8 miles!

We ran 8 miles yesterday at the Alameda Ferry Terminal. It's hard to imagine that less than 2 months ago, we had our first run here and had to walk a good part of the 4 miles. It's nice to see how far we've come...

As of today, my training totals over 75 miles run and over 20 cross-training / strength training days.

Other fun events from the past month
Gu Tasting and Screening of "Runner's High" - March 10, 2008

My mentor, Sarah, hosted this event where we tasted several types of Gu (energy gels) and watched "Runner's High", a documentary about Students Run Oakland, a non-profit, non-competitive athletic and mentoring program in Oakland, California, that trains low-income students from inner-city public high schools to run a 26.2-mile marathon. Our TNT coach, Alphonzo Jackson, is also the coach for SRO.

Cause For Celebration - March 19, 2008 @ Oakland Zoo

Wingate, Olivia (team captain), and me
This was a mid-season event that reconnected us to the cause. We heard speakers talk about TNT and registering for the National Bone Marrow Registry. If you aren't already on the national registry, I strongly encourage you to do it! All it takes is a simple swab of your cheek (much easier than donating blood)! They especially need minorities and people of mixed ethnic background to register.

And thanks to everyone again for your generous donations! It's because of all of you that I have surpassed my goal AGAIN! So... I'm raising it again! If you haven't donated, but would still like to... it's not too late! My fundraising deadline is April 17. To donate, go to my TNT fundraising website.

Puppy Reunion

Last Tuesday, Fred had his first Puppy 2 (obedience) class. We were very surprised and happy to find out that his sister, Kuma (a.k.a. Lily) was in his class! We quickly exchanged emails, and later that week, learned about a reunion that was scheduled for Fred's mom and litter mates.

Here are some pictures and a video from the puppy reunion at Lake Anza in Tilden Park yesterday...


Dogs (from left to right): Kuma (aka Lily), Wiki (aka Joey), Rufus, Lula (foster mom's dog), Billie (aka Wiggles), Koda (aka Rosy), Fred


Fred's mom, Billie (aka Wiggles)


The pups playing in the water. Fred was the only one who refused to get wet!


Fred and Kuma playing (Fred is the smoother coat dog with the white collar)

Granted, they are all family, but it was uncanny to see other dogs with the same behaviors as Fred. They all bark, walk, ask for tummy rubs, chew sticks, etc. the same! We even found out that the males even make the same Chewbacca-sounding yawn when they're just waking up! And boy, have they gotten BIG!

It was fun to meet Fred's family. We're hoping to have another reunion in the future. Maybe by that time, we'll have found all of the other pups (5 of 8 of the puppies + mom were there yesterday).

To see pictures of the puppies at 8 weeks, see Smiley Dog Rescue, the non-profit organization who had the Wiggles pups up for adoption back in December 2007.

I'm (Emerald) Nuts!

We did it! Angela, Leslie and I successfully RAN the Emerald Nuts Across the Bay 12K race today! It was actually pretty humorous... We were waiting in line for the port-a-potties, so missed the race start (crossed the start line more than 2 minutes after the official start). And then, we were all so excited that the weather was so beautiful and the scenery was so nice that Leslie tripped on a street reflector, fell and sprained her ankle. But, Leslie is a ROCK STAR and finished the entire race... sprained ankle and all!!!

Here are some pictures from the race:

Carbo Loading

Tonight, Carey cooked me a meal of pasta in preparation for the Emerald Nuts Across the Bay 12K race that I'll be running in tomorrow. Aside from "running" Bay to Breakers in the past, it will only be the 2nd race that I've ever run. And, at 12K (= 7.45 mi) it will certainly be the l-o-n-g-e-s-t!

I also went to TranSports today to stock up on Gu (energy gel) and Shot Bloks / Luna Moons (kinda like gummy fruits, but chock full of electrolytes). I only found out that these things existed a few weeks ago at Marathon University. You're supposed to take them every 45 minutes or so of running to replenish your body's stores. I guess I've never run long enough to really need them until now.

And in Fred news, we took him for his first walk to the Lakeshore Ave. area and Lake Merritt today! Much to our surprise, he did sooooooooo well! While we got coffee and pastries, he did a good job of sitting and not freaking out. I forgot to take pictures, but here are a few "studio shots" that we took a few weeks ago (but really, these were taken in the back of my car while we were driving down to the South Bay).

And here's a picture of Fred and his "cousin", Lucy (my sister's new corgi puppy).

Thanks for reading! I'll try to post tomorrow after the race!

The Lakes

Here are some pictures from our runs at Lake Merritt...

Some of my new buddies... Angela and Leslie (and me)

Linda, me, and Valena

... and Lake Chabot

I ran 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6! miles = the most I've ever run at once

The East Bay Team!

We also had our honoree potluck that day... more about our honorees to come!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has donated! Because of all of you, I've already met my original fundraising goal of $4500! So, my new goal is now $6000. :)

To donate, please visit my Team in Training fundraising website.

Catch up

By request from some good friends, here's my blog about training for the Avenue of the Giants Half-Marathon, which will take place in Humboldt County on Sunday, May 4, 2008 with Team in Training (TNT).

Since I've now been training for 6+ weeks with TNT, here's a recap of what's happened over the past few weeks...


Week 0: Kick-off!

Got to meet many of my teammates and my mentors, Sarah and Belinda. They've both done marathons and half-marathons in the past and are hand-picked to help the newbies (like me) and alumni with running, fundraising, etc. We also picked a team name...

Week 1: 1st Coach's Run at Alameda Harbor Bay Ferry


After not having exercised in months (or even years) because of the exhausting lifestyle I led as a pediatric resident, I ran 4 miles that day! Thank goodness for my new friends Angela and Leslie who were there to support me!

Needless to say, I was very sore the next day!!!

I was also sooooo excited to see that my friend from residency, Becky, had also signed up to train with TNT for the San Diego Rock 'N Roll Marathon in June!






Week 2: Marathon University at Castro Valley Middle School

After a short track work-out, we gathered for "Marathon University", a workshop on nutrition, sports injury, running gear (water bottles and packs, clothing, shoes, electrolytes, Gu, etc.) and much more!

Week 3: Mentor Run at Point Isabel, Richmond

All I can say is that this picture was taken before my 5 mile run...

Two days after this run (and a day after a yoga class), my back started hurting and continued hurting for TWO weeks! I finally went and saw Dr. Jason Morganstein, a chiropractor who specializes in sports medicine, who figured out that I had sacroiliac joint problems.

Week 4: Coach's Run at Oyster Bay, San Leandro

Before our run, I was one of 3 people to receive the "spirit hat" for the week! Thanks to all of you, I was recognized for good fundraising, for jumping in and getting involved with TNT, and for lending my camera to Ray, our team web captain.


Here I am on my 3 mile run (my back hurt that day!)

Fred and me...

Week 5: Mentor Run at Lake Merritt

This day, I ran 5.2 miles! Pictures to come soon...
So far, my training experience has been great! More to come later...