My Wife...

My wife and I went on our first date on January 4th 2011.  We went to a restaurant and got a very late dinner.  During our dinner we talked about the usually stuff that people talk about when they first meet.  I talked a little about my running hobby and jiu jitsu.  She talked about fashion merchandising and the volunteering she use to do at the Ronald McDonald House.

On this date she joked that she had no interest in running but admired my passion for my hobby.  About 6 weeks into our relationship she was already crewing for me at the Rocky Road 100 miler.

The evening went well and about a year and a half later we were married.


On the very first Thanksgiving we spent together she woke up early and went to Woodward Park with my family and I to watch us run our local Turkey Trot 5k.  She told me that she wasn't use to getting up early on Thanksgiving.  Her family slept in and watched the Thanksgiving Parade, and that there was no way you could ever get her up early on Thanksgiving to run a race.


I guess my running life style has finally rubbed off on my wife.  This last Thanksgiving my wife Lori found herself at the starting line of the Turkey Trot.  This was something that was not suppose to happen, she constantly said that she wasn't a runner and that I could never get her to run... and I was fine with that.  I have to admit, I was pretty excited when she decided on her own to sign up.

My little Niece Samantha has recently taken up running and in November of this year she will run her first full marathon here in Fresno.  Samantha and I talked about her making the Fresno marathon her very first marathon because this year the event will be held on her 18th birthday.  Samantha has ran the half marathon in Fresno the last 2 years with her Aunt Kathy (my sister who got me to start running) while I led a pace group at the full marathon.  Since Fresno offers a half marathon or full marathon option Samantha's mother, Christine, (my other sister who runs from time to time) decided that maybe she should run her first half marathon while Samantha runs her very first full marathon.

Christine and Lori started talking about running the half marathon in November together while Samantha, Kathy, and I run the full marathon.

I was pretty excited to hear that Christine and Lori were both deciding to run the half marathon.  Then Lori asked me if there was a half marathon coming up sooner because she figured she might as well start training now instead of later.

I told her that the California Classic Half Marathon was going to be held in down town Fresno this coming March, but she would have to start training right away.

So, my non running wife is now currently training for her very first half marathon.  It's fun seeing her get excited about training.  We sat down and made her a training plan and she's been sticking to it.  She's going back to her Cross-Fit classes and working out at home.  I'm excited to see how she's going to do.  This weekend Lori ran/walked her furthest distance of 8 miles, and plans on doing 10 miles this coming weekend.

Right now she's running for 1 min and walking for 30 seconds.  As the weeks go by she will slowly increase her run time.  Her goal is basically to have a good time at her first half marathon and not worry about time.

I really like using Strava to log all my running adventures and I convinced Lori to do the same.  If you want to follow Lori's progress on Strava you can at http://www.strava.com/athletes/3479633.

...and you can always add me at http://www.strava.com/athletes/2154416


until next time...

KEEP RUNNING!!!!

I'm Taking An Unexpected Break From Running

This year I decided to take the first couple weeks of the year easy.  I started lifting weights again, doing Jiu Jitsu a couple times a week, and I was taking it easy with my running. 

The other day I was exercising at my house on a rowing machine that one of my friends is letting me borrow.  I really wanted to make sure I was getting a full body workout, so I made sure that I was using my upper body to pull back on the rowing machine, and I was using my legs  to bring myself forward on the machine.  I did the rowing maching for about 15 minutes and become a little bored... and my butt was getting tired from all the sitting.  I soon stopped with the rowing workout and went for a short run before I had to go to work.

My plan was to do an easy 4 mile run.  Right away my legs felt heavy.  I was planning on running the 4 miles at a 7 min per mile pace, but I was struggling to maintain an 8 min per mile pace.

After my run was finished I got cleaned up and headed to work.

That evening while at work, I was doing a lot of work on the computer.  After sitting on my ass for a couple hours I decided I should get up and get a soda.  That's when I noticed a huge discomfort in my left groin.  I'm not sure what I did, but I seem to have somehow managed to aggravate it.

A few days have gone by and the slight discomfort is still there.  I'm trying to be smart and avoid running as much as I can.  Aside from the training group I'm currently assisting for the California Classic Half Marathon, I'm doing no running at all until my leg feels 100% better.

For now I'm just lifting light weights and doing whatever I can to stay fit.

Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be back on the road hammering out a few miles.

Until next time...

KEEP RUNNING!!!!

...unless you're injured.