Let the Games Begin!

I am a huge fan of the Olympic games and always have been. I become obsessed with sports I normally don't take the time to watch or read about. No matter where the athletes place in their events, or what country they are from, they all inspire me.

I am not an athlete but I have always dreamed of what being an Olympic athlete would feel like. Here are a few of the athletes I'm keeping my eyes on during the 2012 Olympic games.



Kara Goucher
Kara Goucher is a middle and long distance runner from Portland, OR. She ran the 5,000m and 10,000m in the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing but this year, in London, she will competing in the marathon. Her debut marathon was the 2008 New York City Marathon where she came in 3rd with a time of 2:25:35 (that's 5:33 minute/mile pace). That race won her the prestige of becoming the first American woman to be on the podium since 1994 and she set the record for the fastest marathon debut ever by an American woman.  

Lolo Jones

Lolo Jones grew up very poor and was homeless for a period of time as a child. Today she's a favorite to medal in the 100m hurdles. She went to Beijing four years ago and finished in 7th place. This was a bit of surprise considering she was named the Olympic trials champion and came in first during the game's semi finals. Following the games she struggled with a string of injuries and ended up having surgery in her spinal cord in 2011, a year from the Olympic games in London. She came in 3rd place at the Olympic trials this year and will compete in the 100m hurdles on Sunday. She's been getting some heat over a tweet she wrote:

Lolo Jones ‏@lolojones: USA Men's Archery lost the gold medal to Italy but that's ok, we are Americans... When's da Gun shooting competition?

Okay, so yes there was a horrible shooting in our country not long before she tweeted  this but... I never thought she was relating this to violence. I think some people took this the wrong way. Afterwards she responded to her critics with:

 "sorry u guys only think of violence but I think of all the hunting I do w southerners in da south. Its impressive."

Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh

These women need no introduction. If this is the first time you have heard of their awesomeness, even if you're not a volleyball fan, you've either lived a very sheltered life or under a soundproof rock. In any case, these women are truly amazing. They won the beach volleyball gold medal in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic games. Misty has won more tournaments than any other woman with 107 career wins. Kerri played on USA team volleyball team in 2000 where they finished in 4th place. After the 2000 games, Kerri turned to beach volleyball and teamed up with Misty and quickly made their way to #1 ranking in the FIVB world tour. So far they have won both preliminary matches and I think they are playing in the finals today. I'm very excited!

Natalie Coughlin

Natalie is a 11-time Olympic medalist! She swam in both the 2004 and 2008 games and was the most decorated female athlete at both games. She also holds the title of the most decorated female swimmer in world championship history. To top it off, look how cute she is! In this year's games she swam in the 4x100m freestyle relay but was pulled in the final. The team finished in 3rd place to earn the bronze. I can't find her anywhere else on the Olympic schedule but I have a hard time believing that the relay is her only event. I hope I'm just reading the schedule wrong.    

Shalane Flanagan

Shalane Flanagan is my favorite Olympian this year. She currently holds the American record for the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m and won the bronze at the 2008 Olympic games for her 10,000m event. In 2010 she competed in her first marathon and finished in 2nd place with a time of 2:28:40 (that's a 5:40 minute/mile pace). This year she will be competing in the marathon on Sunday along with her team mate and training partner, Kara Goucher. She won her spot on the American marathon team in January when she won the Olympic Trials Marathon and set the event record at 2:25:38 (a 5:34 minute/mile pace). Sunday will be a very exciting day.     

You may have noticed that these are all woman athletes. There are men competing in the 2012 Olympic games that I'm watching and routing for as well as other woman athletes. I wanted to keep this blog short so I limited myself to five athletes or teams to write about. It took me longer than expected to get this done. I started before the opening ceremonies but life got in the way of my ramblings. I hope you are enjoying the events as much as I am. Feel free to comment below and tell me who your favorite athletes are and what events you enjoy the most.

   

Aurora

Ever since I saw Sleeping Beauty as a child I have loved the name Aurora. When I was in high school there was a girl in my gym class named Aurora and every time I saw her I told her she had the prettiest name of anyone I knew. In those days, I was sure I would name my first daughter Aurora. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how Sami got the name Samantha. 

However, today the name Aurora has a different ring to it. I will forever think of the events of last Friday first instead of the beautiful princess I pretended to be as a child when hearing the name, Aurora.  The facts make me so sad. The image in my head of everyday Americans, like me and my family, going to a movie and instead of enjoying the heroics of Batman are faced with as real life bad guy frighten me. Not just a bad guy trying to get rich or steal but a terrorist. I know the investigators have said that this man had no ties to any terrorist organization but he filled the hearts of his victims with terror so to me, he is a terrorist. 

What scares me the most about this man is he is one of "us". He has grown in up here in the good o' USA and has grown up living with the rights and freedoms that this country has to offer. He's educated and intelligent. Why did he feel that this act was a good idea? What was going through his head? What happened to turn his mother's son into the mass murder he is today? Can that happen to one of my kids? I have tears in my eyes as I write this because that idea is a nightmare. What can I do as a parent to give my kids the morals, ethics and tools to become good, hard working and life loving citizens. I'm sure this man's parent's gave them all the love they had to offer so what happened? 

I pray that the victims of Friday's shooting find peace. I know four women where there with their boyfriends and those men gave the ultimate sacrifice and covered those women with their own bodies and died. I Pray that those four women learn to live everyday to the fullest and seek help for the survivor's guilt they may be going through. In fact, I hope all of the survivor's seek help. They all may be feeling that guilt. 

I pray for the the family and friends of the fallen, Alex Sullivan, Micayla Medek, Jessica Ghawi, Petty Officer John Larimer, Rebecca Wingo, Matthew McQuinn, Veronica Moser-Sullivan (6 years old), Staff Sgt. Jesse Childress, Alexander Boik, Alexander Teves, Jonathan Blunk, Gordon Cowden and for the victims who survived. I also pray for Arlene and Robert Holmes, the mother and father of the "accused" gunman. 


To save my faith in humanity, I'm choosing to associate the name of Aurora with strength and bravery in honor of the survives and the fallen heroes instead of sadness.  

     

grease lightening, mermaids, pirates and socks

It's been way too long since my last post... There's no good excuse (other than my keyboard being broken but I fixed that problem last week...) There's a lot you have missed such as more skin issues, an eye patch, my best 5K of the year and my kids who have turned out to be swimming studs. Oh, and Sami has decided that she's going to go to Julliard for college (she's going in to 7th grade next year)

Samantha turned 12 at the end of June. For her birthday we got her tickets to see Grease (on her birthday) and The Little Mermaid (The Little Mermaid might just be the best stage production I've ever seen. It was amazing!). She also got the dvd, cd and book of Phantom of the Opera as well as a Joffrey ballet dvd. The last dvd I mention is especially cool because one of the ballet teachers from Sami's studio is in it. Maia Wilkins was the prima for the Joffrey ballet for many years and now she teaches at The Sacramento Academy of Dance, where Sami has been going since she was four.

Sami and I at The Little Mermaid

Both the kids were on the Arden Manor Pirates Swim Team this year and both had a great time! Nevyn is especially gifted in the water and continued to get faster every week. One of his coaches didn't realize till very late in the season that this was his first year on a swim team. He was shocked and said he should look into swimming on the year-round league. I'm so happy we have found another sport that he really likes. The team went to championships this past weekend and both Sami and Nevyn did a great job. I'm very proud of both of them.

Sami at champs

My hubby, Coach Jeremy at champs

Nevyn at champs

Around the time of  my last post one of my sweet daycare babies came towards me with with his finger pointed at me and before I knew it, it was jammed in my eye. He meant to poke my nose, a game we play a lot, but he missed miserably and I ended up with a pothole in my eye. It took a week to heal and it was very painful. I had never experienced pain quite like that before. Hence the eye patch (wait, who's the pirate?).

Two weekends ago I ran in the Fab 40's 5K. Formally, this was the Alzheimer's Memorial Run. I ran it a couple of years ago and even though the last mile was tough I really enjoyed it. This year's race was another good experience. I started out training for this one but after a week and a half my training fell through the cracks in my busy life. There wasn't much time for training between my medical issues and schedule conflicts. I didn't run during the last two weeks before race day so I wasn't too optimistic about finishing in under 40 minutes. I got tired half way through and the final mile seemed to last forever but when I saw my time I knew I pushed myself just enough. I finished in 39:01! I know a 12:33 pace is pretty slow but my running year has been a mess. I've had slow times all year long and haven't been able to get through any of my training plans because of constant medical issues. This was my first sub 40 minute 5K all year long. I'm wondering if the new pair of of my favorite running socks had anything to do with my improved time???

Next on my racing schedule: 

The Color Run

August 4th

August 11th

September 16h

October 7th

November 10th

November 22nd

Relay Team

December 2nd

   

30 day yoga challange

As you may know, I'm training for my next 5K which will be held on July 14th. I haven't actually "trained" for anything in a while and it feel good to be back on a schedule and training plan. It gives my workouts focus and having a specific goal helps keep my motivation going strong. 

The Fab 40's run is going to be a nice event. Here's some info from the website:

Fab 40s 5k Run/Walk

In 2008 we launched a great community event, and we strive to make it even better every year. Realizing there is a tremendous need in the local community to help caregivers and their families, the Fab 40’s committee donates all proceeds from this event to theAlzheimer’s Association www.alz.org.

We want to increase the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and its devastating affect on families.  We feel the need to provide an opportunity for affected families to meet and interact with one another.

This year’s Fab 40′s 5k Run/Walk  will be held on Saturday, July 14, 2012.  The name of the race comes from the neighborhood in which the race is held; the East Sacramento community has embraced this event and looks forward to seeing and cheering on all event participants.

“Alzheimer’s Memorial Wall”

The “Alzheimer’s Memorial Wall” is the first of its kind in the nation.  Modeled after the Vietnam Wall, people can inscribe the name of a loved one who has died from Alzheimer’s disease or is currently dealing with this disease.  It is a way to memorialize or honor a loved one or friend.  Located at East Lawn Memorial Park, individuals are invited to visit the wall in a beautiful, peaceful setting and share a comment on your visit.

-www.fab40s5k.org

My search for my inner athlete has opened my eyes to lots of different forms of exercise over the years and one form that I have fallen in love with is yoga. I used to take two yoga classes a week and I felt a change in my body very quickly and I looked forward to my yoga nights all week long. My gym has changed the class schedule around over the years and now there is only one yoga class offered in the evenings. Very disappointing.

I have been wanting to add more yoga workouts to my weekly routine but I seem to lack the dedication and discipline to make it happen. I've decided to change this and do a 30 day yoga challenge. I'm not following any plan or joining a website, I'm just going to make my yoga practice a priority and commit to doing a yoga workout everyday for the next 30 days. The days I don't go to my class I will do my Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown DVD and I'm going to start going to the downtown gym and try their Thursday night class, just to mix it up a little.      

Today Jeremy and I took our kids and the daycare on a field trip to Fairytale town and then had a picnic lunch in the park. Everyone had a great time but I'm exhausted! Now that everyone is sleeping it's time for me to put my feet up and relax.

Have a great weekend!

I'm still here

It's been a little over a month since my last blog. I had a small case of writer's block and then I was battling an illness that made even the slightest movements very painful. The last thing I wanted to do was type away on a computer. But I am much better now and I thought this would be a good time to catch you up to what I've been up to.

My June race was the women's fitness festival again this year. I really like this race. the 2010 race was my first event back into running after six years of laziness. Last year at this race I met Jaime and Scott from riseSUP.com. I won their raffle and took my first stand up paddleboard class from them and now, as you know, I'm hooked on SUP. This year wasn't as great as the past two years. I was not in the best shape and my time was a little disappointing (41:59, last year I ran it in 35:09) and there was a LOT of runners this year. However, this year was made special by my sister-in-law. She ran this year for the first time and she had a really good race. I have inspired her to start running and this was her third event, I think. The idea that I have inspired someone else to get active and healthy is kind of crazy to me but I'm truly honored. I must be doing something right. 

June 2010 37:06

June 2011 35:09

June 2012 41:59

This year has been a tough running year. I've been dealing with some odd foot issues since my first race of the year in January and that has lead to calf and hip pain due to over compensation on the part of my other leg and muscle groups. In addition to my injuries I've been sick a lot this year and it's been a horrible allergy season too. My most recent illness was another outbreak of my mystery pox. If you are a regular reader you might remember a blog I wrote back in February about my "I'm-sick-pox" (I also refer to them as "mystery pox" because no one knows what they really are). This time the medication I normally take to make the pox go away didn't work so I went to see my dermatologist. She's my newest doctor (I collect them apparently) and had never seen one of my flair ups. At first, like all of the doctors before her, she was very confused but she had a few theories. She brought in another doctor to collaborate with and the verdict is in. I have Eczema Herpeticum. To confirm this diagnoses she took a few culture samples and a biopsy from my back and prescribed some stronger medication. Here's some additional info on my condition: 

Eczema herpeticum, initially described by Moriz Kaposi in 1887, is a potentially life-threatening herpetic super infection of a pre-existing skin disease. Eczema Herpeticum occurs as a result of the eczema being infected with the herpes simplex virus, the virus that produces cold sores. It is important to avoid skin contact with anyone who has cold sores.

Normally, herpes simplex will be confined to cold sores around the mouth and is a routine condition. However, in a person with eczema the virus can appear anywhere on the skin. In rare cases, it can prove fatal. Despite the availability of antiviral therapies, eczema herpeticum remains a dermatological emergency today.

Eczema herpeticum appears in small clusters and looks like blisters or ulcers. These are initially filled with a clear fluid but this turns to pus. The blisters are scratched and become raw and weepy. The symptoms of eczema herpeticum may include a high temperature; an extensive rash with small skin blisters filled with yellow pus and you may generally feel unwell. The rash can cover the whole of the skin surface. Eczema herpeticum can occur when anyone with eczema, especially if it is sore and open has skin-to-skin contact with someone who has active facial (cold sores) or genital herpes. The cause of eczema herpeticum is always HSV type I. The exact patho-physiology is unknown, but it is thought to involve HSV entering the skin when skin barrier function is compromised due to dermatitis. Defective cytokine secretion in the affected skin also plays an important role. The severity of pre-existing eczema does not seem to dictate the severity of eczema herpeticum. Secondary bacterial skin infections are very common. A mixture of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria are commonly isolated, the most common being S aureus, Group A ß-hemolytic Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, and Peptostreptococcus.

If your eczema becomes worse for no apparent reason or you see blisters on the surface, medical advice is required. With eczema herpeticum the sufferer may have a high temperature and feel very ill. Be sure to explain all your symptoms to your doctor because this is not a straightforward condition to diagnose. 

The first indication of infection occurs 5 to 12 days after exposure to the virus and typically appears as multiple itchy, watery blisters that occur on skin previously affected by atopic dermatitis. If these blisters are not treated, they can become progressively worse as illustrated by these four stages of Eczema herpeticum: In stage one, multiple itchy, watery blisters over an area of skin, usually where atopic dermatitis lesions were present (5 to 12 days after exposure). Stage two begins as the blisters begin to disseminate or "crop" into adjacent areas of skin. In stage three, the blisters may bleed, become encrusted, and erode - at this stage the condition becomes extremely painful. At stage four, the viral infection spreads to cover the entire body, with associated fever and swollen lymph nodes. Secondary bacterial infection frequently develops in large, eroded areas of skin.

During all stages, fever is usually present and the person feels ill. The first episode of eczema herpeticum usually runs its course in 2 to 6 weeks if left untreated. However, letting the disease run its course is not recommended as eczema herpeticum can be life threatening. Subsequent outbreaks tend to be milder, unless the patient has an underlying immunodeficiency condition. 

Sometimes a hospital treatment may be required with Eczema Herpeticum. This type of infected eczema is usually treated with an anti-viral drug acyclovir, which is given by injection, by mouth or as an ointment. 

-http://www.internationaleczema-psoriasisfoundation.org/eczema_herptecum.php4 

July 2010 38:09

I'm feeling much better now and yesterday I went for my first workout in weeks. I'm preparing for my next 5K on July 14th, the Fab 40's 5K and because I'm basically starting over I'm taking things very slow. This week I'll run a total of six miles and I'm keeping my pace slow and relaxed. The last time I ran this race I finished in 38:09. I don't know how close to that I'll get this year but as long as I finish in a sub 40:00 I'll be happy. I know that's a really slow 5K and especially for someone who's been running for years but it's about fun, not time, right? I keep telling myself that but I don't think it's working

P.S. I don't know why parts of this blog are highlighted. I didn't to that and I don't know how to make it go away...

I love being a mermaid athlete

Sami and I drove down to Fremont Friday night to participate in Saturday's Mermaid Series event. This was Sami's second Mermaid event and my fourth. I discovered the Mermaid Series in 2010 and I try to run as many events as I can. On Saturday I ran the Mermaid half marathon and Sami ran the 5K. It was my fourth half marathon of the year and even though I'm still dealing with an injured foot and hip, it was still a great event. 

I have found that trail running is challenging for me. I have weak ankles that have a tendency to roll and sprain when I step, even lightly, on uneven ground. Even though it's understandable why I have to slow down on dirt and gravel trails I still don't like it. I'm slow enough as it is, I don't need to be slower. When I ran this race last year only the first and last mile (so two miles total) were on the dirt and gravel trail around Quarry lakes recreational area in Fremont. The other 11.1 miles were on the bike path that follows Alameda Creek. This path has it's own challenges too (at every underpass there is a steep downhill and an equally steep uphill) but at least I can take my speed up a notch or two without fear that my ankles will be the death of me. But this year's race was different... Literally half of the race was on the dirt and gravel trial. On the upside, because we ran around more of the lakes it was a very pretty run. It would be a really nice training run but not so nice when I was trying to better my half marathon time.

Once I got on the bike path and picked up my pace I felt more optimistic about my possible race time. My foot and hip where still injured form the previous race and shoe mix up but I felt well enough to run my 30 second intervals. I started passing more runners and I felt really good. I usually feel good running in the bay area. The air is cleaner, my allergies are much better and it's usually nice and cool.

However, the mercury rose to 82 degrees on Saturday and by mile 10 I was very much over heated. I normally wear a cami under my race shirts to help absorb some sweat but I never take off my shirt and run in just my cami. I'm too self-conscious about my weight and especially my obscene amount of belly fat. But heat makes people do strange things and I, for the first time ever, took off my shirt and ran in my cami. The heat also slowed me down quite a bit. I think I could have pushed through the pain I felt in my hip but I couldn't distract myself from the heat. My pace slowed down considerably and after mile 11 I gave up on my intervals. I ran when I could and walked when I couldn't. I also decided that Fremont needs to plant more trees along the bike trail.  

my finisher necklace

it says "inspire"     

Even with the challenges I faced in this race it was still a much better experience than my previous half a few weeks ago. Here are some of the reasons why (and an excuse to make another list):

Sami did great considering she was sick. She decided to walk and really
 only run at the end. She beat her cousin to the finish line my .1 second.
 She was very proud and the announcer named her the winner of their sprint. 

[1]

 I wore my good shoes, on both my right and left foot this time 

[2]

I had my girl with me. Sami and I love these little mini road trips :o)

[3]

My niece and her mom also ran the 5K and I got to meet her mom for the first time ever

[4]

I was in the bay, everything is better in the bay or on the coast

[5]

I didn't have to walk the last five miles (goes back to the shoe issue)

   

 Today (Sunday), my foot and both hips are sore as well as my back. I imagine most of this will be better by tomorrow. Now I'm searching for my next half marathon. I think I might be a little crazy. I don't know what it is about 13.1 miles that I like so much. Every time I do one I have the same thought running through my mind, "why did I think this was a god idea?"... But after crossing the finish line, every time I think, "that was so awesome, I just ran a half marathon!" Go figure...  

I always go to Mermaid Series events prepared for a little shopping!
Happy birthday to me, I say!
I got the shirt they gave away at the San Diego event
and the" run happy" sweat shirt that I've been wanting for a long time
but it hasn't been at the last couple of events. I also got Sami
and I both a "Mermaid Athlete" headband.