The 14 Mile Wipeout

After a recovery run of six miles which had me keeping up with my fellow pace group runners for a change, this week had us running 14 miles. I came into it with my usual confidence that I would complete it with little problem, but I was beset by some issues which came to take away from that confidence which may have been over-inflated unnecessarily.

The night before had me searching for my cell phone as I suddenly realized that I didn’t have it on me. This led me to have a near nervous breakdown as I have never lost any cell phone I’ve ever owned whether it’s a Nokia or an iPhone that is far past its prime. I searched the movie theater where I saw “The Peanuts Movie” as well as the Ralphs Supermarket I went to afterwards where I bought all the energy blocks I knew I would need for this run. After a great deal of self-flagellation which involved slapping myself in the face and yelling in my car at full volume, I found my phone which was lying on a sidewalk where it could have easily been taken. The fact that it wasn’t taken is amazing. Of course, realizing how tragic it was to lose my cell phone made me realize that, like everybody else, I am a slave to technology. It always felt like I avoided being a slave to it, but that was probably just me being in denial.

Anyway, I arrived at the Team to End AIDS meeting spot at Griffith Park just in time to hear Coach JC talk about how there’s still a stigma to admitting you are HIV positive. This past week saw Charlie Sheen admit to the world that he is HIV positive, and with that admission brought a strong realization of just how misinformed people are about this. By now it should be plainly obvious that being HIV positive does not equate to a death sentence. People are still able to live active and healthy lives even if they have been diagnosed as such. Coach JC became emotional as he told us how flabbergasted he is at just how many people around him don’t seem to have a clue about what being HIV positive really means.

This week’s route took us all over Burbank to where the map looked even more convoluted than the plot to the first “Mission: Impossible” movie. Heck, last week’s run was like that as we couldn’t figure out if we needed to take a right or left on Sonora.

Believe it or not, I actually managed to keep up with my pace group for the most part, but that inevitably changed towards the end. Because of my lack of sleep, my energy started to evaporate on the last few miles. I consumed more energy blocks than I usually do, and it got to where my heart was pounding as if John Bonham was doing his “Moby Dick” drum solo on it. This morning started off with a chill in the air which quickly made me put on my black Nike jacket, but with the sun already high up in the sky I knew it was not going to stay cold long so I left it on the bench before proceeding to the starting line.

It’s a good thing I left my jacket behind because the summer weather we thought had finally left us came back with a vengeance. The temperature went up to at least 80 degrees, and while I really could use the extra vitamin D, the heat really got to me more than usual. Thankfully the Bolivers were on hand to give us all the supplies we needed to cross the finish line. I’m not just talking about those peanut butter and pickle covered Ritz crackers they always have on hand; I’m talking about that cooler of ice cubes they had because I shoved as many of them as I could into my water bottles. Once again the colder my water bottles were, the more infinitely refreshing the liquids inside of them were. As a result, I found myself drinking more water than usual and consumed a couple of salt packets to help absorb it. I could feel the salt on my skin as I made my way to the finish line, so I knew I needed to keep consuming it even it was a bit disgusting.

Also, I couldn’t help but peruse the various yard and garage sales that were taking place throughout Burbank. I would spend less than a minute at each one because there was only so much time I could spend looking at the DVDs, VHS tapes and stuffed animals that were on display.

When it came to the last few miles, I had finally fallen way behind my fellow pace group runners but was still determined to cross the finish line back at Griffith Park. However, this did not keep me from stopping at one last garage sale where I found an Eeyore plush doll. Now anyone who knows me best understands just how big a fan of Eeyore, and I have gone a mission to rescue as many as I can. Plus, it was only a dollar.

I’m going to call this one Boliver Eeyore. The name seems more than appropriate.

Somewhere around mile 12, my pace group leader Walter drove up to me in his car and asked if I was okay and if I needed a ride back. I told him I was fine and thanked him for checking up on me. In retrospect, I think I should have let him drive me back as I was pretty much winded at that point and was practically crawling my way to the finish line. I guess it’s just that instinct I have inside of me to not quit anything. I need to remember that sometimes it’s okay to not finish a run.

Fortunately, the coaches were still around when I FINALLY crossed the finish line back in Griffith Park. Coach JC got a picture of me and my new Eeyore and gave me a certificate congratulating me on completing this 14 mile run which was the equivalent of a half-marathon. I thanked him and the others for waiting for me, and they calmly reminded me that it was their job to do so. Point taken.

The rest of the day had me resting and recovering from this run as it took a bigger toll on me than I expected it to. There was work I needed to do, but I was just too winded to do much of anything except lay in bed. It didn’t matter that I have trained for the LA Marathon five times before; my body still reminds me when I’ve pushed myself a little further than usual.

I still need to get those maintenance runs in during the week and increase my cardio activity as well. That belly on my body is far too big, and Thanksgiving has yet to take place. Pray for me!

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: Currently I haveraised $605 towards my fundraising goal of $1,100 for AIDS Project Los Angeles.My deadline is coming up in December and any amount you can donate will go along way in helping those afflicted by this terrible disease. I encourage youout there to donate $14 to my efforts this week, or basically $1 for each mileI ran. Click here to find out how you can help.

An Improvement, A Palpable Improvement

For this past week, Coach JC gave us a homework assignment which had us taking pictures (aka selfies) of ourselves after we had completed our two weekly maintenance runs. This way, we could let him and the rest of the world know that we are taking our marathon training seriously. I did do my two maintenance runs, but I was unable to do any cardio workouts outside of that. Still, I felt like I was more prepared for this week’s Team to End AIDS run than I was the week before.

By the way, I want to thank my water boy Bubba Eeyore. He was a big help to me throughout the week.

I actually got up a lot earlier in the morning than I expected, something that usually pisses me off on any other day, so I even had time to take a shower before jumping into my car. Granted, taking a shower before a run in the blistering Los Angeles heat of October is somewhat pointless as I will come out of sweaty and smelling like a skunk on a day pass that does him no good, but I guess I wanted to look and smell cleaner than usual. Of course, this run would necessitate me having yet another shower afterwards which seems criminal as California is in the midst of an abysmal drought, but in my defense I did have to interview a couple of people like Keanu Reeves and Eli Roth right afterwards. You may have heard of them.

My radio was tuned into 100.3 The Sound while I was on my way to Griffith Park. It was a better to listen in to some classic rock instead of the “Mombasa” track from Hans Zimmer’s “Inception” soundtrack. Listening to that piece of film score had made me running a lot faster last week than I had any right to.

So at this point it looks like I am better off in the 13 minute pace group, and I went back to the 3:1 pace as it made more sense to me to run for three minutes instead of four. But as with the previous year, the 13 minute pace group still draws the biggest crowd. That’s right; it’s still the hip group to be in when you’re running with Team to End AIDS, and who doesn’t want to run with the cool kids?

This run was confined to the inside of Griffith Park as we ran past the Gene Autry Museum and the Los Angeles Zoo before turning around and heading back. But at the turn around point, we did need to keep going up the street a bit as the Bolivers were on hand to give us all the treats we needed. Those peanut butter and pickled covered Ritz crackers are still irresistible, and I don’t care what Coach JC says about pickles in general.

I felt a lot better this week even though I still trailed everyone by quite a bit. Could it be that I am carrying an extra load? By that, I mean could I stand to lose a few pounds? Wait, that’s a stupid question. Besides, I can’t make everyone buy into the bullshit that I’m pregnant. Of course, many buy into a lot of crazy ideas these days.

Because of work which involved me attending press screenings and junkets, I was unable to fit in any other cardio workouts. I’m always hoping to go to 24 Hour Fitness to swim a few laps in the pool, but making time to do that is a constant challenge, darn it. Perhaps I could get in a few rounds of Wii Sports boxing instead.

But overall I came out of this week’s T2EA run feeling a lot better than I did last week, and I’m positive it’s not just the endorphins talking. I feel like I’m hitting my stride now and that things can only get better from here. It’s nice to feel healthier than you usually do, and it’s a feeling I’m always desperate to hang onto. Some people say that it is better to look good than to feel good, but that makes as much sense as someone saying that behind every great man there must be a great behind… Wait a minute… that last one does make sense.

Coincidentally, I did neglect to mention something from last week’s run. As I was running through Burbank, I came to see that the Not a Burger Stand restaurant has now been shut down. I was shocked to see this as it was always a welcome on the T2EA runs as they always had these great signs outside which encouraged you to talk like a famous actor in order to get a discount.

A reporter friend of mine also said that their burgers were to die for, but I never got to eat one. It’s always a tragedy when we miss out on the taste of a good burger, so I do feel a real loss there even though my heart is thankful that I’m not overdoing it on the bad cholesterol front. Still, there’s always Five Guys, In-N-Out Burger, Fatburger, Fuddruckers and, if I’m desperate, Burger King. Then again, McDonald’s recently announced that they are going to start serving breakfast all day long, so that may very well be the death of me.

RIP Not a Burger Stand.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: I am now at 32%towards my fundraising goal of $1,100 for AIDS Project Los Angeles, havingraised $355 to date. If each of my Facebook friends would donate just $5, Iwould go way beyond that goal. Even the smallest donation goes a long way, soclick here to see how you can support my efforts (PLEASE!!!).

One Mile Too Many?

So I managed to get my two maintenance runs in this week which had me feeling fully prepared for this 5 mile run. Like the week before I was hoping to get more cardio workouts in, but I was kept from doing so as I had to work and make some money. I also had the opportunity to interview Brit Marling and Hailee Steinfeld about their new movie “The Keeping Room,” and that seemed like a good reason to avoid a workout.

Furthermore, I got to interview Eli Roth and Lorenza Izzo about their cannibal movie “The Green Inferno,” and watching that gave me a good enough reason to skip breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’m hoping I lost a couple of pounds as a result.

After last week, Coach JC became increasingly concerned that many of us were not in the correct pace groups. Many of us in the 12 minute pace group came to realize that we were better off running in the 13 minute pace group instead, and to that effect we changed our pace from 3:1 to 4:1 which sounded like a good way to go.

This week’s run was the alumni run, so I felt compelled to bring Bubba Eeyore back as he did accompany me on my 23 mile run back in 2014. I was hoping to see a lot of friends from previous years, but that did not prove to be the case. Jessica and Annette, how could you two sleep in this Saturday morning? I hope you have good excuses!

The summer season has ended and fall has begun, but that doesn’t mean much when you live in Southern California because summer tends to extend its invitation all the way into November. If that doesn’t convince you that climate change is not fiction, then what the fuck will?!

I felt like I got off to a good start as I made my way towards the streets of Burbank with my fellow runners, but it didn’t take long for me to start lagging behind to where I found myself running by my lonesome. I started to feel like a water skier who was impatiently waiting for someone to throw him the tow rope so that he can rise from the water and race upon it. Or in other words, I just wanted someone to pull me so that I could keep up with everybody else.

You know, when a runner stops short of completing a run because he or she doesn’t feel up to it, that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s smart because it means you’re looking out for yourself and not pushing yourself too hard. This was the first T2EA run ever where I felt like I should have stopped sooner, but there still exists a part deep down inside of me that is out to prove to the world I’m no quitter. Whether it was refusing to switch high schools because I was miserable Freshman year or refusing to quit the wrestling team because it was too much work, I still feel like giving up on something is an inescapable sign of failure. After all these years (never mind how many), it may be time to seriously rethink that perspective.

I did get saved momentarily by the Bolivers who were on hand to give us their usual display of running fuel, and those peanut butter and pickle covered Ritz crackers are always a lifesaver. They also had a cooler of ice cubes which I quickly shoved into my water bottles before taking off. But it was still a hot day so those ice cubes disintegrated in no time at all, and my water and grape Gatorade remained unrefreshingly warm.

I feel like I more or less limped to the finish line at Griffith Park, but I was happy to see that Coach JC and my fellow pace group runners were still there waiting for me to return. I told JC that I wasn’t sure why my running was off this week as I did do my two maintenance runs, and he admits that he is still trying to get all the runners into the right pace groups. The goal, he said, is to have everyone run at a pace which is comfortable for them to where they are not huffing and puffing for no good reason.

I told JC that my hope is to do cardio workouts outside of my two maintenance runs. Swimming comes to mind, and he liked that and encouraged me to do workouts that didn’t put too much strain on my legs. He also encouraged me to avoid stair masters as they can be especially hard on the joints. I haven’t been on one of those machines since I was in high school.

One of my fellow runners said he remembered when I ran with Bubba Eeyore a few years back and that seeing him always brought a smile to his face. Bubba later came up to him to say thank you, but that same runner started laughing hysterically to where Bubba felt offended. Oh well, Bubba does get strong responses from one person to the next.

So next week I need to keep up with those maintenance runs, and hopefully I’ll fit in some other cardio workouts as well. If only we had time to do all the things we needed to do…

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: I have raised$150 to date for AIDS Project Los Angeles, and that puts me at 14% towards mygoal of $1,100. Let’s keep the momentum going! You can only donate $5? That’sperfectly fine. If all my Facebook friends could donate $5 each, I would be waypast my fundraising goal. Click here to see how you can help.

Faster than a 13 minute pace group?

Okay, in my last marathon blog I said I was going to do cardio exercises all throughout the week. I even packed up my gym bag in a way I haven’t in the last few months, determined to make myself go through with this important and much-needed mission. Well, things did not go as planned as I ended up being a victim of check fraud which depleted my checking and savings accounts, and I had to spend a ridiculous number of hours getting an oil change, getting my rear brakes replaced and a new tire put on my car. It also didn’t help that the guys at the tire shop kind of forgot about me and my car for at least an hour.

Oh yeah, Ben Stein was also at the tire shop too if anyone is interested to know…

Anyway, this week’s Team to End AIDS run was the “Bring a Friend” run, so naturally I brought Bubba Eeyore with me. This is the same Eeyore that accompanied me on my 23 mile run when I trained for the LA Marathon in 2014. Hey, they said bring a friend!

Bubba ended up staying behind to guard the car keys of those running the Honolulu Marathon to where Coach Jennifer was convinced  he wanted to come to Honolulu as well (I’m sure he would jump at the chance).

We had a choice today of running either three or five miles. I decided to run five. Since all my fellow marathon buddies were running in the 12 minute pace group, I stuck with them. I guess there are times where I can’t help but be a follower. To say that it was relatively cool that morning in Griffith Park would have people staring right at you with their jaws dropped as if to say, “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!!” Let’s just say that we’re all really glad to run early in the morning. It sucks not to sleep in on a Saturday, but at least we got the run out of the way before the temperature reached an unbearable level.

This run took us outside of Griffith Park and into parts of Burbank many of us have traversed before. It also allowed us to catch up with the Bolivars who were at a local park serving us with all the treats any runner could ever need any day (especially on one as hot as this). And of course, this marked the return of those peanut butter pickle covered Ritz crackers which remain as addictive as ever. Coach JC may be repelled by them, but for everyone else they are insatiable.

Having trained time and time again for the LA Marathon, I usually come into a run like this saying, “It’s only five miles.” It drives those who don’t run nuts, but it makes perfect sense to those who have long since been bitten by the running bug. But this run definitely felt longer than usual, and it wasn’t just because of the heat. Having missed my opportunity to do those two maintenance runs during the week, the strain showed to where I didn’t even try to hide it. I didn’t falter or give up, but my form was definitely off this time around. I need to keep up with training during the week and to get myself to doing all those cardio exercises I promised myself I would do throughout the week. Also, a decrease in junk food would be helpful too (don’t ask why).

As the group made their way back to where we started, I had to stop at one point to “drop the kids in the pool.” I thought I could make it to the end before having to go to the bathroom, but then I remembered that there’s not much in the way of portable toilets near our running site. I wasn’t sure if anyone heard I was going to give a shit and not wait up for me… I know the correct term is to “take a shit,” but who really takes one? You don’t take a shit, you give a shit. Granted, the term “giving a shit” may have multiple meanings, but when it comes to going to the bathroom that term makes a hell of a lot more sense.

Thankfully I didn’t have to spend too long at the bathroom and the finish line was not all that far away. As I made my way back to Griffith Park, Winston (who ran the 2015 LA Marathon with me) came running my way to make sure I was okay. I was fine, and even he admitted there was no way I would drop dead during a run.

As we approached the finish line, it was getting hotter and hotter. When you literally yards away from the end, the run begins to feel a lot longer than it has any right to. I always kind of resent that about running in general. Maybe it’s because I keep getting Vietnam-like flashbacks of when I ran cross country in high school and feeling like I would die a painful death before I even crossed the finish line. Either that or the sun was shining so brightly that I couldn’t stop thinking about that cup of ice cold water waiting for me  at the end and of how I wanted it sooner than later. This was especially the case when we did runs in 80 degree heat without any shade.

Well, considering that I am writing about this run, it’s safe to say that I completed it and am still breathing. Coach JC, however, was concerned that me and several others were in the wrong pace group. He said he understood how runners always try to push themselves to another level, but considering the time we finished in, it made more sense for us to run in the 13 minute pace group. This should show you just how much JC is looking out for us as a marathon coach. Do not doubt his dedication to making sure we cross the finish line next February.

So hopefully I will get those maintenance runs and cardio exercises in during the week week as I have a lot of catching up to do. Not to worry though. We are still in the beginning stages of marathon training and have plenty of time to improve.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: Hi folks! I amstill at 9% towards my fundraising goal of $1,100 for AIDS Project Los Angeles.I am challenging 40 people out there to donate just $5 to my efforts and tohelp those afflicted by this terrible disease. Trust me, every little bithelps! Click here to learn how you can help.