New Year, New Start

Eideh shoma mobarak!  Last Sunday was the first day of spring, also marking the beginning of a new year for Iranians.  It is a time filled with peace, love, family, and delicious food.  I was lucky to be able to spend last weekend in the Bay Area with my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.  Here's to a happy and prosperous 1390!!  Yea we're a little behind on the times, don't hate!

Rewind to the weekend before last.  Remember I told you how much I hated Fiesta Island?  And how I was determined to redeem myself at the St. Patty's Day 10K?  Well, mission accomplished!  I was MUCH happier at the end of the St. Patty's Day race.  I still hate Fiesta Island (and still found it appropriate to spew obscenities at it during the race), but I didn't let it get me down during the run.  I kept pace with my running buddy, and raced my way to a new 10K PR!  The lines for pizza and beer after the race were reallllly long, so we settled for Souplantation brownies.  We also got leprechaun hat medals at the finish.  Win and win!

On Friday, I drove up to Agoura Hills for the Old Agoura 10K, rated one of the top 6 10Ks in the country by Runner's World.  It was my friend Monica's first 10K, and I was all too happy to oblige her request for a running buddy!  I have to say, this was the most challenging race I have done so far.  The scenery was gorgeous (think Santa Monica Mountains, country roads, horse farms) and did not disappoint, but the hills!  Oh, the hills!  They definitely tested my running mettle.  It was clear after the first mile that I wouldn't be anywhere close to a PR, but I was content with just enjoying the course, and not passing out on the wicked hills.  It also didn't help that I realized my iPod was dead right at the start line (after a nasty battle with the washing machine...my headphones made it, my iPod wasn't so lucky), so I ran with no music.  No music.  It wasn't nearly as unpleasant as I thought it might be, but I won't be leaving my music at home anytime soon.  

The start of the new year also happens to coincide with the beginning of my official training for the San Diego Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon.  1 week down, 11 to go!  Since I went crazy signing up for races, April is a 2 (possibly 3) race month for me.  This coming Sunday, I have the Carlsbad 5000 5K, the so-called "fastest 5K in the world".  Not intimidating at all!  I haven't run a 5K since December, but I've done a lot of training and racing since then, so I'm aiming for a PR.  

On April 17, as an homage to my humble running roots, I will be running the La Jolla Shores 5K.  The La Jolla Shores 5K was my first official race last year, so it holds a lot of nostalgic value and serves as a reminder to myself of how far I've come in the past year (both in life and in running).

I am really, ridiculously excited to start running outside.  Thank you spring and daylight savings!!

A Thin Line

I think part of the reason that I haven't updated as much as I'd like to is that I'm a little bit of a perfectionist. I always want every sentence to sound just right, everything to flow nicely and to be enjoyable to whoever is reading.  I always struggle with writer's block every time I sit down to write.  Including right now.

But I also realize that a big part of sharing a little bit of yourself with the world is just letting your thoughts out freely, without worrying about the little things.  With that said, I wanted to share this story with you, because it kind of hit home for me when I read it.

Every once in awhile, you read a story on your Google Reader, or in your daily news emails that really speaks to you.  You feel like the author was writing the piece just for you.  Tonight I opened my RunnersWorld nightly email and saw a link to Peter Sagal's A Thin Line.  If you've ever struggled with weight or body image in your life, you may find this story uplifting or inspiring; you may find it comforting to know that someone else has felt your struggle.  If you have a few minutes, take a peek at it, if not only for the fact that Peter Sagal is one of the hosts of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! on NPR (he earns MAJOR cool points for that, btw).  Well played, Peter.  Well played.

Did You Miss Me?

For what it's worth, I sat down to write new posts 4 times this past week.  Each time, I felt like I was just going to vent and be snappy about everything that made me unhappy (at work, in the gym, in life), and let's be honest: who wants to hear me complain all the time?  I even get tired of myself complaining all the time.  So here is my attempt at a positive spin on last week's mayjah happenings.

This guy made me late for work on Thursday.  Oh hey, crazyface!  Didn't see you there behind the half-mile of backed up traffic and the jackknifed big rig!  On a brighter note, while I was stuck in said traffic jam, I was thisclose to winning zoo tickets on the radio.  And Mr. I-wanna-talk-to-the-President was admitted for a mental health evaluation.  No harm, no foul, right?

I ran a 15K on Saturday.  And I hated every second of it.  Not very organized, route was sucky, and did I mention I finished (almost) last?  It really was one of those races that sucks the love of running out of you.  I also have a St. Patrick's Day 10K coming up this Saturday.  I signed up for it without knowing that the route was just a shorter version of the 15K.  Boooo!  After some reflection and some encouraging words from my running guru/coworker Debra, I decided that I wouldn't let one sucky race experience get me down.  I am determined to take Fiesta Island by the horns this weekend.  Do you hear that, Fiesta Island?  I am taking you DOWN!  And then I will have pizza and beer to celebrate.  Everyone knows that's why people sign up for St. Patty's Day races anyway.  Who's with me?!