Live.Swim/Bike/Run.Donate??

Guess who is going to be doing their first Triathlon this year?! Yes you guessed right- Me!! (Assuming you knew it was me ;)

I am coming back as a Mentor for Team Challenge. Its going to be my third official season! They helped me train for my first half marathon (Napa 2 Sonoma 2010) and I was honored by becoming a Mentor the following season (Las Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon 2010.)

Training doesn't start until May but I mean its only 2 months away. I can't wait for winter to be over so I can enjoy being outside without being so cold!

We'll be doing the Tri-Rock Sprint Triathlon in beautiful San Diego on Sunday September 9th.


What's more important than accomplishing this fitness goal for me is raising money for Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. I am raising $2600.00 in an effort to find a cure! This disease affects over 1.4 million Americans yet most people don't even know about it!

Hope you'll donate (every little bit counts) and I'll make you proud in doing my first triathlon!

Can you tell I'm excited??

Where Does The Time Go?

I can't believe that my last blog post was in January! Flipping almost 11 months ago!

So.. while re-reading what I wanted to accomplish in 2011 I am excited to share that I DID accomplish some of those.. and unfortunately am in the same place for some as well. :(

Nothing to be too down on because tomorrow is a new day and today I have the opportunity to embrace CHANGE. Again always easier said than done.

So some highlights this year was that I DID manage to do not 12 but 14 RACES! I would say it was really aggressive and not sure I can top the type of races next year but I can definitely try.

The races I did were the following:

1. Kaiser Half Marathon in SF (February)
2. Chinese New Year Run 5k in SF (February)
3. St. Patricks' Day Run 5k in Los Gatos (March)
4. LOS ANGELES MARATHON (March)
5. Santa Cruz Half Marathon (April)
6. Presidio 10 miler in SF (April)
7. Mermaid Series Sirena 18 miler in Fremont (May)
8. See Jane Run Half Marathon in Alameda (June)
9. Mermaid Series Duathlon in Alameda (June)
10. Giants Plate to Plate 10k in SF (August)
11. Nor Cal Series Half Marathon in San Jose (September)
12. Nike Women's Half Marathon in SF (October)
13. Morgan Hill Half Marathon (October)
14. Silicon Valley Turkey Trot in San Jose (November)

Ahh its nice to reminisce on all the races accomplished.

My favorite is always Nike Women's but the race that I really enjoyed was Santa Cruz Half Marathon. The Finish Line is on the beach! The yellow lanyard with the pretty metal was nice too.


I'm really hoping to commit to a post once a week.

I have so many new things I want to accomplish next year and finish this year with a bang!!

Getting Rid of the Holiday Weight!

Happy New Years everyone! A whole decade is now behind us and there are so many things to look forward to in 2011!



I would say that since I only started running last February I've definitely come a long way and I have a lot to proud of but... I could be doing more. A lot more. The first half of last year I was so motivated to lose weight and get myself ready for a half marathon in July. The second half of the year since I started a new job my focus was more on that and I did less running and therefore gained 10 lbs! Yikes.

I could blame it on the new job, winter eating, but I know what I was doing wrong. I was eating more and working out less. A horrible combination. New Years came just in time for me to focus and get back on track.

Last year I did 11 races that included 3 half marathons and a handful of 5k, 10k, and a 12k. This year I want to one up that and do 12 races- one each month really and all new ones BUT there are a few that will be repeats and since they are repeats I will train and beat my time.

Some of the races that I have signed up for already so far are:
- Kaiser Half Marathon in February in SF
- LA MARATHON!! My first FULL MARATHON in my home town!
- Napa to Sonoma- will bring me memories as my first half marathon was done at this race.

I'm really excited that I decided to do a full marathon. The training will get really serious with doing runs of up to 20 miles at one time. To date the longest mileage I've done is 14 miles so doubling that sounds very daunting but I'm up for the task.

Aside from the above races I want to find one to do in Santa Barbara- as an excuse to visit my old college town and of course Nike Women's since I had so much fun last year.

I am also thinking about getting bikini ready too! Yes summer is 6 months away but weight loss doesn't happen over night. My goal is to lose half a pound a week for 20 weeks in order to get to my ideal weight of 135lbs. I was able to get to this weight last summer so I have faith I can do this again.

Here's to a wonderful 2011 and doing everything that you set your mind to do!

1 Week Away from my Third Half Marathon!

I can't believe that I'll be running my third half marathon in exactly 1 week. I seriously went from not running at all to having run in 10 races this year. I'd say its been an eventful year and I so look forward to more new races next year. I'm definitely going to be revisiting my favorite races but for the most part I want to do all completely new races. Instead of doing mostly 5k and 10ks I'm going to do more half marathons and also trying to train for a full marathon.

This weekend will be the first time going to Vegas for non partying purposes but you know I'll make sure to get some fun in. I'll have to try my hand at craps and of course hitting the buffet.

I also did the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot this last Thursday and it was soo cold. It was perfect practicing weather for this weekend in Vegas seeing as it may be in the 30's. I definitely want to make it a tradition to run right before pigging out for Thanksgiving.

I am Thankful for where I am in my life right now and look forward to whatever is to come.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! Back to the grind tomorrow!

2nd Half Marathon In The Bag! Nike Women's Rocks!

WOW- talk about amazing half marathon! Nike Women's Marathon far exceeded my expectations for a race. I knew they were going to do it big but jeez it was amazing. I have been so excited about this race since I was able to get into it in April in the lottery! I never felt luckier.


Packet Picket Up at Union Square in SF

Went up to the Nike Expo on Saturday afternoon to pick up my packet and the line wrapped around Union Square! It went really fast because they were super organized. We got a great pink draw string bag because I was doing the half marathon while full marathon peeps got a neon green one. The expo had a lot of great booths but the line wasn't worth it for me to partake in them but I did enjoy perusing. Some of the things they had at the Expo were:
- Biking on a stationary bike to earn a smoothie- so good!
- DJ booth
- Facebook area to hook up your race time to FB
- Free Pom, Luna Bar, Gatorade
- Speakers from all over talking about the race


Nike Women's Marathon Sign in front of Macy's in Union Square


"Run To Be" is the theme of this NWM 2010


OKAY I was super excited to go to Niketown in order to see the participant wall! Proud to see that we helped raised 100 million dollars towards Leukemia and Lymphoma society. This Nike wall had all the participants names and I found mine! Once we got into Niketown it was trouble. I was definitely prepared to spend some moolah on cool NWM merchandise. Its hard to NOT get into it. Then its super fun to see other women wear all the Nike gear. Its like we have this bond like wow you got in too! I ended up getting a sweater, hat, water bottle, jersey, and since I spent over 125 bucks got a free make up. This race is great that its for women. ;)


My name is on the wall! They got all the A's in there!

I got soo lucky that my veteran runner/sorority sister/old roomate came into town to run the Nike Women's marathon too! Its her third one so she knows all the ins and outs! We ended up having a little "pasta party" of our own with her mom and another sorority sister Mari at Fino's in SF. It was perfect for carb loading the night before the race.


"Pasta Party" at Fino's

Starting time at 7AM!! We woke up at 5:30am ate a banana, cereal bar, drank some water and was ready to go! It took a good 15 minutes for them to get us out of the starting line with 20k people in the race! I'll highlight the race here:
- Okay really challenging course- lots of hills- I had to walk a few of them up
- Tweaked my ankle at mile 3 so it was pretty painful to run downhill but oh wow it felt so good to go down hill
- Power songs! Every so mile they had great music playing
- Capturing our time at every 5, 10k, 20k, etc and being able to stream that online! Super high tech race!
- Sprinkling lightly at the end and having it pour on the way back to the car
- TIFFANY'S NECKLACE HANDED TO YOU BY A TUXEDO-ED FIREMAN!!
- Having so many different stations for water, Gatorade, chocolate mile, oranges, bananas
- Great goodies at the end! including dri fit Finisher's tee!!
- Tons of volunteers everywhere and people cheering


Waiting to start in darkness at 6am


My friends at the start!


My Tuxedo-ed Fireman with my Tiffany's!

I am also super beyond happy that my boyfriend Anthony showed up to the Finish Line :D I was so happy to see him. He braved the cold/rain weather parked super far, got me flowers, and treated me to sushi after. The best part was that he said he was proud of me. Thanks honey!


Me and my babes Anthony!

I cannot WAIT to enter again next year and hopefully get in! My muscles are sore, my ankle kind of hurts, and I'm under the weather to a potential cold but SUPER worth it.


Tiffany's Necklace!

I'll leave you with a quote that Safeway as a sponsor had a sticker on the ground for motivation..."When your legs get tired you run with your heart"

Nike Women's Half Marathon in 3 Days!

Wow I can't believe I'll be running my second half marathon in 3 days and another one that is so exclusive! I feel so proud to have gotten into this highly coveted race and I just want to KILL it this Sunday. Not sure what to expect with the SF hills but the weather for this weekend said it was partly cloudy at 60's. Hopefully it stays cool like that.



Since Napa to Sonoma in July (my first half marathon) the longest distance I've done is 8 miles. Did a 12k Bridge to Bridge in SF a few weeks ago and 7 miles last week so have not done anywhere near the 13.1 mile distance but I am hoping for the best.

I've been having the time of my life Mentoring with Team Challenge and encouraging participants to reach their training and fundraising goal just like my Mentor was pushing me last season. Oh my how the tables have turned.

So I'm super excited to be part of the Nike Women's half marathon club this weekend and hopefully I won't be super duper hard on myself. I enjoy running but I get so down when people ask me for my time and expecting SO MUCH from me. I consider myself a really "slow" runner at 12-13 minute miles and people always think I'm a sprinter or something :/ I run at my happy pace. :D I wish people would stop asking for my time- I think its as personal as asking a woman's age. Let me volunteer that information to you if I want to share it. :D

Good luck to all running this weekend- half or full! You are awesome!

Team Challenge Mentor Update!

We are 4 weeks into our half marathon training for our Las Vegas Half Marathon!

Group Practice at Stanford Loop!

Its been really great to talk to this season's participant and help them out as much as I can weather encouraging them through training or giving them ideas for fundraising. My goal as a Mentor is to make sure everyone has tons of fun throughout this entire process. I had so much fun as a participant and had such a great Mentor its the least I can do!

This upcoming weekend I have my first race since my half marathon in July and its the Bridge to Bridge 12k! I enjoy the whole race process- getting ready for it, how anxious you get and crossing the finish line.

After this race I'll have NIKE WOMEN'S half marathon then VEGAS. I'm really looking forward to it.