Weir Canyon Trail Run on World Run Day!

One week until I run the Malibu Half Marathon...so today I planned on running 8 miles. I scoured Localhikes.com for a 4 mile flatish hike that allows dogs...and I found one in Weir Canyon. It had a 350' elevation gain and was a 4 mile loop-perfect for my 8 mile training run!

So I got up at 6am, left the house at 6:45am and headed to Orange County-inland leaving my beloved ocean for the trails of Anaheim Hills. I've wanted to try this "urban trail" for awhile-it's nice to change it up for different desert scenery!

I printed out the directions to the trailhead and off we went. The marine layer was in so it was overcast! Please stay!!

We arrived at Weir Canyon around 7:20 and I got Velcro ready for the run. I set out her water in the car, gathered my water and gatorade and off we went UP the hill...up up up. Of course this was Velcro's time to sniff, pee and poop...the first .3 miles are never fast because she's getting her sniff's on!

The plan was to do the 4 mile loop twice, with a water stop at the half way point at the car. But once I started running and realized this trail was either up or down not flat I decided I might not do 2 loops. This wasn't really want I had wanted! I wanted a flat trail run for my last run before the Malibu Half...this wasn't really it! But I was going to make the best of it and get as close to my 8 mile goal as possible!

Lets just say there were alot of hills on this "flat easy hike"....luckily it was overcast-until I hit the turnaround point, which was at 3 miles(the description had said that at 2.5 miles I would hit another parking area that would take me down to the other trailhead)-ok, it was .5 miles short of what Ms Garmin was reading! She said 3 miles. So I decided at this point I would go back the way I came.

At this time I was beginning to see more and more people-ok, not alot, mainly dog people and some mountain bikers. They were all very nice and said hello! Nice place and nice people in Orange County!

Our return trip started with an uphill then a downhill. Yes, I know this because I had just done the one mile uphill! Heading back we passed a few people we had seen on the way up. They said hello and Velcro played a bit with their dogs. And then off we went!

The sun was coming out-hell for me! Velcro was trailing behind getting a tad slower so i slowed a bit too. We'd stop when we were tired or when we needed water. Velcro loves to drink out of my water bottles so I always stop and give her water.

This was when it started to get hard. The sun was out, I was running up hill, I was running out of gatorade and Velcro was getting slower and slower.....8 miles was not going to happen today! To top it all off, stupid me only had a piece of toast for breakfast, thinking I'd be running a flat trail today! HA! And guess what I did, left my sport beans in the car! Alot of good they do when they are still in the car.

We reached the top of the hill-i was nearing 6 miles, I so wanted to go longer. is aw a trail offshoot to the left so we took it! It took us down to the bottom of the hill and around back to the car. Iw as at 6.2-damn, still needed more. SO off Velcro and I went up the street-UP I say to some very posh huge houses! At the deadend we turned around and ran back down.

At the car, I realized I had left Velcro's poop bag at the top of the hill so up we went to get her neon green poop bag! And then back down the hill! Finished! 7.12 miles on the trails-a hilly run today!

I really enjoyed this area! It's been in a re-growth after the area was burned in 2008. It's amazing to see the burned trees and the new growth! Sad but thrilling at the same time! Alot of burned trees and you could see where the fire raced right up to houses! Running thru this canyon, I could see how fire races thru! Scary!

I'm glad Weir Canyon is open! It's an amazing little oasis in the Anaheim Hills! If you live in orange county, check this area out!

RUN: 7.12 miles with Velcro

TGIF

woke up - check
fed the cats - check
insulin to my cat Kodak - check
run with Velcro - check
breakfast for me - check
breakfast for Velcro - check

now I have a few hours to do stuff around the house before going to work! I'm doing my first day on "24" tonight. I have a 4pm call. We're shooting 2 7/8 pages at night...hopefully it wont be a late night!

I was able to get a nice slow hilly run in this morning. I slept in as long as I could(considering I'm working well into the night tonight) but 7am came and that was it. I had to get up! I got out the door around 8:30am-a bit later for a run than I had hoped but I had some time today! It's cool right now but that horrible sun was out!!

I had thought a 3 miler would be fine for today. But once I got out there I wanted to run further since I had the extra time. So Velcro and I had a wonderful run together! It was a hilly route today and it wasn't fast but I was with my girl and I was out running, which is more than alot of people can do!

I live in a fairly hilly area, so most of my runs have hills. But I did some long ones today! Don't worry, there was some walking involved I'm not all hardcore! But I did attempt a steady pace up those hills.

I'm home now. Must get my cold weather clothes ready for tonight. Buy milk! And do a few things around the house before heading up to the valley! Velcro goes to Grandpa's house today for doggie daycare! And I have to work! When am I going to win the lottery??

RUN: 5.1 miles with Velcro on a hilly route (1:08)

Mojo Rising.....

well, I can hope my mojo is rising back to where it needs to be to get my butt in gear and back out running as many days as possible and back to the pool..come on Penny you slacker!!

It's been so hard to motivate lately! I am so incredibly burned out! Burned out from work-yeah primarily work...but it's now overflowing into my life. Wait....I don't have a life so how the hell can it do that? Penny, the small tiny tiny tiny amount of time that you have to yourself..well even that time is affected by the virus that is my exhaustion from work and the irritation at stupid people!

But enough about that crap!! Lets get back to why I'm writing this.....to get my mojo back and to get me running at least 5 days a week and hopefully to the pool one or two times a week. Guess I better see if my pool has opened back up!!

I have a half marathon on Nov 15th-the Malibu Half Marathon. i don't know if I am physically or mentally prepared for it! And it's not an easy race..last 6 miles are hilly!! I'm debating if I should do it or not....or if I should ramp up my training now that the holiday season is coming up (and my work will slow down) so that I can be prepared for the Carlsbad Half Jan 24th, the Surf City Half 2 weeks later and then the RnR New Orleans Half at the end of Feb...am I crazy? I think I am!!

Adding to my mojolessness...is that even a word? is the fact that I feel and am fat! I hate myself right now...your body is supposed to be a temple...with this temple is having issues. I look at food and can gain weight! I hate that! Getting old sucks!! Having a shitty thyroid sucks! Not being able to lose weight with the snap of my fingers sucks!! Why can't I be a skinny girl...ok, maybe not the skinny girl but i'd like to not gain weight or feel bloated when I look at a piece of chocolate or a cupcake!!!

Blah!!! I'm going to bed!! gotta run before work tomorrow! Busy rest of the week! private Practice wednesday then 2 days of "24".....

Sat 31 Oct RUN: 4.25 mile trail run at Ocean Trails w/Velcro (1:10)
Sun 1 Nov sheep herding trial w/Velcro....crash and burn again!
Tues 3 Nov RUN: 4.15 miles w/Velcro (57:44)..I nearly stayed home and drank-but I forced my sleepy self out!!

Thankful Thursday

I have a lot to be thankful for! I have a job, I'm healthy, I have a great family, my son is wonderful, I have a wonderful constant companion in Velcro and three furry friendly kitties, I am able to run, bike ,swim,walk, sheep herd -just enjoy life! I have great friends-primarily outside of LA, but a few good ones here in LA. So I feel bad when I gripe about my job....but the hours and the lack of a life add up to stress me out and exhaust me....but all in all I have a pretty good life! So I am thankful!

Wednesday RUN: 3.08 miles w/Velcro before work

Thursday RUN: 3.18 miles w/Velcro before work

The 55th Annual Huntington Beach Distance Derby 10 Mile Race

Wow...that's a mouthful! Well lets just call it the Distance Derby 10 miler. I decided to run this race about a month ago. I thought it would be a good training run for the Malibu Half on November 15th. But I also had wanted to run this race for a couple of years!

I worked yesterday on NCIS. I had a 9am call-that's GREAT on a friday! NCIS usually shoots 12 hour days so I thought this was perfect! I'd get home around 10pm get at least 7 hours sleep-perfect! HA! My grand plan was not to be! I had the fortune of prepping all my race stuff on thursday so that I wouldn't be racing around on saturday morning like some sort of crazy person! And it was a good thing I did this because we shot until 11:15pm! I got home at 12:15am and was in bed by 12:30. Hmm, my alarm was set for 4:55am-UGH, are you kidding me 4.5 hrs of sleep after being up for 19 hours??

That alarm went off, and a part of me said "I don't need to run this race..." but I was not going to bail! My occasional running partner, Christina, was going to be at my house at 5:30..had to get up feed the cats, feed Velcro, make tea, make peanut butter toast and be out the door at 5:30...well we were out the door by 5:40. And I was doing everything I could to wake myself up and pump myself up! I was TIRED! and I hadn't run 10 miles in a long time-since the SF Half in July! The last long run I had done was a SLOW 7.4 miler in 1:45...was I going to be able to finish this race without some sort of crappy time?? I wanted to run it in 2 hours-or before the 5 mile racers were finished! (there race started at 8:30am)

We arrived in Huntington beach around 6:10am. Parked and walked to the pier. It was foggy and cool and dark-HEAVEN! If only we could have started in the dark! But NO, we had to wait until 7am!

We picked up our race numbers and got our t-shirts and made the trek back to the car to get all of my running stuff. Had to get my water bottles with gatorade and water, my sport beans, my Garmin and my shuffle and of course my Tennessee Volunteer hat!!

7am-the air horn goes off and we are off running south on the bike path. We were running 2.5 miles south and then back and then 2.5 miles north (toward the Dog Beach) and back for our 10 mile loop. There were about 330 runners running the 10 mile race. Racers of all speeds and levels. I soon settled into a nice Penny pace. Christina had decided to go for the 10 miler, even though she hasn't really been running alot at all. So when she needed to walk, we walked. I wasn't here to win and really wanted to run with someone and lets face the facts, I was tired.

We settled in and found a group of people with the same pace-so we saw alot of the same people. It was a gorgeous day! The marine layer was in and wonderful. The sun couldn't break thru it! We kept running.

At 2.5 miles we reached the turnaround point and headed back to the Pier. We hit 2.5 around 29 minutes. Not scorching speed by any means but I was pretty pleased. I was on the pace I had wanted to be on for this race.

At around 3.5 miles, Christina said she had to walk and for me to go ahead. So I did. I really wanted to run with her, but she knew she was going to be slow since she hasn't run alot, so I continued on by myself. I found people in front of me and paced off of them, always keeping them in my sights!

5 miles brought us back to the Pier. We had another 5 miles to go. We were now heading north on the bike path towards the Dog Beach. This part was a little hillier than the previous 5 miles. I knew this-I've been to the Dog Beach. But I tried not to think about it! All I wanted to do was run a good race that i'd be happy with! That was my goal! I started popping my sport beans and eating my little pb&j I had made for myself! fueling up! Iw as not going to bonk!! I already started off tired because of lack of sleep. I was going to do everything I could to finish this strong!

at 7.5 miles, we made the turnaround. We had run a few short hills. Nothing major-but come on this is the beach! The beach should be FLAT! From the turnaround it was a gradual uphill...up up up....at this point, I was beginning to catch up with people that had been ahead of me! (it's the little things) I don't know if it was me or if it was because us back of the packers were beginning to get tired. Who cares. I was catching people who had been ahead of me from the beginning!

I really find it hard to push myself when i'm alone! When i run with people I don't give up easily! So here I was running alone and I was determined to NOT give up early or walk early or whatever! I kept my little uphill shuffle going! and kept running, slowing down when I felt I was grasping for a breath. I'm beginning to think my asthma might be getting worse-or at least rearing it's ugly head on long runs! Do I carry a puffer-um...no.......bad me I know.....don't yell at me!

At mile 9 I saw someone I knew...it was Christina!! She had run her 5 miles(back to the Pier) and realized she wasn't going to be able to finish 10. But she decided to run a mile further on to the 9 mile mark and wait for me! How exciting!! I had someone to run the last horrible mile with me!! At least some of it was downhill!!

As we neared the Pier, the final turn, I actually picked up my pace. No I wasn't sprinting! Ha...who do you think I am! But I was running a bit faster! I wanted to finish this in under 2 hours!!!

I crossed the line and Ms Garmin read 1:57:54! WOO HOO!!!! My official time was 1:58:08-I like my garmin time! I didn't win or place but I wasn't DFL!! But I am a back of the pack runner. But there are always people behind me! I'm just happy to be out running! I consider myself so lucky to be able to run and enjoy it!! Yes-I realized all of this(or it hit me like a ton of bricks) while Iw as out plodding along the bike path. I had gotten up and was running a 10 mile race after being up for 19 hours and having only slept 4.5 hours. I'm very proud of myself!!! Yes, I am a runner!! Maybe a bit of a psycho one-but I'm a back of the pack runner and very proud of it!! call me Penny Penguin!!

RUN:10.02 miles 1:57:54

Pace per mile:

Mile 1 11:12

Mile 2 11:56

Mile 3 11:54

Mile 4 11:58

Mile 5 11:31

Mile 6 12:08

Mile 7 12:00

Mile 8 11:55

Mile 9 11:54

Mile 10 11:20

Friday follies with me!

Friday, a work day for me! I'm on NCIS today which means a LONG commute. Took me 1 1/2 hours to get to work today! But it also meant I ran in the dark! And I LOVE running when it's dark! I had wanted to get a trail run in yesterday, since I had the day off, but the day got away from me I spent the first half of the day being mom to my sick son! I had to take lots of chicken noodle soups and Dayquil and Nyquil up to him since he's at school and can't be taken care of at home. So by the time I got back home, 3pm, I was tired and veged on the couch. All of a sudden it's dark and dinner time! I knew I had a 9am call on NCIS on friday-so I decided I'd run in the morning instead!

My run was fairly uneventful. Most of my rns before work are uneventful! I had a bit more energy than I usually do! Probably because I've been trying to t as much sleep as I can and I hadn't run since tuesday. Maybe rest days are good for my weary body!

Tomorrow I'll be running in the Huntington Beach Distance Derby 10 miler! Of course I'm working the day before a race! What's new! They are thinking we'll go 14 hours today. That would mean an 11pm wrap. That gets me home by midnight and then I have to be in Huntington Beach by 6am. Up at 430-5am....yet another shitty turnaround! But I'm not "racing" it....I'm using this as a 10 mile training run for the Malibu Half Marathon I'm going to attempt to finish on November 15th. I think a friend of mine will be running with me tomorrow. She has signed up but she has trained less than I have! So we'll see! I wish Velcro could do it with me but they have a strict no dog and no stroller policy! At least it starts early and it's along the ocean!! Don't worry, I will take lots of pics! I can't seem to run any race without snapping lots of pics! Might be why I'm slow....hmmm no I'm just slow!

As long as I finish before my Tennessee Vols take the field against Alabama I'll be happy! Go VOLS! They are playing in Alabama-tough game! Debating where to watch it! Should I go to my irish bar in Long Beach and watch it or in the confines of my humble abode with Velcro and cheaper beer?? Decisions decisions decisions! Probably will watch it at home since I have to get ready for a sheep herding trial on sunday!

I leave you with this thought

Rocky Top will always be Home Sweet Home to me! Good ole Rocky Top, Rocky Top TENNESSEE!
Sent via Penny's BlackBerry

I signed up and am running the Carlsbad Half for Labrador Rescuers

I signed up for the Carlsbad Half Marathon again! And like I did last year, I'll be running for one of the official charities, Labrador Rescuers! I was their top fundraiser last year, but I'm off to a late start this year! Someone is already at $1300. The goal is for Labrador Rescuers to raise $30,000. I want to reach my $2000 goal. Can you help???

The race is January 24 2010. And I plan on beating my previous time and hopefully breaking 2:30 and raising $2000. Please help if you can!!

Here is my secure donation page-remember, your donations are tax deductible:

http://www.active.com/donate/labrescuers2010/PSpragu3

My numbers game

Here is how I use math in my everyday life:

Monday wakeup at 430am
Leave my house at 530am
Start work at 642am
Lunch at 1:06-2:06
Finish work at 945pm
Home by 1030pm
In bed by 1115
Asleep sometime after 1130
That would be 19 hours awake....

Tuesday wakeup at 515am
Run a slow 2.1 miles with Velcro
Leave my house at 715am
Get to work at 845am
Shuttle to the location 5 min
Inhale breakfast in about 10 min
Start work at 912am
Lunch at 330-4pm
Finish work at 930pm
Shuttle back to the stage 5 min
Home at 1030pm
In bed by 11pm (hopefully)
That would be 18 hours awake...

Wednesday up at 450am
Leave the house at 550am
Start work at Disney at 712am
...The rest I don't know yet...

Too many numbers in my day...but I have thursday off!
Sent via Penny's BlackBerry

where to begin

it's Sunday....and I have to go back to work tomorrow. I'm not really looking forward to it! As a matter of fact, I think I'm having a work revelation...I need a new career! I think I've finally reached a point in my life where I'd like a life! I'd rather not work 65-70 hours a week....but I haven't the foggiest what I would do! Does anyone have any ideas??

as for running, yeah I did some of that this weekend! I didn't run during the week when it was raining! And I'm PISSED about that! But I blame the idiot or idiots who tried to kill me on Tuesday nite-because it really screwed with my schedule! I was up until about 1am that night-wired and pounding 2 glasses of wine. I had to be up at 6am on Wednesday-so no run Wednesday morning. Thursday I spent the day dealing with my car-filing a CHP report, contacting my insurance company and dropping my car off at the body shop. And of course, the cool wet weather had disappeared Thursday! We had hot sunny weather back again!

Friday...yes I turned down a day of work on The Mentalist for Friday so that I could be a mom! His college was having a family weekend and I was going to participate in some way! So I planned my run for the morning, since I'd be driving up north around 2pm. SO Velcro and I went to Ocean Trails for a morning run! It felt SO GOOD to be out there again! I've really missed it! We ran a fun-filled bunnyless run! In the sun and heat! Not my favorite conditions but I had to run since I have failed miserably at running at sunset lately! Seems my mojo has migrated north to hang out with RBR's mojo!

I took my son and his roommate out for dinner on friday night! And I had a wonderful time! We went to the Channel Islands harbor for dinner! They were thrilled to be eating in a restaurant! I was thrilled to be taking them out for dinner!

Saturday I went sheep herding! And we trained for 2 1/2 hours in the sun and heat. It wasn't the best training session at all! We have a herding trial next Sunday so we were running the Arena Course A course. It's so frustrating because I want us to be so much better! I know it takes time to develop these skills and to work as a team and for me to understand livestock (hello, I do live in the city) but it seemed like Velcro had lost everything and wasn't paying attention to what i was saying and I was getting frustrated...basically I cried! There is no crying in sheep herding! Well i cried! But I'm sure it wasn't all because of that-I'm sure all my work issues, and the accident on Tuesday and feeling fat all contributed to my meltdown on Saturday! Nothing seems to be going right for me...nothing is clicking and I'm really frustrated and bummed! Even my running sucks! But what can I do? I'll just continue to slog along and hope that things begin to click!

I had wanted to go to Black Mountain Open Space preserve to run today-but I just couldn't motivate to get up at 430am so I could be out the door around 530 to be down there by 730am. Yes, a 2 hour drive (114 miles) to run a trail. Now, I've done that before but with the weather being HOT again, I had to be down there early so as not to fry! And I just couldn't do it! So, instead, I ran around my hood this morning! I woke up at 630am and it was still dark-it would have been so easy to turn the alarm off and go back to sleep! Perfect weather-overcast and coolish...but I forced myself up and finally Velcro and I were out the door around 8am. Later than I had planned but it was still overcast so I was keeping my fingers crossed!

I had wanted to run at least 6 miles today-I kinda just set off and ran down to the breakwater and back. I had no special route planned-just a run! It was a bit muggy today but thank goodness the sun never came out! I would have screamed!! But the run today sucked and was hard! My running sucks! I suck as a runner....I'm really a jogger not a runner! I felt heavy and blah for the entire run! Luckily I had Velcro there to talk to. But it was hard! My legs just didn't show up today and I never felt into the run! I did get to run to the Breakwater, which was fun! First time I had run this route...but I just wasn't into it! I knew I had to run because I have the Huntington beach Distance Derby 10 miler on Saturday and the Malibu Half Marathon on November 15th and I feel I'm a fat slob unable to run anything! It's really a sucky feeling! So today's run was out of necessity-necessity to run farther than 3 miles, a necessity to get rid of my fat, a necessity to clear my head from the funk I've been in for a few weeks! So from that viewpoint-I guess the run was a success!! I woke up, I left my house and I ran!! That's more than alot of people did this morning!!

Friday: 5 mile trail run w/Velcro (1:23)
Sunday: 7.4 mile run w/Velcro (1:40)

Semi-wordless Wednesday

This is what my windshield looks like after some lesser human decided to throw a very large object off an overpass last nite around 10:45pm on the 110 Fwy. This large object came down and it hit my windshield, shattering it and then shattered my passenger window-glass flew everywhere and I either drove over this object first or after it shattered my windows...I can't really remember which came first. Whatever-my car has been trashed and I feel very lucky!
Sent via Penny's BlackBerry

Forrestal Nature Preserve Trail Run

I had a horrible week last week! Horrible! I spent most of the week humping camera equipment up dirt hills in Bronson Canyon. It sucked! So this weekend I did nothing! I found a great Irish bar to watch my Tennessee game on saturday-didn't run! Sunday I slept in and didn't make it to watch Long Beach-didn't run! So today, since I turned down a day of work on FlashForward, I decided I could get a trail run in before my 2 days on NCIS. So Velcro and I decided on a new trail area, Forrestal Nature Preserve in Palos Verdes. It is right next to the Portuguese Bend Nature Preserve-which means miles and miles of trails in my backyard.

Forrestal was really nice. Pretty steep, pretty dirty and new! I had a great time. It wasn't a long run but I got out with Velcro and was on the preserve running up and down hills all by myself! It was the perfect alone time for me!

Friday RUN: 2.21 miles w/Velcro (29:38)
Monday RUN: 3.15 miles on the steep trails w/Velcro

A Run, sheep herding and The Race for the Rescues 5K

Busy busy weekend!!

I worked until 10:30pm on thursday. And as I was driving home, I got a call from Private Practice. Seems they had just added a C camera for the all nighter friday night, was I available. ******** I said NO!******* can you believe it? I was tapped out! I had had enough of working and honestly, I wanted a friday and a weekend. If I had worked I wouldn't have had either! So I lazed around all day friday!! And felt guilty! :-)

Saturday morning came and I got my ass up after about a 7 hour sleep. I had slept 11 hour the night before!! I had to leave the house by 9am to go sheep herding with Velcro so I had to get out and go for a run. Well, I ran alright and it was AWFUL! Horrible run! I felt like crap! Ran like crap! Legs felt like crap! All in all it was Crap! SLOW CRAP! Terribly diappointing and frustrating! Really made me wonder if I'm cut out for this running and racing! I don't have the perfect running build! I'm slow! And after this crap run-maybe I should try some other form of exercise!

Velcro and I jumped into the car and drove to Phelan for sheep herding. We had a good 2 hour session in the dry windy sunny desert! Considering how long it's been since we had been herding, Velcro rocked it!!! I forget how much I love sheep herding!!

I got home around 2:30pm and was exhausted! But I had a few errands to run before heading to the yard House for my VERY belated birthday gathering to watch Tennessee play Auburn. We had a great time, I only had 2 beers before I felt bloated and fat and sat and watched tennessee lose!! And around 9pm I was ready for bed. I am such a boring biddy!!! But I had to get up at 5:30am to get ready for the Race for the Rescues!

The Race for the Rescues

My alarm went off at 5:30am-and No I didn't want to get up! I wanted to sleep! But I had a 5K to run with velcro for the rescue train and i was going to show up in my pink with my orange dog! We left the house at 6:40 and got to pasadena around 7:20. They had opened registration-but all I had to do was pick up my race number and t-shirt! It was pretty cool this morning! And windy! I loved it!!! The sun was out but it was cool and windy! I wasn't sure how many people and dogs were going to be at this race. When we got there it was pretty quiet! But within a half hour, the race area was overflowing with human racers and doggie racers~! It was awesome!

We lined up at the start at 8:30. there were tons of people around us. i purposely picked the middle area. Velcro isn't the best in large crowds with people standing near her paws! And she was a bit confused as we started running-but as soon as we got out of the start chute and away from people bumping into us, she was fine! And we started off on our run! The first mile and a half was uphill. The course took us around the golf course that is to the north of the Rose Bowl. Once we crested the hill, the secongd half of the run was downhill.

I was very impressed with this race! The aid station at 1.5 miles had water and dog bowls of water! Loved that! Of course, my little princess is so used to drinking out of my Amphipods that she didn't want water out of the dog bowl but mom's water bottle!

We were running at a faster clip than normal. I stopped a couple of times to give my girl water and to walk. But most of the time we were pounding the pavements following a pacing off a few runners and dogs! It was SO AWESOME to be running a race with so many dogs! it warmed my heart! I wish more races allowed dogs!

The final .4 miles were back up hill towards the front of the Rose Bowl. I wasn't going to break my 33 minute goal, but considering I was running with my sniffing pee and poop monster-I was pretty happy with our run! I wasn't out to get an amazing time-especially after my CRAP run yesterday. But I was here to support the wonderful animal rescue agencies that were at the event!

I finished in 34:06. Not great but not awful! But I crossed the finish line with my girl and it was awesome! I cheered her on as we were nearing the finish line and she started jumping up and grabbing her leash-like she knew we were about to finish! It was wonderful!

I love running with velcro! There is something absolutely wonderful watching and being a part of the sheer joy of a dog!!

We stayed and watched the dog parade of adoptable dogs. Walked around to all the vendors, donated some money for some beautiful handmade dog cards and then left!! It was a great day and I raised $365 in 4 days!! So I'm thrilled!!!


Saturday: RUN 4.32 miles (1:02.26)
Sunday: RUN 3.13 miles (34:06)

Thursday's run.....

I ran this morning! First time since my trail race on sunday! I've been a tad sore. I was wondering why-it's not like I've never run a 7.3 mile trail race but then I realized I've been fighting a lovely sinus thing! And today-because of our Red Flag warnings again ie dry, windy conditions-my sinus' are rebelling!

My entire body was hurting after sunday's race-entire body! Shoulders everything! Made me wonder if I was getting sick-that is usually what my body does...or maybe I just tried to kick my own ass runningup and down hills on exhaustion and little sleep!!

I had planned on running yesterday! Had every intention of running! Until I found fleas on Velcro and Blossom!! I HATE fleas! So instead of running, I ripped up all the carpet in my bedroom! Talk about an upper body workout! I've been meaning to rip up the carpets! I have the hardwood floor ready to install! I just needed a little push! And the push came from those little nasty biting creatures who decided to breed again with the 100 degree temps we've had! DIE FLEAS DIE! I ripped up carpet! I washed every piece of animal bedding, doused all four animals with flea drops and vacummed like some sort of crazy woman! Needless to say, when 7pm came around-the time for my run-I was exhausted!!

So instead, I woke up at 6am this morning to get a short 3 miler in before heading to work! I'm working on Private Practice today in Bronson Canyon! It's hot dry and windy and I'm not having fun! My nose is so dry! I'm so over this weather I can't even stand it anymore!! Please send cooler wetter weather our way!!! PLEASE!!

Back to my run- I ran! 3.02 miles in some sort of snail time! I'll never be fast-and I'm particularily slow running with Velcro! But if I didn't run with her, I'd have no one to complain to while running!! She loves me so!

Now-i'm just waiting to go home! I was asked if I wanted to come in tomorrow and fill in when the B camera 1st AC leaves early! They want two 8 hour people. I'd be going in at midnight! I said NO!! Gotta give me the entire work day, 13 hours, if I'm going to have my weekend ruined by working all friday nite! I'll be on Private Practice all week next week! I'm going to enjoy my short work week this week!!

Sunday, Velcro and I are running the Race for the Rescues 5K at the Rose Bowl. I put a link to our donation page in a post below. If you'd like to donate-please read the previous post!

RUN: 3.02 miles w/ Velcro
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Race for the Rescues 5K this sunday!

Velcro and I will be running the Race for the rescues 5K this sunday at the Rose Bowl to help homeless dogs and cats! If you are able and want to donate, we have set up a donation page thru the website. Your donation is 100% tax deductible! Here is the link to our donation page!

http://www.racefortherescues.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=314877&lis=0&kntae314877=1CA5D4761BD54AC2B6890633D0B0944D

XTERRA Pt Mugu 11K Trail Race

It's been a LONG week! I just finished a Cold Case double up episode on Thursday-I had the great fortune of working outside in the heat on Wednesday for about 14 hours, Thursday we worked a 16 hour day and I only got 4.5 hours a sleep before heading to a 13 hour day on Private Practice. So when Saturday arrived-I slept in until 1030am and didn't do diddly squat! I had wanted to run-since I was running the race on Sunday, but I just couldn't muster leaving my house on Saturday. I was SO TIRED! I was able to go to bed fairly early, which I was very happy about.

I woke up at 5am on sunday. I had made my peanut butter and jelly sandwich last nite. I boiled 2 eggs and made coffee(for my dad) and tea for me. I was going to be picking up my dad around 630am so that he and Velcro could be there to cheer me crossing the finish line! I walked outside and to my joy the marine layer was socking us in. I knew it would stay like this near the coast! I was just hoping it would last thru the race, which started at 8:50pm.

We arrived at Pt Mugu around 7:35am. I checked in got my t-shirt, number and goody bag and headed back to the car to get my shoes on and gather my water and gatorade, sport beans and peanut butter and jelly. The marine layer was still socking the coast in but as I looked up towards the large mountain I was going to be climbing, I saw the sun! NOOOOOO! Stay away sun!

The 18K left at 8:30am. The 11K, which was my race, started at 8:50am. Way too late for my liking! Who starts a race that late?? I've never started a race that late-EVER! I knew I was going to be in for some sun-because as soon as we started the sun came out! SHIT 7+ miles running on the trails up hill with sun and the heat we've been having??? Are you fucking kidding me....why was I doing this again?? Oh yeah, because for some reason I actually like running up hills on the trails. But I'd rather do them in overcast and cool days. Not scorching sun and heat!

Well, the first mile was literally a scramble up the valley floor and by scamble I mean scrambling over rocks on the LaJolla Valley Loop Trail. And yes it was up hill. As a matter of fact, the first 5 miles were up hill! At mile 2.7 we hit the Overlook Fire road. And yes the fire road was uphill in the heat and sun with ZERO shade! Right around mile 5, the fire road brought us to the Ray Miller Trail. And I knew this was downhill! I could see the ocean and the fog in the valley... and I had run this trail running PCTR Sycamore canyon-so I knew it was all downhill from here...I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But after 5 miles going up, downhill can be kinda difficult. But I ran it prety darn fast. I wasn't going to kill myself on the downhill. After all i do have to be at work at 6:12am tomorrow! I ran down and down and it got cooler and cooler...why did this race start so late???

My dad and velcro were at the finish line. The finish was literally a scramble up rocks to cross the line. My dad said quite a few people crashed and burned and fell at the finish. It was pretty treacherous-especially for the 18Kers....he was actually worried that i might face plant as well. I REFUSE to face plant when there is a photographer at the finish!!!!

All in all it was hard! Probably made harder because my work week was hell! I had crappy sleep thursday and friday and it was as hot as hades and the sun was shining. Yep, my FAVORITE running conditions. But I finished and I wasn't DFL!! Three cheers for that!!! It was fun. I stunk afterwards and Velcro had a field day licking the salty sweat off my face!!

After the race, we drove to CSUCI and picked up my son. I took him out for lunch. We ended up spending a wonderful day together! He is LOVING school and is very happy!! I loved hearing the joy in his voice and seeing it on his face! he has found himself and is blossoming!! I am a proud happy mom!!

RUN: 7.32 miles on the trails UP HILL without Velcro ( 1:46)

0'Dark thirty and a bit of fog!

Alarm-4am.....feed cats, put running stuff on that I laiout last nite and out the door at 430am. The cool foggy air was an absolute godsend and pleasure to run in this morning! Misty drops on my face...cutting thru the fog-just dog and I.. This is why I love running! It's my time! I'm not the fastest of runners but I'm dedicated to the sport I love and that I find great inner joy and peace doing! I LOVE RUNNING!

RUN: 3.14 miles with the great pee and poo machine, Velcro (39:04)
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Weekend-FAIL!

Yeah...wrapping work at 345am on saturday, getting home around 420am and in bed by 430am doesn't make for a productive running weekend! Especially when I had to be up at 915am saturday morning to go to the dentist! Nothing I love more than working a 16 hour day and being up for over 20 hours and then getting up to go sit in a dentist chair!! Fun Times! Needless to say, I did not go back to sleep on saturday! I had to watch Tennessee show up against Florida. Doesn't mean I wasn't layed out flat on my couch all day-thabk god for tivo! For I found myself nodding off....nothing better than rewinding what you've missed!!

Velcro wasn't a very happy dog! I didn't do anything sat but lounge! We were supposed to go sheep herding saturday nite-but that had been cancelled friday due to the warm temps-again! Thank goodness it was cancelled! It would have been an ugly 2 hour drive there and back on very little sleep!!

Sunday I was supposed to, or had hoped to, race in the Long Beach Triathlon. Big FAIL!! I just couldn't do it after being beat up friday shooting day and nite ext in the heat and then into the wee hours of saturday. So sunday, I didn't set an alarm! I woke up when my body felt like waking up! It was still fairly early! 830am! I had wanted to sleep later but oh well! It was already too hot to run in the morning, so I started cleaning the house! And then I went to IKEA to buy a comfy rocking chair for my balcony! I chucked stuff out, cleaned! It was great!! And HOT! Gotta love it when it's hot and you're moving shit in a non airconditioned house! So when the sun began to set and it started to slightly cool off I had a decision to make-run or sit down with a glass of wine on my balcony in my new chair and relax....I chose to relax! I just needed some time for me...sitting with my furry beasts outside with a glass of wine, candles and the cool quiet air! It was really pleasant!! But I felt like a failure!!! FAILED at exercise this weekend!!! FAIL!

I somewhat made up for it this morning! I set my alarm for 4am and got a pre-work 5k in! I was out the door at 540am for my drive to Warner Brothers! Cold Case for another 4 days then Private Practice on friday then....I think I'm off for a week!!!! I'm sure that won't be the case as we get closer to next week-but I can dream!!

I have the XTERRA Pt Mugu 11K on sunday....a trail race! I've never run an XTERRA race....but I know the trails and opted for the shorter distance since my running has taken a hit since February!

Ok...back to work!! I hope everyone had a brilliant weekend!!

Friday: RUN: 2.67 miles with Velcro (33:33)
Monday: RUN 3.14 miles with Velcro (40:35) at4:30am
Sent via Penny's BlackBerry

When will the heat go away??

I've had enough of the sun and heat! ENOUGH!!! Do you hear me summer...GO AWAY!



I've been working on a full episode double up of Cold Case-8 days of work. So I'm back to my 13 hour+ work days and 18 hour awake days! So when I can get any run in-it's a happy day for Penny!!



Yesterday I was fortunate to get a run in before the dreaded heat and sun began to eat away at me! But today-nope! I got home last nite around 1130pm and it took me about an hour to unwind! I had to watch GLEE! So in bed by 1am-yikes up 19 hours!! So I was able to sleep in until 830am today since I was leaving the house at 1015am-work starts at noon.....



But running at 9am, not a good idea for me! Sun was up, heat was kicking in and I was miserable as was Velcro! But I got my arse out and exercised before another long day!!!



Happy Thursday everyone!! I'll be shooting a split call in Chinatown tomorrow...yes noon call and working until 2am! Can't wait!!! But I'm happy to be working!!!



Wed: RUN 3.08 miles w/Velcro (39:17)

Thurs: RUN 2.50 miles w/Velcro (35:49)

BONK!

Wow...what a shitty long run I ran this morning! Let me preface this post with an update on my stupidity. The last meal i ate yesterday was at 1pm at a bar watching Tennessee lose to UCLA. I had a veggie burger and fries and 2 beers. That's all the food I had yesterday! No dinner-STUPID!

So when I woke up at 7:45am this morning I decided at the last minute that I was going to run my 8 miler from my house. I had thought about driving to the trails. So I took one teaspoon of peanut butter and had my cup of tea, drank some gatorade, filled up my big water bottle and Velcro and i were off. It was still overcast so it felt good. But I knew immediately that I had ZERO energy! I took alot to motivate my ass out the door...and now that i was out I was feeling super sluggish and crappy! But stubborn stupid Penny decided to keep going!

I ran from my house toward the ocean. Once to the ocean, I took a right and headed to my trails. I ran first in White Point nature preserve then about .5 on the roads dropped me into Ocean Trails. Now let me just say, I don't live in a flat place! My town stands in for San Francisco in movie shoots. So I run alot of hills-and this run was no different.

When I got into Ocean Trails, I had just run about 3 miles....and here I was running on the trails.

Of course, as soon as I got on the dirt, I began to feel a bit better. I don't know what it is about running on trails that motivates me! But I know exactly how far these trails are so i was already beginning to calculate my return trip-it was looking like my 8 mile runw as going to be longer!

We ran down to the beach, and I felt ok. I powered up the hills, walking a few steps when I had to and then running again, but the lack of fuel in my body was really beginning to take it's toll! Yes, I had ZERO energy!!

We made it down to the beach and luckily found a tennis ball-whew, 10 minutes of rest! thank god! If I was only I Dream of Jeannie-I could twitch and be home!

Back up the hill from the beach we went. This is when it really started to hit me! OMG, it was so hard! I did not want to be running! I wanted to be at home with a beer in my hand, not trudging up an f-ing hill with my dog slowly following behind me....but still lucky, the sun wasn't out!

We made it to the parking lot above Trump national and Velcro and i ran into some friends! Whew, another 10 or so minutes of talking and rest! It could either be a good thing or a bad thing. i thought-OMG, I have a HUGE hill to run up now and I've been talking and standing for about 10 minutes. Will my legs continue???

They did, I had to walk, but I got to the top of that godforsaken hill and we got back on the trails again! We didn't have long until we'd be running on the sidewalks.....my beloved dirt, rocks and softness would soon be gone...I'd be on the hard concrete.....and this is when I started dreaming about my beer.....I was twittering complaints! yes I was looking for any excuse to quit and needed support! I was at 8 miles and I had at least 2 miles left and half of that was all up hill.

Seriousy, what was I thinking when I started this run? I wasn't thinking obviously! At around 9.3 miles I crested the hill and knew that it was all down hill. Of course, I couldn't give up. The sun was starting to peek out of the clouds...NO!!!

At this point I was really hating myself! I know better than to do something so stupid as to run without fuel in my body! I had eaten a larabar at mile 7-but lets face the facts, that wasn't going to make up for the lack of fuel at the start!

This is when I started to cry...9.3 miles and I'm crying running. Poor Velcro wasn't sure what was happening to me. She kept tugging at the leash looking at me. I felt sheer exhaustion! My legs weren't tired I just had nothing in the tank! NOTHING! It was now affecting me emotionally. God, please just get me home!!!

I got home. I've never been so happy to hit the stop on Ms Garmin! OMG-this was THE WORST run I have ever done! EVER! And I've been running a hell of a long time!! WORST!

I will never do that again. But I just wasn't hungry last nite. I was a bit down-always get a bit down on my birthday! I turned down a birthday dinner last nite-just didn't want to go out!It was spur of the moment-but by the time they wanted to go out I had had a shitty day already! All i wanted to do last nite was crawl into bed and sleep! So I'm sure my BONK fest was a big time mixture of lack of fuel and my slight depressed nature at turning 44 on 9/11 and working a 15 hour day on my birthday, then saturday rolls around-the day I was going to celebrate. I had sent an email out to my friends a week ago asking who would like to get together on saturday nite to help me celebrate. Only one person replied-and that person doesn't live in California! Yeah, I was a bit down. I sometimes feel so alone here! It's a wierd feeling knowing that your great friends are your blogging/twitter friends!

That's it...my BONKfest.....it was awful and I will never allow myself to run in that condition again!!

RUN: 10.7 miles with Velcro (2:54)

9/11 and Happy Birthday to Me!

Remembering 9/11....it's been 8 years and I still wake up sad! I vividly remember that day 8 years ago....it was my birthday, as it is every year, and I woke up happy and was waiting to get my phone call from my mom-instead I was told to turn the tv off and I saw the horror of the attack!

I honor the 2755 people who died on 9/11. You will always be a part of my day! Rest in Peace.

As for me on this day, I am heading out for a run and then heading to work with the 10 Red Velvet Cupcakes I bought for my birthday, yesterday from Crumbs.com! No, I'm not eating them all!! But I try to embrace this day and male it as happy as I possibly can! I always seem to wake up a little depressed on my birthday now. But I try to make it a happy day!

Off for my birthday run!