Finally!

If you celebrate I hope you had a Happy Easter. :) I am not that into it but I woke up to a basket which was fun!!

I am all moved into my new place. Moving sucks I have decided. I wish I didn't have as much furniture as I do that is the biggest drawback. Now that I am done with quals, conferences, and moving I am hoping to get into more of a scheduled groove. 

Friday was awesome I found a new favorite loop inside the Fullerton Flats. I think I am going to call it my "Parks Run" because I run through seven (?) or so parks that are along several trails that make up most of the trails in Fullerton. 

 Hiltscher Park

 Hiltscher Park

 Robert E. Ward Nature Preserve

 Robert E. Ward Nature Preserve

 Laguna Lake Park ~ by this time I was ready for a swim!!

 Juanita Cooke Greenbelt Trail

  Juanita Cooke Greenbelt Trail

  Juanita Cooke Greenbelt Trail

 Very friendly water stop provided by private home owners that live along the Juanita Cooke Trail

Thought I would share some pictures I took of my little pet Daysi Rose.. she is getting used to her new home. 

  

 Eating a strawberry.

 She is so cute. Very sweet little thing. Too bad I can't take her running with me. ;)

My First Trail Race Ever!

I ran the last race of the OC Chili Winter Trail Run series (thank you for the suggestion Lauren!!) today! It was amazing and the people were SUPER nice!! No problems getting in other peoples way until the very end. I really like how they set up the trail because it started uphill and the trail was really wide and open there which allowed for faster people to get by the slower people and then it was down hill the last three miles. The downhill part was pretty narrow but it was fine because everyone I was around just took it at an easy jogging pace and no one was fighting to pass.

I got there pretty early because I didn't know where I was going and I was a little nervous that it would be up a mountain. The park was on rolling hills which was cool because it was easy to get to. I watched the people and hung around for a bit went to the bathroom (which was right there and was flushable Yay!) then it started.

The first mile I felt great! I was really enjoying the scenery and the people I was near were just jogging. I ran the first half of the mile and then hiked a little on the initial way up. Once we started that initial climb - those were the people I was with for almost the entire race. I totally missed the mile one marker. I didn't even think about how far I had gone until I (surprise!) saw the marker for mile two. I was feeling good with jogging most of it until first half of mile two and then there was a super steep hill where I got REALLY hot. I was really going slow in fact I took a mini break in the shade for a minute then kept going.

I jogged/ran all the way down mile 3 and 4. I really enjoyed those miles - 3 because it was nice to finally be able to run my legs (which were all warmed up from the hiking) and 4 because it was shady and nice. Mile 4 was also fun because I was in a sort of "pack" and we were all just moving together and it was really nice to just know that I could keep up with them. I felt really great physically. Being in the pack on a narrow trail also forced me to push myself harder than I do when I run alone because 1) I didn't want to get into anyones way and 2) I didn't want to let the people behind me get in front of me ;).



Mile 4 to 4.85 I had a hard time. I jogged the first half of the last mile but then I actually got a bit sick and had to walk the last half of it. I think I got a little too hot because my eyes were doing weird things. Everything seemed really bright and weird and my head felt a little dizzy. Right after I finished I beelined for home. I was a little bummed to not go to the after scene because it sounded fun but I was worried that I was heat stroked or something - I was fine after chilling out for a bit at home.

So in the end - I completed it in 1 hour and 12 minutes - I finished after a few people I started with but I finished before a few people I started with too. Overall it was a really great experience that I am definitely doing again next year. Only next year I am planning to complete the entire series.

Bad Blogger!

Well.. I have decided that I am terrible at this blogging stuff. The time really gets away from me and before I know it - it has been almost a month since I posted!! Canada was great! The conference went well and I got to meet some fab people! I don't have any pictures to show for  it... because I didn't take any of my own and Facebook doesn't allow photo stealing anymore which is how I obtained most of my trip pictures in the past - because I am a lazy person.

This month has been crazy - First was Canada and then when I got back I found out that I needed to move from Riverside to Orange County by May 1st. I have been packing like crazy and spending all my free time on that. However, I have been running on the sly.. mostly easy trails near Fullerton.. I call them the Fullerton Flats although they have proper names - I just don't know them - and also Quail Hill and Back Bay in Irvine and Newport Beach.

I am a little sad to be moving from Rside - I lived in a decent area, loved my room (it was huge), and loved the trails that were 5 minutes from my house also school was 5 minutes away. I am not looking forward to commuting to school! Ew. The cool thing about living in OC is that it is near awesome trails, the house has a backyard pool, and the house also has cute kids living in it that I'll get to see all the time. :D

Tomorrow is a trail run that I signed up for and I am super nervous about it. I have never raced on a trail and I am REALLY worried I will get into peoples way (becasue I am slow) and piss them off. The plan is to get there early and stay in the back. It is very short - only 5 miles which is nice and it starts at 8:30am so it should still be a bit cool which is nice too. I am excited to go see what it is all about!