improving my running, my other task is improving my social life and expanding my social circle. My husband and I separated almost a year ago. He lived in the house for a few months, moving out in June, and we legally separated in September. While I have some truly wonderful friends that have been a great support for me and I cherish everyone of them, I feel I need to get out more, meet new people and hopefully establish some friendship and even date more. WOW. So, for the dating side of expanding myself I am attending a singles event at a NBA game (Washington Wizards vs Utah Jazz) on Friday. At least if the group for the singles event is not so exciting, I get to watch a basketball game! I love to watch live sports! I was seeing/dating a guy over the past few months, but he has suddenly become silent after we had a pretty good time a couple weekends ago. GO FIGURE! Life is too short to stress over it! Onward. Although I wish people would just speak up and say - Hey, this isn't working for me or whatever, rather than taking the cowardly route. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO COMMUNICATION!

Anyway, I'm looking at some other social organizations too, just to get out more. I am very good at entertaining myself and I take myself out all the time, but I do need some social interaction!

Southbay Girl Kicks mighty Arse! HA!

Seriously, my calf still hurt this morning when i woke up-but hell no pain no gain! OK I didn't really feel that way but I though a little pilates class might loosen said calf up-and by god it did!! I just half to mention and give myself a little pat on the back pat pat pat that I finally stood on a scale yesterday at my doctors office-it's a f-ing scary thing for me because I had REALLY GAINED weight being with the a-hole ex-boyfriend (all that crappy food and drinking night after night with the "one you love" really catches up to you!! As my sister and mother say I rid myself of a tumor, virus and or toxin). So onto the scale.....woo hoo I've lost 17lbs since my outpatient surgery in August!!!! Three cheers for me! Of course the best diet is the boyfriend leaves diet but who cares how I lost it! I lost it and will lose more for I'm on a mission now!!! I've got my running back and my healthy diet!! I'm wearing those clothes that were stashed in the far reaches of my closet...I had to dust them off but hell they fit! Now the goal is to get back into that little black dress~isn't always a little black dress??

So now onto my exercise for the day! I went to Pilates this morning-the calf actually feels a bit better!! Nothing like a little pilates to get the heart rate going in the morning-along with my cup o tea! Then this afternoon I decided I was really going to try to hurt myself and went for a run. I justify it by the fact that I did nothing yesterday~and I'm going out for a social evening with a few of my fellow unemployed co-workers!

55 degrees and sunny here today... B E A U T I F U L! Perfect running weather!

4 Days until I run in my first race in over a year!! WOO HOO! I can't wait!

RUN: 3.35 Miles with my running partner Velcro
(275 kcals burned)

PILATES: 1 Hour
( 229 kcals GONE)

Southbay Girl says OUCH!!!

Ouch. My right calf hurts! So I'm taking a day off today and i'm going to go see a movie! This calf ouch stems from pilates on saturday morning. I thought the running and my chinese linament would help but OUCH! I woke up this morning and felt the way I felt after running my first marathon-and walking down steps on the ouchy calf-OUCH! That's my word for the day OUCH! oh well...what can a girl do!

Exercise: HA! Not today...OUCH!

I'm still here, says Maryland girl!

Shins! I was going to meet my group Saturday morning, but then Sampson, my elderly Great Dane, decided that 3 am was a really good time to wake me up and need to go out and then he decided that barking after coming back in was a good idea too! I missed out on some needed sleep as I, of course, could not fall back asleep at that point! ARGHHH. My shins were still sore too. I have been icing them. So for Saturday, I rode my recumbent bike on the killer hill program for 30 minutes and then I did this walking dvd that I have. It has an accelerated program piece that is about 30 minutes and it involves some jumping etc. It isn't a bad exercise dvd. Anyway..... my shins did okay. They felt a little sore Saturday night, so iced again. I did lots of squats on Sunday as Sampson got into the trash and found a stray chicken bone to eat! DUMMY! As he puked, I squatted and picked it up! Hopefully, all will pass through him okay. I left the trash can for a split second and his big nose was in it immediately! DOGS.....

Tonight I will test my shins, as I'm scheduled for a 3 mile run. At least the weather is going to be a wee bit warmer than last week!

Screaming Calves for Southbay Girl

Seriously, my calves are screaming from pilates yesterday! They hurt at the beginning of my 5.1 mile run this morning but after sitting around today after my run they really began to stiffen~so taking a page out of RBR's book-I silly Southbay Girl decided to go out for a quick jog! And you know what-if felt GREAT! My foot didn't hurt at all! My calves felt ok-I'm sure they will be rebelling tomorrow, but hell isn't that what 8 hour Tylenol is for??? And of course my Chinese miracle linament ~ Zheng Gu Shui~ it's amazing! Smelly but amazing! I buy it in Chinatown or some Whole Foods stores carry it. Rock on!!

RUN: 1.9 Miles with Velcro...up a long hill then down a long hill....

Woo Hoo Southbay Girl doesn't get wet!

I timed it perfectly. I had a good sleep, got the animals fed and fed myself-a yummy egg sandwich-and then an hour or so later headed out to Paseo del Mar for this weeks long run! I was mildly concerned because my calves were screaming from my pilates class yesterday! I rubbed them a bit before the run-but basically hoped they wouldn't freeze up when I was the furthest away from my car! They didn't (but they hurt now!). It was a busy day for runners today-at least one marathon training program was coming back from their 16 mile training run-so i was able to piggyback with them on my way back~which was the hardest part because I was running into a pretty strong headwind. Yes the wind picked up because the rain was coming. I consider myself pretty darn lucky to have missed the rain! When we got back to Pt. Fermin Park, which is where we started, I decided I was going to treat myself to a beer! SO I walked across to Walkers Cafe and had a tasty Coors Light with the longshoreman! I sat in there and watched the wind whip up and right when I was leaving it started to piss down! Velcro and I were very lucky!!!

RUN: 5.1 Miles with Velcro then a Coors Light right afterwards!

Pilates class for Southbay Girl

I just wanted to share these pictures-it's so beautiful here today-amazing what it looks like right after rain....but it should be pissing down rain tomorrow when I go for my long run! But today I headed to my pilates class -this is a rest day for me but I had to do something-it's hard for me to be inactive especially when I'm not working. I feel I must do something constructive with each day!!! I'll probably take velcro to the park so she can get a work out as well!!!

It was nice doing pilates this morning. I forgot how much I've missed it. I didn't do any classes this week-I was having pilates withdrawls~I had to cut back on paying for exercise when I can run for free-all the things you must think about during a WGA strike!!

By the way the University of Tennessee B-ball team plays Georgia tonight...GO VOLS!!!

PILATES: 1 Hour
( 217 Calories burned)

3.25 Miles in the mud for Southbay Girl and her Dog

I seriously should have put on trail shoes-but I didn't think I was going to dump off onto the dirt trails until i realized velcro was being a right pain in the ass on the leash! So trails it had to be. There is nothing worse than dragging a 47 lb weight behind you-ok dragging a 80 lb weight would be worse. So after heading east on paseo del mar we went into White Point Nature Preserve which overlooks Catalina Island. It's a great place to run, no concrete!! I love it but with all the rain we've had the paths were saturated and the dirt/mud attached to the bottom of my shoes and stuck there-it was nasty. I felt like I was running on a pancakes or something! Luckily the majority of the run was not in the mud. Mind you I had no pains once i was running on the dirt trails! It's so much better than sidewalks and the street!!

RUN: 3.25 Miles with 46lbs of Velcro weight attached to my wrist!

OUCH!

Maryland Girl went to run in the increasing wind and cold last night. It is only 28 degrees at 1:45 pm today! Anyway, my right shin hurt so much that I ended up cutting my run short and walking a good bit. ugh. Came home and put ice on my shin. Today, I purchased some superfeet insoles for my running shoes. I have them in my hiking boots and love them. I am icing and stretching today and I will show up for tomorrow's 5 mile run, but I may be walking more than running. I don't want to injure it further. Hopefully, it is not a true shin splint!
I think my child may think I'm crazy. Last night as I was leaving to run, I hand her my running route map and tell her, "This is where I'm running. If I'm not home by 7:30pm, call my cell phone. If I don't answer call 911, your Dad and your Grandparents (who live down the street). " She looked at me like I was crazy, but I say we gotta be safe and I wouldn't want her home alone wondering where I was and why I wasn't home yet! Now, as she gets older will she extend the same courtesy to her Mom? HA! Probably not!

Southbay girl gets a morning run in between rain storms!

It rained all day yesterday and all night-so when I woke up this morning and saw the sun trying to sneak a peek out I decided to get out while the weather was cool and dry (52 degrees) and head out for a run. Velcro was a little pissed because we deviated from our normal morning behavior-and I paid for it at the end of the run (check the video of my crazy dog!). But I feel much better! My left foot was a bit sore-in the arch and the area between the metatarsals of the big toe and the next toe-that's why I started Prolotheraphy because the ligaments and tendons were stretched, useless whatever!! But compared to how my foot has felt for years-the pain is getting less and less.

I guess I'm glad i got my run in early since I'm thinking of going to see the Marathon Documentary tonight at 7:30pm.

So I got a nice run in with a hyper dog!!!



RUN: 3.84 Miles with Velcro
( 357 Calories Burned)

WALK: 1.8 Miles

Southbay girl doesn't feel like becoming a drowned RAT!

Pissing down rain!!!! And it's going to be chilly tonight. It was fine this morning-but since my morning was occupied being a kitty mom I didn't get a run in...and now that I have time-PISSING down with rain. Mind you I love the rain and would normally jump at the chance for a run in it ...but it's a little too hard and lashing! I'd be soaking wet and probably get sick.....not worth it! So I'll stay at home, cuddle up on the couch-maybe motivate to do the Fluidity bar.....who knows.

On a happier note-I got a work call today.....yeah I know send up the fireworks!!!! It's not a definite yet~I'll know tomorrow around lunch~and it's only for one day either friday night or monday night-but just getting a call during these incredibly lean times has upped my professional self worth just a bit! It actually put a smile on my face. Of course it will probably ruin my unemployment for the week but who cares!!! A day of work!! WOO HOO!

These were taken with my cell phone. The top picture is the temperature for last night's run according to my car. The second was the moon in the mostly clear sky. Very nice for a run in the dark! We ran 3 miles last night. We were to run an easy 3 miles to get into pacing groups for the long runs and tempo trainings. It was a good run. The weather amounted to nothing yesterday, but there were still a few spots on the sidewalk where we were running that had left over snow and ice from the other day. My shin on my right leg is a bit sore. I put an ice pack on it last night when I got home. Before we ran we discussed preparing for longer runs. Eating the right foods starting 2 days before a long run and then hydration and fuel while running, and finally eating the right foods post run to help your body recover. Good information. I used sport beans when I did the triathlon. I like the tangerine and lime flavors the best! There are so many products available.

Tuesday: RUN 3 miles.

Southbay Girl goes for a quick jog with her dog..

Yeah...it rained all night-I woke up in the middle of the night to listen to it! I had wanted to run and or go to pilates this morning-but did neither. But I did get out for a quick run this afternoon in between rain storms! Not that I haven't run in the rain-but today just wasn't in the mood for it. So Velcro and I got a quick run in. Good thing it was short-my foot hurt, my arch hurt...I had NO ENERGY! Not quite sure why! I only had 2 glasses of wine last nite! I'm debating going out for another short run tonight-as long as it's not raining too hard! I really want to do some pilates-I have one of those Fluidity bars-it's pretty good but I haven't used it awhile-yeah right now it's a large paper weight~I spent the money on it when I was working I might as well put it to use while I'm not working! maybe I'll do that tonight!






RUN: 2.2 Miles ~Velcro was an anchor until i let her off leash

Lazy/Busy Maryland Girl

Okay so I wimped out on running yesterday since it was so very cold and then I still didn't do an alternate indoor exercise. OH WELL! My Daughter was back from a 4 day trip with her Dad and we were spending some good Mom and Daughter time together. I missed her! Tonight is the half marathon training group meeting. Tonight the coaches will discuss: "Making it through the long run". I believe this will discuss pacing yourself. If the weather is not too disgusting and treacherous, we are in a winter weather advisory today - chance of snow, sleet and freezing rain (YIPPEE the Trifecta of NASTY CRAP), we will do a pacing run of 3 miles so the coaches can put us into groups. I will be in the sloooooooowwwww group. LOL. I am fine with that as I am here to run, stay healthy, not get injured and meet a goal. I am only competing with myself.

Here are words of wisdom from my zen calendar of 2007
"A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in all the world" - Paul Dudley White, M.D.

I think these are good words. One could replace the walk with run, bike, swim or any other form of exercise. EXERCISE IS SO GOOD FOR YOU IN SO MANY WAYS!

South Bay Girl please stop wasting your energy and thoughts on that loser that left! Focus your energies on you! YOU ARE WONDERFUL! And lets hope the WGA gets off their A** es and comes to terms soon. It sucks that so many people are out of work because of them!

Southbay Girl Gets off her ARSE

With my ever so constant and dedicated running partner, Velcro,I mustered the energy to depart my warm toasty house...venturing out into the chilly, wet, wilds of southern california for a run before it got too late, too cold and dark....it's 54 degrees here-I had to wear a long sleeved shirt and my capri running tights! What is the world coming to! We headed off downhill first towards the harbor area-my foot hurt for about the first 2.5 miles-so it made for a GREAT run!Then the last half of the run was all uphill. HA! But I did it-my head and heart feel better-I have a clearer purpose.....to get fit, look hot and run into that a-hole ex-boyfriend looking positively stunning!! Or meet the man of my dreams....whichever comes first! Or neither of them. I'm just enjoying the fact that I've lost all the weight I gained being with the a-hole ex-boyfriend!!!

Today I probably could have run quite a bit further-but decided not to let the endorphines that were running rampant loose!!

RUN: 4.1 Miles with Velcro- so a few stops to smell the roses!
(377 calories burned-woo hoo!!!)

Is Monday a Holiday When you haven't worked since November?? Southbay Girl thinks NOT!

Boy I'm in a right foul mood. I must get out a get a run in this morning. Luckily it's not some frigid temperature-I'd die! And be a wimp! I opened my email this morning and what did I receive?? And email from plaxo Pulse informing me that my ex-boyfriend of over 2 years, who left me over 4 months ago while I was at work, would like to add me as a friend. What the F*CK! Why is he doing this to me???? I know this has nothing to do with running...but this is going to send me out on a run. Probably a long one! I'll be crying the entire time but who cares. I've been crying on my runs off and on since he left me anyway and now this???? And it doesn't help that I've been out of work since the middle of November, my bank account is so low I'm stopping Pilates this week-because my unemployment check hasn't arrived yet-but bills don't give a shit if the WGA decided to strike in november!!! I'm going to start running out of stocks I can sell-yes selling stocks to survive because that ex-boyfriend spent all of my savings!!! $1000 in vegas in 3 days in August 2007-one month before he up and left me! Am I just the biggest idiot in the world? Right now I hate everything!!!!

Marathon movie

I think I may take my daughter and go see this on Thurdsay.

From the Frozen Tundra Called Maryland

Well, I guess we can say that Winter finally arrived in Maryland last week. Brrrrrrrrrrr. Right now at 9:08 am it is 16 degrees. Brrrrrrrrrr I am slated to get in a 3 mile run today, but if it doesn't go above freezing or make it into the 20s I don't know if I can motivate myself to get out there and run. The sun is shining - maybe that will help the bitter cold. I'm only working a half day today, so I could get out while the sun is still out. hmmmm, we'll see.

Saturday's run was a bit chilly, it was in the 30's, but good. I'm still at the back of the group, but I don't care! I'm out there and I'm running. Being some where by 7 am on a Saturday morning truly sucks though! We did 4 miles Saturday and I think I may have had on one layer too many. I need to figure out the right balance.
SATURDAY 4 miles

Sunday with Southbay Girl

Having just read the saturday posting on Run Baby Run of her amazing 21K Pacifica trail race I feel the necessity to get off my ass today even if I'm still sore and get at least a 4 miler in. Of course it will have to be after football-which means it will be dark and nice! With the Santa Ana's blowing it's hot and dry here-and that causes my exercise induced asthma to kick in more than it would normally! So tonight it is!!!

Southbay Girl's Saturday morning

OUCH! I'm f***ing sore!!! I woke up this morning and thought-I can't do Pilates today...I can't believe how sore I was from yesterday's class. I really must have pushed myself more than normal! But I got up at 7:45am...yeah a little late and got my ass out the door at 8:45 for my 9am Pilates class. It helps when two other people go with you~you can't really come up with an excuse! The workout today was using a rubber ball and of course the weights that I personally inflict on myself! It hurts while I'm doing it but I feel amazing afterwards! Awake, alive, my head is cleared. I think I have found an exercise that does what running does for me!! But I'll be running tonight!! I'm gunning for a 4 mile run tonight. Velcro will need the exercise~always blame it on the dog!!

I came home and ate breakfast-I was so hungry! made a cup of tea and then an egg, black bean, corn burrito~yummy!!!!! (I'm a pescatarian-only eat fish)

PILATES: 1 Hour (217 Calories)

Southbay Girl gets a short run in before having WINE!

Yeah it's friday nite and what am I doing-absolutely nothing! Well that's not true. Velcro and I did go out for a quick run. I wanted to make it short because my Pilates instructor kicked my ass today! And I'm a little tight and sore! I love it though! So, actually, the run was good because it has loosened up my muscles a bit. Well lets hope so because I go to Pilates again tomorrow morning! And I know she's going to kick my ass again-for some reason I've turned into one of the advanced members of the class and I've only been going since right before christmas-she feels like I'm capable of being pushed-no pain no gain!!!

My arch hurt a little bit at the beginning of the run(didn't burn which is good~and the blistering stopped right after my last prolotheraphy appointment) and so did my legs, and I was a little cold-it's dropped down to about 55 degrees here in southern cal-BRRRRR...chilly.....not cold enough to put on a long sleeved shirt to run in. But still a bit brisk! Like I said to maryland girl-snow...what's that? I see snow on the mountains far far away!

So my run was ok. Nothing great-but I got out there and did something. I was very tempted to bail on it but I thought that Maryland Girl might kick my ass and I looked at Velcro and had to take my constant companion out on a run!!

RUN: 2.62 miles and Velcro made a poo stop and a few pee breaks

Southbay Girl's Pilates Class

You know I'm really growing to love Pilates! It's an amazing compliment to my running and I'm already seeing a difference in the shape of my body since I've been doing running and pilates! It's amazing! I would recommend it for everyone-at least try it!!! I use weights while I'm doing the exercises so it's adding alot to my exercises. I'm hooked!!! Of course it helps that I have a very enthusiastic instructor who is very down to earth-and the class of women is great!! What happens when the WGA strike is over and I have to go back to work and make a living? No weekday Pilates classes!

By the way-she kicked my ass today!!!! I'm stiff and sore already!

PILATES: 1 Hour

Snow! No Running for Maryland Girl!

It snowed yesterday. I'd say there is about 5 inches at my house. I did not get my 3 mile run in due to the snow, but I did ride my recumbant bike that lives in my basement for 30 minutes. It is movement and that counts!
I wonder what tomorrows 7 am run will be like besides cold! I hope it won't be slippery! I don't want to fall! LOL

Southbay Girl feels like ranting

Every morning and every afternoon, before and after school, there is a group of teenager boys from the high school, that sit at the end of my sidewalk in my condo complex and get stoned and on occasion they will actually carry a bong with them!Well since I'm unemployed, I've been chasing them off-did it yesterday afternoon~and it just so happened Velcro was with me...and she heard my raised voice. Well this morning she heard the gate open and started barking-I knew they were here so we went down~the mean older single lady and her dog! They saw me and immediately ran off for the alley. I followed because I wanted to talk to them. I told them to stop, that I just wanted to talk and by god they did and came back-there were 3 of them (usually there are between 4-6, another kid was late because he came down the path when I was coming back). I said I wasn't going to yell-I'm trying a new tactic! I told them I wanted to talk to them,I asked them why they did this, why they felt the need to get fucked up before and after school-none of them had any explanation-actually only one kid actually spoke while I was speaking. I also asked if they did sports and one of them piped in YES~why? Why would anyone do this. I told them there is more to life than getting fucked up I asked them-do you like life~and again they said yes...and then I told them that the reason I wanted to speak to them was that I had just had a personal experience with this, with someone who was in my life~someone who will probably end up in a gutter. I'm sure they thought I was some idiot-but I wanted to tell them that my ex-boyfriend had started this way -and it progressed to him doing much stronger drugs all the time and finally a few weeks before he walked out on me he stopped at a friends house to say hello and proceeded to join them in some coke~I'd never just go to someones house to do coke!~ and about 20 minutes later he found himself wandering aimlessly down a street for miles and was missing for days because the coke had been mixed with Meth and X~he couldn't see straight, couldn't speak~basically was catatonic . I wanted them to know this! I wanted them to know that it not only hurts them but hurts the ones that love them! Of course I was crying-and you know how 16 or 17 year old boys are when an adult woman cries-ha....but I hope they at least think about it. I thanked them for listening and they thanked me....so we'll see. Maybe I'm stupid but why do this to yourself? Not that I haven't tried stuff in college and not that I don't drink-but to do it to excess so that you can't feel anything that's going on in your life? Why? I guess that's why I run. I guess running is my drug! But how does running become my drug and drugs become other peoples? What happens to someone to send them down that path? Why did I not go down that path? Maybe I should find a way to help them-get them involved in running or sheep herding with Velcro, painting? maybe they could help me put down the rest of my floors... I just hate to see young kids, my sons age, ruin their lives! Sorry just felt like sharing this!

Southbay Girl gets a morning run in

Well, I saw it was overcast so I dashed to get my running clothes on, put the harness on Velcro and set my cell phone/stopwatch. I had my run mapped out per www.mapmyrun.com and had a 3.4 mile run planned. Of course as soon as I got out there the sun came out~I'm really not a big fan of running in the sunshine-don't know why just don't like it. Of course running with my dog you have built in stops: had one poop break, a few pee breaks and then of course that HILL! I found out that it's over a 200' climb up that hill. I made it half way up today.

Not the greatest of runs today-a little tired~tired for no reason whatsoever I might add. I had a great sleep last night. I blame the sun! The total time from when I walked out my door to walking back in my door was 45:47 with numerous dog stops! Not bad considering I'm just getting back into my running. Of course lets not be silly, I was never a very fast runner. I just love to run!!!

On the arch subject-didn't really hurt or burn today-maybe it's finally adjusting to the orthotics.

Hey www.Mapmyrun.com says I burned 308 calories-how cool is that!!

RUN: 3.4 Miles and Velcro had 1 poo stop, 4 pee breaks and maybe 1 or 2 sniffs

Maryland Girl Does First Night of Training

I met up with all the other trainees at Fleet Feet in Gaithersburg last night. IT WAS COLD! I had on my UnderArmor Cold Gear pants, a couple wicking shirts, a fleece vest, gloves and a hat! Once I got running, I was fine, but it was quite chilly and DARK! The half marathon group went for a 3 mile run. I was in the way back of the pack. I was slooooowwww, but that is okay I will get faster. What I like about running is that I get into this zone within my head and body, it is almost meditative. I listen to my feet hitting the ground, I focus on my breathing, I get to a point where I think I could just keep going- - although I am quite happy when the run is done!


The trainers gave us a schedule for the program. For the rest of this week, I am to: rest today (Wednesday), run 3 miles on Thursday, rest on Friday, the group meets at a way too early 7 am on Saturday morning for a 4 mile run (and it is supposed to still be VERY cold!), rest on Sunday and then a 3 mile run on Monday. Despite the cold, I think this is doable. My thighs hurt today a bit, but then that is what I get for being so very lazy for a month!

RUN: 3 MILES

Southbay Girl does just a Walk

Sorry, but I just couldn't go to Pilates today. I had a horrible sleep, my left ankle was hurting, I think I tweaked a muscle in my back running yesterday and honestly I just wanted to stay in today-yesterday was 4 months since the asshole walked out on me and not working because of this stupid Writers Strike is really beginning to get on my nerves! I'm tired of this bullshit! I took Velcro to the park today to play with her Jolly Ball-dogs are amazing....they are always happy! And no matter what she always puts a smile on my face!!! I'm going back to sit on the couch-I've dug my heating pad out-going to plug it in and heat the muscle in my back!

I did just go for a walk with Velcro~which seems to have loosened up the strained muscle in my back!

WALK: 2.4 Miles

Southbay Girl goes to Prolotheraphy Appt #3

Prolotheraphy ROCKS! Don't get me wrong-there is slight discomfort involved in the actual injections and then slight residual pain afterwards-but you know what even the pain lessons after each appointment! If you notice, my foot isn't as swollen as it was on the past pictures~Not as many injections today. I'm absolutely thrilled with the results so far! I can't tell you what a feeling it is to go for a run and be out of breathe instead of being in tears because the pain in my foot is so bad! Each day gets better and better.

As for the burning in my arch and the blister-Dr. Fields thinks it might be because there are changes occurring in my foot~he gave me a very thin wrap to wrap around my foot in the arch area and that should help. I won't know anything for a couple of days~not running tonight nor am I running tomorrow...must give my foot a rest! But I do have a pilates class tomorrow~no pressure on my foot there!

Thank you Dr Fields. You are a rockstar!

On a side note-yeah I know I have big feet! No telling anyone!

For all of you that are wondering...what the hell Prolotheraphy is:

The treatment is useful for many different types of musculoskeletal pain, including arthritis, back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia, sports injuries, unresolved whiplash injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic tendonitis, partially torn tendons, ligaments and cartilage, degenerated or herniated discs, TMJ and sciatica.

First, it is important to understand what the word prolotherapy itself means. "Prolo" is short for proliferation, because the treatment causes the proliferation (growth, formation) of new ligament tissue in areas where it has become weak.

Ligaments are the structural "rubber bands" that hold bones to bones in joints. Ligaments can become weak or injured and may not heal back to their original strength or endurance. This is largely because the blood supply to ligaments is limited, and therefore healing is slow and not always complete. To further complicate this, ligaments also have many nerve endings and therefore the person will feel pain at the areas where the ligaments are damaged or loose.

Tendons are the name given to tissue which connects muscles to bones, and in the same manner tendons may also become injured, and cause pain.

Prolotherapy uses a dextrose (sugar water) solution, which is injected into the ligament or tendon where it attaches to the bone. This causes a localized inflammation in these weak areas which then increases the blood supply and flow of nutrients and stimulates the tissue to repair itself.

Southbay Girl Runs 3 miles

Honestly, what was I thinking going out for a run this morning without a hat? And on a day when it's already hot at 9am, the smog and crap in the air is disgusting today-I could see it sitting in the harbor from the top of the hill. But I ran anyway! I had to because I have prolotheraphy today and can't run tomorrow. I ran around the neighborhood-it gives me an amazing view of the harbor but is loaded with hills! There is one hill that, one day, I will run all the way up. It's steep as crap and I usually make it about halfway. Of course my constant running partner, Velcro, doesn't like the hill either~ she was a big anchor today! She's not a big fan of the heat either! Some kind of Australian dog she is! HA! But I'm very happy we managed a 3 mile run with all the smog and crap in the air with the heat and with the arch in my left foot burning. I must remember to ask Dr. Fields about that today! I do think it's my foot rubbing on my orthotic-hopefully it will go away! I wanted to run a little further today-but I guess I shouldn't jump into the boat and sink it right away. I have loads of time to get back to where I was. Maybe I should follow my dear Maryland Girl and join a training program~of course as soon as I do that the WGA strike will be over!

opps...developed a blister on my left arch from the rubbing. It's so strange because I've had these orthotics for about 9 months-changes are definitely happening to my foot. Or maybe I'm finally running properly because I have no pain and the foot has never adapted to the orthotic properly!!!

RUN: 3 Miles w/ Velcro having a poo break and a few pee breaks

Maryland Girl Checks In!

I did get a run in on Sunday. I waited until about 1 pm then it was still a bit sunny and about 44 degrees. The run felt good. I only did about 3 miles. I'm a little sore today in the legs, but that is okay. I will ride the recumbent bike tonight and then Tuesday starts the real training program. I think we have a 3 mile run on the schedule. I will have to post some pictures.
I do have one concern as the mileage starts increasing. I still have some nerve damage from an episode of Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and Miller Fisher Syndrome (MFS) in March 2006. I notice when I hike, after the 4-5 mile mark I start getting some intense nerve pain in my feet. I just keep going, but the pain and numbness can be quite intense. It will be interesting to see what happens after running for 4 or 5 miles and longer. I did complete the sprint triathlon in Sept. 2006, six months after my hospitalization, with more residual issues than now, and I survived. I'm sure I can do this too! Strength through adversity!

RUN: 3 MILES

Sunday and Southbay Girl can't be bothered doing anything!

Sorry...but I may flake on running today! I did take velcro sheep herding-I walked around a field but since I've been watching football and had two beers I'm just not motivated! But tomorrow morning I must run because i go for Prolotheraphy at 1pm and I wont be able to run tomorrow night nor tuesday-because my foot will be swollen with dextrose! Fun stuff! Here are pictures from the last two prolotheraphy appts.

Appt #1 about 15-20 shots in my foot!
Appt #2 about 12 shots in my foot!

I'll take a picture tomorrow of my lovely left foot! Well on it's way to getting better-finally!!!

Maryland Girl Posts!

I've been a bit lazy over the past month. I did do two 10 miles hikes over the past month, but other than that LAZY! I just started running again in Oct 07. Did two 5Ks races in November and then the beginning of Dec, I got lazy! Today in the lovely 37 degree weather I will go for a run before the rain comes! It looks like a Nor'easter is going to just miss us. I do want some snow, but that would put a damper on the runnning!
Since that out of work CA girl talked me into running the Nashville Half Marathon with her, Tuesday, Jan 15 I will be starting a training program for the half marathon. The program is offered through a running store called Fleet Feet. I hope I can keep up with the others that are training! Once we get started Tuesdays will be speed work and Saturdays will be distance runs. Of course I will be doing some other runs and cross training in between those days.

Southbay Girl's Day of Exercise

Today was a busy day. At 9 this morning I went to my Pilates class. I started doing Pilates right before Christmas and now I'm hooked and try to go 3x a week for an hour~ it's awesome. So I did Pilates this morning and I just came back from a 4 mile run at sunset! I have always been a morning runner but have fallen back into running at night. Not quite sure why. I'm sure once work kicks back in I'll get back to my early morning runs before work. My constant running partner~my dog~ and I had a very nice run. We stopped a few times for a pee and poo break. But considering how crappy my running has been up until the prolotheraphy started helping my foot, I'm thrilled! 4 miles twice so far this week is better than I've done in over a year! And I go back for another prolotheraphy appointment on monday! the only pain I'm noticing is in my arch-it seems the prolotheraphy injections are changing my foot a bit so now my orthotic is rubbing my arch. When I go for my appointment on monday I have to draw on a diagram what and where the aches/pains/burns etc are-so I'll mention the arch issue to Dr. Fields then.

RUN: 4 Miles and Velcro, the ACD, had at least 1 poo and pee break
PILATES: 1 Hour

Post from Southbay Girl

I'm a little pissed-when the ass ex-boyfriend walked out on the relationship while I was at work-he took my running GPS! I had loved running with it! It made training so nice! I guess the silver lining is when I get a new one it will be the watch type rather than the large rectangular one.... until that time I'll be running routes that I can either drive to map the distance or know from running with the GPS. Ciao and I'm off for a run!

Valley Girl's first post

I have been pushed by the South Bay Girl to start running again...I MIGHT do the SuperBowl 5K...that's more my speed right now! South Bay Girl actually talked me into running the LA Marathon in 1998, and I am still recovering. Alas, I have no photos of this event, and that's probably a good thing.

Ok, South Bay Girl, here we go.....

Southbay Girl's first post....

I have been running for years-I thrive on races or I had until about 6-7 years ago when I began having this horrible pain in my left foot. It didn't stop me from running but it definitely curtailed the distances i could run! I had so many tests done to figure out what was wrong with my foot-bone scans, xrays-you name it and no one could tell me what was wrong with it until I went to see the world's best podiatrist, Dr Dan Altschuler, in Santa Monica-I call him my first Rock Star for as this story continues I have found another doctor who I've elevated to rock star status. Dr Dan as he's called by his staff and patients saw me in October 2003-after I had cancelled my acceptance into the 2003 NYC Marathon. He diagnosed my problem-Divergence in my left foot. Basically the tendons and ligaments that hold the first Metatarsal and 2nd Matatarsal are screwed! The years and years of pounding sports: gymnastics, ice skating, volleyball and running and numerous sprained ankles had finally caught up to me. So I was given vet wrap-which is the most awesome thing in the world-and told to wrap my foot constantly for 6 weeks. WOW! It made a difference and the following year, 2004, I was able to run the one marathon I had always wanted to run, The ING NYC Marathon!!!!But once I stopped wrapping my foot the pain would come back-it was like a viscous cycle until the pain got worse and worse even though I was wrapping my foot. I couldn't take it anymore~ so I went back to see Dr. Dan last summer (By this time my running had gone from 6 miles a day to struggling to run 2.5 miles without crying~I was with an alcoholic, lazy ass boyfriend who didn't like running and I was getting FAT!) Well the divergence had gotten worse....GREAT I said! And he said I could do one of three things: surgery-which means 3 months off my feet, wrap my foot with vet wrap for the rest of my life or I could try an alternative theraphy called Prolotheraphy. My boyfriend walked out on me in September 2007!in hindsight a blessing in disguise because I dropped about 15lbs of the oh lets say 30 lbs I put on while I was with him~ and two months after that depressing but blessed event I opted to try Prolotheraphy! Welcome to my meeting with Rockstar #2, Dr Peter Fields of Pacific Prolotheraphy and Wellness Center. I scheduled my first appt with him November 2007....I had put it off because prolotheraphy involves injecting, with needles, dextrose into the affected/injured area....and since I'm on my feet for 12-13 hours a day I had to pick a time when i wasn't working much-thanks WGA strike! This is the only good thing to come out of the WGA strike!

All i can say is prolotheraphy has returned my body to running! I've only had two treatments, I go for my 3rd this coming monday, but already the difference is amazing! I went on a 4 mile run a couple of days ago-and it's not my foot that's stopping me but being out of shape!!! Thank goodness for being out of shape!! Of course that will be the first and last time you hear me say that!

Prolotheraphy has given me back the running that I love, thrive on and that would take a scowl off my face and turn it into a smile!

So here I am...back to running and preparing for two races for the first time in over a year! I've missed it SO MUCH!!!! I plan on running at least the 5K at the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday race on Feb 3rd and then my long distance training partner on the East Coast and I will be running the Nashville Half marathon in April.