Confessions of an Amateur Athlete

  I can't tell you how excited I was to meet Runner's World's Bart Yasso !  The San Francisco Marathon had hosted a contest, "TSFM Lucky 7".  One lucky winner chosen a month, for a total of 7 winners.  All got to have lunch with Bart Yasso the day before the race!   I entered (answered a question/posted on social media) and won!!! I actually was the FIRST winner so I had SIX MONTHS to wait until the lunch.  And last weekend, the day finally came! Besides the lunch, the SF Marathon teamed up with Bart Yasso to host a "shakeout run" the day before the race. So I went to that as well.  Tons of people showed up!  We're talking a good 200 runners.  Everyone jostling to get a pic with THE Bart Yasso!  Bart also loves to take big group selfies (apparently they're called "Barties" haha).  Here's ours before the run! I figured since I was having lunch with him later, to best just sit back and let ev...

A lot of friends/followers have been asking how my plantar fasciitis held up during the race after my cortisone shot.  (Back Story HERE ) Days leading up to the race, I was still sore.  On race day, when walking to the start line I was still feeling a dull pain.  The kind you get around mile 20 of a marathon.  So my stomach was doing flops.  This wasn't going to be easy! How did it go?  I believe a picture is worth a thousand words... so here's the answer: Mile 25 Needless to say, it HURT!  I managed to keep up with the 3:55 pace group with only slight discomfort, until Mile 18. That's when the $&@! hit the fan.  I could feel the tendon in my foot tight and throbbing something major.  I also knew that with the cortisone shot, I was opening up myself to risk of rupturing the tendon for life.  So I limped/walked the last few miles.   It definitely was painful.  Not just physical pain, but mental.  Runners...

gogorunning.com So one week out from The San Francisco Marathon , and I was feeling good. Was doing everything right... and getting excited. Until Monday I woke up and could barely put pressure on my heel. Plantar Fasciitis had struck... with a vengeance! Apparently my foot had had quite enough and was fed up. (Here's a great article on PLANTAR FASCIITIS for more detail on this injury) I iced my foot, stretched it, took plenty of ibuprofen... It was getting "tolerable" but I could tell there was no way it was going to be Marathon-ready in just five days. So I weighed my options. If my race were local, I'd resort to just cheering from the sidelines. But I've been eagerly waiting for this race for the past YEAR! Running across the Golden Gate Bridge has always been on my bucket list, and this was supposed to be my "fun" marathon of 2014!   s1.hubimg.com Friends had told me about getting a Cortisone shot. I'd never gotten o...

Another great time with running group with a blogging problem... #RunEatTweetAZ ! We set out to hike the tough route at Camelback Mountain, the Echo Canyon Trail.  We would have loved to see the sunrise while up on the mountain... but we hit a small snag.  Apparently they don't open up the park/parking lot until sunrise! So we sat in a long line of cars full of people in the same boat, waiting for the lot to open ad we could start sweating our way up the mountain! sunrise from the car Finally, the park opened up and we all got in and were more than ready to start our hike! It's not a very technical trail, per se, but it is VERY steep.  We had to hold onto railings at in some spots!  It's only a 1.2 mile climb to the top, but you're also climbing over 1200ft in that short amount of time... so needless to say, it's quite the workout! But the views are worth the extra effort! We chatted it up... on everything from upcoming races to...

I'm running the San Francisco Marathon  next weekend, and I have finally reached the final stage of my Tapering: Acceptance. As many of us runners know, as we end our marathon training and start backing off our mileage, we go through a series of emotions.  Let me break it down for you. STAGE ONE: EUPHORIA p.gr-assets.com You've put the mileage in. You're feeling good.  Legs are sore, but it's a good sore.  Now you can just sit back and wait for the race...which you're going to ROCK of course! Everything is AWESOME!   STAGE TWO:  ANGER sharegif.com Dang it! You need to go run! And your IT Band/Knee/Hip/Foot feels achy.  You'd better NOT be getting injured.  It's too late in the game!  And you feel fat.  Just FAT.  Now...who hid the @&#*#@ Cookies!?! STAGE THREE: DEPRESSION 31.media.tumblr.com Yep.  This race is going to be horrible.  What if you don't finish?! Did y...

Janie here.  Guest Blogging for my dad, Jeremy.  He's a human, and they can sure be a nuisance to run with! But let's face it, humans need their exercise too!  I run with my human all the time, and it definitely takes patience. First off, they're tough to get going in the morning.  They're stubborn and insist on sleeping in.  But you've gotta get them up early before it's too hot or too late.  So be persistent.  Enough licks and they'll wake up.  Eventually, just walk on your human.  That'll do the trick. Once your human is up.  Here's the really tough part.  They take FOREVER to get ready!   Jeremy is always fumbling around for some nasty drink... called "coffee"... before he will finally start putting on his stuff!  For some reason humans have to wear tons of "clothing" and carry all sorts of gear.  But if they want to carry all that stuff, let 'em.  At least THEY can carry your water. All I ne...