Holy Jim - Take Two!

We went back to Holy Jim Canyon today, and this time we took the truck! Jim seemed a little worried to let us have the truck by ourselves, but it's okay... Cheryl is driving! lol!



We made it all the way to the trail head without getting stuck or bottoming out, YAY!



It was a 2 mile run out, up 1650'... we deserved a little rest on the way :oD





Our run was so deep in the canyon that this is the only sun that we got on our run:



Finally, we made it!!!



Then it was 2 miles downhill back out. Unfortunately, Cheryl tripped over a root when she checked to see if her shoe was untied. She's okay, other than a couple raspberries on her hip bone. I think we deserve a day off tomorrow... no running and sleeping in on Christmas Eve!

Have a great Christmas Eve, everyone!

Holy Jim!

Today, Cheryl and I decided to go running out Holy Jim Canyon (it was named after a guy named Jim, who used to cuss at people... no lie!) We tried driving my car out to the trail head, but the road soon became impassible for a little FIT.



We backed out to the staging area and started running in to the trail... all uphill!



By the time we got to the trail head I was tired... we walked up a little ways, but headed back to the car... For a total of only 4 miles. Here is a little of what the tail looked like:



Thanks for coming on this little running adventure with us:

Spooktacular Half-Marathon

Today was the Spooktacular Half Marathon in San Dimas. We ran with a couple people from the lunch time running group: Eric and Paloma. This was the hilly-est half-marathon that I ever ran! It was a very tough run... street, concrete side walk, dirt, gravel and a muddy stream crossing. Cheryl and I ran in costume. I was a pirate and Cheryl was a mime.







Here is a picture that Eric took of me coming in to the finish line:




After the half-marathon, Cheryl and I added more miles to make the weekend total.... 18 MILES!

My time: 2:05. 2nd place in my age group. 43rd overall...
Cheryl's time: 2:08, 7th in her age group. 52nd overall...

It's Here! It's HERE!!!

Look what's here! The marathon book is finished and in our hands.



You've seen all the pages already, but you haven't seen the cover. Sorry the picture is so bad. There was lots of glare... it's so shiney :oD



Here's the back cover...



This is the documentation of my first and last marathon; and why I would not want to do this again. Cheryl suffers from short term memory loss and is singing a different tune now... as you can see on the last page of the book.



Hahaha! Oh boy! Marathon training starts again this weekend! LOL!

Project Life Marathon Training - The End... or is it?

Here is the last page of my Project Life Marathon Training album.



Cheryl has signed herself up for the California International Marathon in Sacramento, December 8, 2013!!!

Project Life Marathon Training - Cheryl's Race Page

... and finally... Cheryl's race page!!!

Project Life Marathon Training - My Race Page

Here's is my race page from the marathon... Sorry, I tend to get very wordy!

Project Life - Chris's Race

I started a page for everyone's race story in the order of finish. Which means... Chris first!



I'm so happy to have been able to capture his story. Sounds like this might be his one and only marathon ;oD

Project Life Marathon Training - Race Day

Here we are finally... It's RACE DAY!!!

Project Life Marathon Training - The day before...

This is not really a marathon related page. I just wanted to use that picture of Jim in the sunset, so I had to make a page for it, lol!



I have one new filler card. To get your free card, click on the image below:

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 18

Are you ready for the rest of the marathon pages? There are five pages left. I guess I'll break them up so as to not overwhelm you. (And well, actually, I haven't finished them all yet, lol)

Here is the page of our last week of marathon training:



And this week we have two filler cards. As always, click on the images to get your free card:



Thanks for looking! It means a lot to me :oD

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 17

We are running a marathon next weekend... NEXT WEEKEND!!! This week is for resting and healing.



I don't know how we are going to do this. No one feels ready.

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 16

Two more weeks, two more week, TWO MORE WEEKS!!! We are all ready for the training to be over and to cross that finish line!



It's been a while since I created a new filler card. To get the free card this week, click on the image below!

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 15

40 miles this week! It's our longest week of the training plan; 20 miles during the week and 20 miles on Sunday. We ran the Cinco de Mayo half-marathon with my online friend, Mara, and added 7 more miles.



It's weird how the race site has our times wrong. They seem to be exactly 20 minutes off. Must be because we started with the 5K. Here are our actual results:

Chris: 1:57, 7/16 in his age group
Me: 2:01, 8/38 in my age group
Cheryl: 2:12, 18/43 in her age group

We are ramping down this week. It's all downhill from here to the marathon!

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 14

We were looking forward to an easy weekend... only 14 miles. Haha, it's all relative! Even though it was only 14 miles, Cheryl and Chris had a hard time. I think the marathon training is getting to everyone... and we have 20 miles to run next weekend! YIKES!



Oh, and I fixed my camera... all I had to do was reset the display. Life's GOOD :oD

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 13

Five weeks and counting until the marathon! We split up again this week for the long run... 18 MILES!!! Cheryl didn't feel like going on Saturday, so Chris and I went without her. We went to Doheny Beach and then up the San Juan Creek trail to Rancho Capistrano. It wasn't too bad running-wise. Unfortunately, I stumbled on the uneven planks of the bridge. My ankle felt fine during and after the run, but today it hurts.

Today, I dropped Cheryl off at Cook's Corner so that she could run all downhill to Aliso Creek. She had a GREAT run!



Here's my layout for the week. No pictues... my camera is broken :o(

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 12

Six weeks until the marathon... SIX WEEKS! We were supposed to do a 16 mile run this weekend. We tried on Saturday, but only finished 4 miles before we went home. Chris's new shoes were hurting him and his foot was swollen. It's nothing that a little ice didn't fix up. We did our 16 miles on Sunday...4 miles Saturday + 16 miles Sunday = 20 mile weekend.



Things to remember for a long run... Eat for staying power. As Cheryl found out, Pop-tarts are not good running fuel. Chris found out that one bottle of water is not enough for a 16 mile run. I found out that it would have been a good thing to take an Aleeve BEFORE running.

We'll take what we learned and hopefully next week's 18 mile run will go smoothly.

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 11

Cheryl did a mud run this weekend with her friend. We had such great plans to run 16 miles at Irvine Lake, but there main trails were all taken by the mud run. We tried running along the little rough/rocky trails, hit dead ends, had to back track, got turned around, couldn't find cell signal... it was a rough run. We only finished 12 miles, so we are pushing the 16 mile run to next weekend.

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 10

I can't believe that it's April already! WEEK 10!!! The marathon will be here in just two short months...



This week's card is a picture of my kids running under the 5 fwy. I left the picture with the saying this time because I think it's a good generic picture. To get the free card this week, click on the image below!

Project Life Marathon Training - Week 8 & 9

Here is week 8! Cheryl spent her week studying. Chris and I tried to find a half-marathon race, but there were no races in our area. We ended up running 13.1 miles at Aliso South.

It's week 9, and we are half-way through the training plan! YAHOO!!!



And here is this week's free filler card. Click on the image below to get your card: