18-Week Training Program

Tomorrow will officially mark the beginning of the San Francisco Marathon 18-Week Training Program.  Workouts and distances will get harder and more intense.  All I have to say to that is BRING IT ON!  I'm ready for it.

About on a month ago, I was on the fence about changing from the half marathon to the full.  I've made my decision.  I'm sticking with the half this year.  I want to beat my original times first before tackling the full marathon.  If I achieve that in July, you'll definitely see me in the full marathon next year.

Have a great weekend everyone!

~*~Run Mel Run~*~

Emerald Across the Bay 12K and Other Updates

San Francisco Marathon Training Program Trainees

Emerald Across the Bay 12K

I am so very proud of all of the ladies in this picture.  We're all training for the San Francisco Marathon in July and we participated in the rainy, wet and cold Emerald Across the Bay 12K run on Sunday, March 15.  This was a first race for many of these ladies and I thought they all performed great!

I finished the race in 1 hour and 43 minutes.  I think I would have finished much quicker if I didn't run the first part of the hill from East Fort Baker up to the Golden Gate Bridge.  I exerted too much effort at the beginning when I should have conserved my energy for the later part of the race.  Paula, my running buddy, and I stuck practically side-by-side the entire time and I'm glad that I was there to motivate and push her to finish.  We both ended up using every ounce of strength that we had left to sprint across the finish line.  I didn't have my normal cheering section with me, but another running buddy, Lisa, was there to be our cheerleader at the end.

We had last night off from running, which gave my legs a chance to recover.  We hit the track once again tomorrow evening and the 18-week training program will kick in on Saturday.  This Saturday will also mark my first official day as a San Francisco Marathon Training Program Pacer!

I am also happy to say that the amount of support that I have been getting is phenomenal!  I have achieve 63% of my goal and have raised $1255.00 so far.  I am so amazed at the amount of support that I have been getting from everyone.  Thank you!!

Have a great day everyone!

~*~Run Mel Run~*~

Really!?!?!?

Can someone please swap Wednesday's weather with Sunday's?

~*~Run Mel Run~*~

Thank you Donors!

As a result of the generosity and support of my 2009 Donors, I have been able to fulfill 55% of my fundraising goal.  I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to:

Kimberly Mueller

Mary Hackenbracht

Don and Erin Diva

Paula Mak

Alyssa Harper

Miles Mesina

Sarah Woodberry Trauner

Tastemakers

Terrence Young

Mom and Dad

The Torneros Family

Robert Woodberry

Jeff and Melissa Johnsrude (-Luna)

Lindsay Elia

Marie Eugenio

Gerald Diva

Alithia Mendaros

Kena Jones

~*~Run Mel Run~*~

Rock it, don’t stop it, gotta rock it, don’t stop....

And that I did.  I had another amazing run at the track last night.  First off, I won a brand new, pink Nathan waterbelt.  It's awesome!  After the usual warmups, it was time for a 25-minute indian run around the Kezar lower track.  The first 10 minutes were hell because I wasn't completely warmed up.  As daunting as it seemed, Caitlin, my new pacer, kept us going and distracted us by making us yell out our favorite fruits, cheap restaurants, travel destinations and animals as we sprinted to the front of the line.  By the time 15-minutes had passed, I found my groove and kept trekking.  After the 25-minute run or the equivalant of 2 miles without stopping, we walked 3/4 of a lap and later jogged the last 1-1/4 of the track.  It actually hurt more to walk than it did jogging.  Crazy, eh?

As usual, we made our way to the upper track to stretch.  As I kicked my leg up to put my foot up on the railing, Coach Sophia leaned in on the other side and asked if she could have a word with me.  One of my running mates, Lisa joked and said, "Ooo, you're in trouble."  After stretching, I walked down the stairs with Sophia.  As we made our way back down to the lower track, she basically asked me if I was interested in becoming a pacer for the 18-week program, which starts in a couple of weeks.  "Yeah.  I told Anita on Saturday that if you need pacers, I'm totally down to help out" was my response to her.  Pam, the Program Director, will be sending me an application to fill out.  I'm super excited.  I was a pacer last year for the SF AIDS Marathon Training Program and I kind of missed it this year.  We're up to 7-miles this Saturday and we're running the Golden Gate Bridge.  I WILL beat the bridge.  It will NOT beat me.

So back up to the title of this post, "Rock it, don't stop it, gotta rock it, don't stop....," I wanted to plug Jon's company, Fully Laced.  They're having a special sale on tees right now and the shirt below, which is a spin on the Afrika Bambaataa song and a tribute to our 44th President, is on sale for $9.99.  You can visit his site at www.fullylaced.com

UPDATE!!!!

Say hello to the San Francisco Marathon Training Program's newest PACER!!!!!!

~*~Run Mel Run~*~

Rain rain go away...

...at least until AFTER the Monday Night Run.

Sadly, I ditched out of last week's Monday run due to a big workload and the rainy conditions. Baaad choice!  I definitely felt the effects of skipping a run and I don't want to go through that again unless I really, really have to.  However, as I'm sitting at I'm computer logging in this entry, I could hear the wind howling outside and the rain pounding against my dining room window.  I will, of course, bring my running gear with me, but I'm feeling less inclined to run tomorrow night.  I am 99.99% most likely to run tomorrow, but ugh, the rainy, I-feel-like-staying-in-under-the-blanket feeling is looming above my head.  I'm just complaining, that's all.

I really can't slack off or complain now as I just turned in my registration for the Emerald Across the Bay 12K race on March 15.  There's no turning back on that.  I start off in Sausalito, run over the Golden Gate Bridge and finish off at Aquatic Park.  It's only 7 miles and I know I could do it. I mean, my pace has already increased by so much.  I've gone from running 15 minute miles during the AIDS Marathon Training Program to running 12 and a half minute miles with the SF Marathon Training Program.  Definitely worth the money!!

Well, it's time to head to bed and get some sleep for what appears to be a long week.  Good night!

~*~Run Mel Run~*~