Moving yet again...running tally ending Sept 6

I have been searching on Craigslist for about 3 weeks now for a new place to live since I won't be able to stay in my current place on Balboa Island. I finally found a place. Click here to see my previous post about the trials and tribulations of roommate searching on Craigslist. I ended up finding a place in Costa Mesa that is right on the Newport Beach line about 1.7 miles from the coast. I will share a 3BD/2BA condo townhouse with 2 other girls in their 20s. I really wanted to be within 2-3 miles from the beach so at least I got that wish.  It was only $50 more than my current apt so I was relatively satisfied. This will be my 8th apt I have rented since 1999. The photo on the left is one I took on the Balboa Peninsula last weekend.

This Oct 1 move means my time on Balboa Island is coming to a close. It has been a nice 4+ months living on this cute little coastal island community of Newport Beach. I will miss it a lot but it's still a 10 min drive away. Actually my new place is so much more convenient to stores, restaurants, my 24 Hour Fitness gym, etc. Trader Joe's will only be a half mile away. It's in this area called Triangle Square, which has many cool shops, cafes and restaurants. Despite the negative reviews of this area on Yelp, I actually like the area.

J** and I are having a good time so far while he visits. The night he arrived we took the Balboa Island Ferry out to the peninsula to get $1 tacos at Great Mex. Then on Friday night we went down to San Diego to visit and stay with my friend Ryan. We went to Babycakes in Hillcrest to eat some of their very scrumptious and MOIST cupcakes. Since we wanted to prevent the sugar-induced comas I so frequently get after having sweets in the evening, J** and I split a pistachio one. They also have other flavors called "White Bottom" and "Black Bottom". Hmm, why would a place owned by gays name those cupcakes as such? I wonder... Anyway, the cupcakes are really, really good and they truly are moist, I'm not joking. Most have some kind of a filling inside. Ryan had a blueberry one with a blueberry jam inside. They also have other flavors like Blood Orange, Mango and Pomegranate. I'm so glad they have stayed in business for over a year. I haven't tried the actual cakes yet, but I am sure they are just as good. Babycakes also has plenty of brownies and cookies, along with a wide selection of beer and wine. This space used to be the former location of David's Coffeehouse.

On Saturday we went down to Coronado for a few hours. I always enjoy that beach with its very fine white sand. It feels so good under my feet. I didn't bring my boogie board but still managed to body surf in the 2-3 foot waves. The waves weren't too intimidating, but I did get sand and water in my ears/nose since it's hard to stay above water without a board while surfing. The beach we went to was about a half mile south of the Hotel del Coronado.

After a few hours at the beach we walked along Orange Avenue (the main drag) and stopped at Panera Bread for something to eat. Then we went to Stretch's Cafe for some soft serve vanilla yogurt. It was so good and very inexpensive. A medium cup is only $2.65 and they give you a lot. J** and I split a cup. If we had known that they also have sandwiches there we would have just gone there to eat. The last time I was at Stretch's was a few years ago. I only noticed the yogurt, but maybe I wasn't paying attention in my frozen yogurt craze.

Yesterday we went back over to the Balboa Peninsula to lay out at the beach and this time I brought my boogie board only to find out that the waves were SO SMALL. I couldn't believe that this was the same beach that featured the 20-foot waves back in July. There were a few 3 foot high waves that I did surf, but it was nothing.

Running

This week I tried running on consecutive days. I pushed the pace a few times as well. The calf still feels the same, not better, not worse. I had PT once on Tuesday before J** came into town later that night. Normally I would do it twice. I will go next week one time. I may not need it anymore.

Below is what I did last week.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min/ Mile	Notes	HR Max	HR Ave
Aug 31, 2009	37:03	5.32	6:57	I did the Back Bay again. It was twilight and I ended this run in the dark. It was kind of cool to run at this time of day. The dunes and marshes glowed.	---	153 (82%)
Sept 2, 2009	41.03	6.04	6:47	I ran with J** at Back Bay again. This time I was really able to push it. My calf felt ok. It's always the first mile that feels weird. My hamstring was a little sore but I think I will always have to deal with that.	171 (91%)	157 (84%)
Sept 5, 2009	17:12	2.5	6:52	I was in San Diego and was going to do 6-7 miles today but cut it short due to running too late in the AM (11am). I decided to do a short run due to the heat and see how my calf feels running on consecutive days. No HR monitor since I forgot it in Newport.	---	---
Sept 6, 2009	41:30	6.16	6:44	I ran Back Bay again but in the direction of UC Irvine. It was mostly flat and the breeze was nice. It was very sunny though, so by the end I was getting hot. Temps were in the upper 70s, we started around 11am. It would have been better to start at 9am, but my tired ass was just getting out of bed.	174 (93%)	156 (83%)
week ending Sept 6, 2009	---	20.02	---	I'm glad I reached 20 miles for once. I think this week I really tried to push the pace on a few runs. Perhaps I should have ran slower, but I need to stay in good condition if I am going to do a half marathon in 5-6 weeks time in Long Beach.The plan next week is to run 4 days and also do 9 miles. I am traveling to DC for a conference on Saturday so maybe on Friday I will do the longer run.	172 (92%)	155 (83%)

Physical Therapy and running tally ending Aug 16, 2009

Last Tuesday (Aug 11) I had my first physical therapy session for my injured lower calf. You can read more details here about my doctor's visit on July 31. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the pain source was since I hadn't run in a few days. We eventually found it. My physical therapist did a deep tissue massage on that leg for about 15 min. It hurt like hell. She said my calf is extremely tight and as it gets looser the pain will not be as bad. Also, I will need to do sets of stretching exercises for my calf before I run. Each stretch I have to hold for 30 seconds and do it at least 2-3 times. I will have to really focus on stretching BEFORE and AFTER each run. I have to admit that previously I would stretch, but not to the extent that she wants me to do now.

Here is my run tally but I will not total it until I am consistently running. This is what I have not posted since the last chart that was posted on my July, 20, 2009 entry.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min/ Mile	Notes	HR Max	HR Ave
July 25, 2009	32:08	4.87	6:35	Not sure my pace was accurate as I have had calibration issues with my Nike +. I have to re-calibrate I think. Also the HR watch was off. I don't think I was at 177 bpm!	177 (95%)	164 (88%)
July 29, 2009	29:03	4.07	7:07	I ran slower today. I wasn't feeling it.	159 (85%)	149 (80%)
Aug 1, 2009	31:17	4.57	6:50	Doctor said to run slower so I did slow down a little. I ran mostly on grass.	174 (93%)	162 (87%)
Aug 4, 2009	30:28	4.35	7:00	I fixed the calibration issue and re-calibrated. I think this was more accurate now.	165 (86%)	156 (83%)
Aug 6, 2009	31:19	4.39	7:08	On doctor's orders he told me to run slower. So I did. It felt ok. Ran mostly on grass.	162 (87%)	151 (81%)
Aug 8, 2009	33:05	5.0	6:36	Ran too fast. I think the watch was off still.	177 (95%)	159 (85%)
Aug 9, 2009	26:46	3.87	6:55	Ran slower but wanted to be around 7:00 pace, a tad fast. HR was not working on watch so I estimated. It was reading 213 bpm, which is an error or I would not be typing this right now. I would be dead.	170 (91%)	160 (85%)
Aug 12, 2009	45:27	6.60	6:52	After stretching extensively for 3 min each calf (per my PT) and also doing my hamstrings I ran along the Back Bay in Newport up through UC Irvine and back along the river/back bay. It was mostly on dirt. My leg felt better after a mile. It was a rough run as I have not done over 5 in a while so I was fatigued. I iced the calf after and felt ok. I thought I would be slower. I need to consciously slow down for now on.	174 (94%)	161 (86%)
Aug 15, 2009	41:36	6.09	6:49	After 2 days off from running and one day from complete exercise I felt ok on this run. I was in San Diego so I ran down through Balboa Park and back up to Hillcrest. I felt ok and stretched a lot before and after. My HR got too high but it was a bit warm and I ran at 11AM instead of a lot earlier as I had planned.	176 (94%)	160 (86%)

I have determined I won't be able to get my mileage up to complete the full marathon at Long Beach Marathon, so I will most likely do the half (13.1 miles). Then I will train to do Carlsbad Marathon on January 24, 2010. Then hopefully I can run a time to get me into Boston Marathon for April 2010 since my qualification expired this year since I didn't use it. That's the plan. I hope my body can cooperate.

San Diego Pride - Weekly Running Tally ending July 20, 2009

This past weekend I was in San Diego again for Pride and to dog/house sit. It was a great time. I thoroughly enjoyed being with my friends. I felt like I spread myself out a little too thin though. I never had a chance to truly just chill out. On Saturday morning I rushed down to the parade after searching for a parking space about a mile away. I met up with Ryan, Nima and Sakis, then eventually Alexis. We were there for 3 hours. I took a lot of great photos of the floats, etc. The photo on the left is of Ongina, who was a contestant on the Logo show Rupaul's Drag Race. I loved that show and Ongina! He was robbed of the title and should have made it further than he did.

On Sunday morning Alexis, Ryan and I went to a nice brunch at a private home in the Marston Hills area of Hillcrest. I was so envious of this small craftsman style home. It even had a separate dwelling in the back with vaulted ceilings that served as an office for the owner. I found out he actually works in Solana Beach 2 days a week since he runs a gallery. What a nice life. He can work in the comfort of his own home and just be in charge of his days. I want that so bad. That is my goal for when I get older. I want to have the flexibility to work for myself. Corporate America is very draining, but I have to pay my dues now. When I am in my 40s hopefully I'll escape this cubical way of life.

As for running I had some issues this week with a small injury to my lower inside calf area. I am not sure what it is exactly. I first got this pain in mid-May. Then I had the appendectomy and didn't run for 3 weeks. It is a ligament or tendon that runs along the inside of my right leg but not quite on the shin. It's only on one isolated spot instead of the entire ligament. I felt some moderate pain during my last run (7.1 mile run on 7/16). Then I didn't run Fri, Sat, Sun or Mon. I will skip today (Tues) so I will have 5 days of no running. I did do elliptical yesterday and upper body chest/back weights and abs. I felt good. I think I just need to rest the leg. I iced this weekend and that helped a lot. I did a lot of walking at Pride so at least I got some exercise. Below is my log for the period ending July 20.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min per Mile	Observations	HR Max	HR Ave
July 13, 2009	13:32	2.05	6:35	Barely got a run in on this Monday. Worked late.	---	---
July 14, 2009	29:14	4.26	6:51	I ran in the morning since I was going to do something after work.	178 (95%)	158 (84%)
July 14, 2009	30:11	4.54	6:38	I ran again today since I didn't go to a work function.	170 (91%)	161 (86%)
July 16, 2009	47:43	7.11	6:44	My longest run yet but I developed the pain in my lower calf/shin area. I could still run fast with this slight pain, but obviously I am worried about doing anything longer than 6-8 miles. How will it hold up on a 12- or 20-miler? Going to the doctor Aug 3.	168 (90%)	153 (82%)
Week ending July 20, 2009	---	17.96	---	Well due to skipping 3 days this period I was well below my goal of 30 miles. I will see how this injury goes after taking 5 days off from running in a row...	172.6 (92%)	157.3 (84%)

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