Nike's She Run's LA 80's Theme

This past weekend I ran Nike's 10K She Run's LA that started at Paramount Studios that ran through Melrose and back. My friend Libby had asked me to run and I thought, why not? I like neon, 80's, running, tutu's, Duran Duran and teasing my hair with aqua net. Perfect! My outfit consisted of neon splattered spandex shorts and a turquoise matching top. I looked REAL good. Trust me. There are no pictures needed. Just imagine workout video circa the 80's.

 While I didn't PR at this race and the excuses I am making for myself/ego are as follows:

 A. That running a Half Marathon allowed me to be running free for 2 months

 B. I hadn't ran more than 4 miles until the week of the race

 C. I've gotten pretty lazy since February

Ok, fine really bad excuses, but at least I got out there on a Saturday morning! Towards the second half of the race I got really exhausted and had to walk just a leeetle bit. The course wasn't bad but it was confusing when one of the signs had 5KM up and in my tired brain I read 5 miles and didn't realize it meant 5K. Yup, I'm a 'real' runner. I'm asking Santa for a Garmin this year. Anyways, once I saw Paramount I decided to sprint as I always like to save energy for the last .2 but clearly I didn't study the course very well and we had to run that .2 throughout Paramount Studios. I was in hell. The last part had so many sharp corners that I had no idea when it was going to end. So as you can see that my 5K split was a decent 8:56 I gained a minute + on the second half thanks to my exceptional ability to walk.

 At the end of the race I saw my gf Meg waiting for me at the finish line. Apparently, she had seen us running and decided to jump in. So we all three walked around the and listened to The Spazmatics and then quickly decided we were hungry and headed to grab brunch. We ate at Simplethings down the street on Third which was really delicious. Their salads are HUGE and at a good price. I recommend the spot for any of you eastsiders. Worth a visit for sure.

Also, instead of getting a t-shirt for running you got a leather bracelet that was intertwined with gold which was designed by the surfing brand, Hurley. It is pseudo cute in the 2003-2005 juicy couture fashion kinda way. MAYBE, I'll sport it some day. Yeah, probably not.

 What's next? The Color Run in Irvine on Sunday. I'm running it with my new running bud, Meg.  It is a 5K and you get sprayed with all sorts of fun colors. This is going to be one interesting run for sure.

Race for the Rescues 2011

On Sunday I ran a 5K with my dear friend D. It was all the way in Pasadena and I hadn't been there in quite some time because I was pleasantly surprised of how beautiful it is over there. I made a mental note to go out there and 'hang' more often. The Race for the Rescues race was held at the Rose Bowl and it was to benefit 10 non-profit, no-kill, animal welfare organizations. While I don't own any animals (does a few succulents count?) I grew up with them my entire life. So when D asked me to help support and run I said sure! There were sponsored tents after the race and I ended up winning a spa doggy day for D's pup. Mr. P will have one fun day getting a blueberry facial. Lucky dog! I had a lot of fun wondering from booth to booth and might have even got my face painted..

Ever since I graduated I have signed up for quite a few races: The Santa Monica 5000, Venice Christmas Run, ThunderCloud's Turkey Trot and the Zilker Holiday Tree Run just to name a few.  I never was a talented runner by any means but I really enjoy the way you can just lose yourself. I consider myself more the tortoise than the hare but I finish the race. I am usually a 9-10 minute a mile girl currently. I will improve. I find that I have better times running outside than when I do on a treadmill. It is difficult for me to run outside in LA with all the smog that I inhale while running I just avoid busy streets (hard in LA, let me tell ya!)  I will be running in a Turkey Trot in Seattle (hopefully with my lovely sister!) that I am super excited for. I added a mileage widget to the site to monitor my running as I plan on running a half marathon sometime soon and want get my mileage up before it. So I will be adding my miles and times. Improving each time.

Race!

my little sister and I with our kitty Princess. I am rockin' that side pony tail like it is no ones business. thanks mom.