Mount Laguna Trail Marathon

So what do you have planned for this weekend ? I am feeling really blessed that I get to run again this Sunday. I run around my house all the time but it is a real treat to get to run in the mountains for a girl with 4 kids who lives where I do.
 I love the feeling of crisp air surrounding me and the smell of the dirt and mountains. It makes me feel so grounded and whole. I feel really close to God when I am out there. You know life is so busy and full of stuff. I do wish I could slow down the whole thing and just sit with it all ….I feel like when your out running walking strutting, jogging whatever you choose to do you get that ..Life slows down a little bit and actually get to get rid of the crap that really doesn't matter in your head and then life seems so much clearer and whats really important seems to come to you. Its so good for you. Its like a veggie smoothie for the soul. So this Sunday I will be running the Mount Laguna Marathon. I ran it two years ago with these two guys.

Let me make my self clear .I did not run with them they are way faster than me but we all ran the marathon. I will be going at it alone this year and I am sure it will be great. Hey, I get to run for a bunch of hours so its a win win situation for me but I will miss my friends. Mike will be at the finish line with my mom and Jack and my little brother is coming too..Oh my dad too.

This is the medal I got two years ago and its my favorite one. 

This will be my last race for November and then I have the North Face half in December . I am once again excited to show up and try my best..
I am loving this quote . Run Often Run Long but NEVER out run the JOY of running...

The very hot Pumpkin Patch

We made it the Pumpkin patch..Even though it was only Bella and Jack . It was 96 degrees is that not crazy hot. It does not feel like October that is for sure. 

It was fun we went on the hay ride and just about melted.

Then we picked out a pumpkin and just about melted.. 

It was fun and Bella was really glad we went. Can you see the bags under my eyes ? I was still recovering from the race . Having a baby that wakes up a couple times at night doesn't help either.. October is a really fun month specially if you live were there is actually Fall. Here we fake fall but that is Okay too.

The Advice of Dean Karnazes

Oh la la …4th

I got the results from the race on sunday and I came in fourth in my age division.  Yeah that has never happened but its kinda of exciting.  This made my day . So I will smiling all day as I change diapers and cook dinner.. Life is good..

RUNNING TRAILS AT NIGHT | The Ginger Runner

I really like the Ginger Rummer. That is what is on my computer monday nights. Gotta stay motivated. You can subscribe on you tube..Good stuff

My Lake Hodges 50k race review

Hi guys :) sorry it has been about a week since my last post but Jack and I had a really bad cold. I was actually looking forward to Sundays run when I was sick because there is nothing like a long run to clear you up. So Sunday morning the Hodges 50k started at 7am. That is such a good time to start a race because you can have  everything done by 7am. I had breakfast and I didn't forget anything. (that is a big deal for me ) I parked on the street and walked about a block to the start line. The weather was perfect. Not to cold not to hot. I saw a bunch of people I knew and that is always nice. I like hearing familiar voices. Specially the Oh Hi Gloria so glad your here.. Always nice.

We took of at 7am and the race director Jesse gave us a good morning send of with some directions and off we went. I have to say that everyone was really nice. Saying good morning and how are you ? Here and there. I felt good and I was excited to be able to run a 50k locally and actually because the weather was so great I was really looking forward to running so close to my house. Right after I took this picture I saw my friend Jeff running out there too. So that was an excellent surprise. 

I did not listen to my music for about 15 miles. I was really trying to work on having my breathing in control and good posture. I find when I run relaxed I can run farther . That's what we want people.. Long easy runs that don't hurt. The only thing that bothered me was my right knee and that's where I fell a while ago.  The scenery was beautiful and it was a flat race. I found out flat and cool was okay with me.

I ran behind this girl for a while she had a good pace and good form. Those are things I always work on. 

I did not stop at any aid stations . I had my Camel back with me and it was full of water and Trailwind with caffeine. I love caffeine. I did grab some bananas but quickly ran away. I am finding my body really likes bananas when I run.

I promised myself I could listen to some Dave Mathews after mile 15 and I did and it was good it helped me think about other stuff.. I honestly felt great the entire time. I prayed and I felt like my heart was so full of gratitude.. I got to be outside and I felt good and I was running. All things that make me happy. 
Around mile 27 I knew I needed to just push and not walk at all.  Its difficult in my mind when I see other people walk to not really want to walk. I only walked up Raptor Ridge because there was so many people walking I had no choice but in all reality there is no way I could run up that hill anyway. (one day ) after I came down I just played the game. 
 I kept finding the next person in front of me and try to catch them. That's always a fun way to keep yourself motivated. I got new glasses too. I could se everything clearly. That was nice too.

Here I am almost done. This is me being a total dork and saying hi to my dad. I wore orange and black for Halloween and I was really happy the whole time. My mantra was  Don't stop trying G. 

It took me 5:45 minutes. Not bad hu.. Last time I ran a 50k it took me about 7 hours so I did way better. Mike and Jack were also waiting for me. I was very happy with my time but most importantly my experience was awesome. I highly recommend this 50k. Its put on by Off road pursuits and the director is also an Ultra Runner. Really nice guy and the entire race went really well. 

The winner did it in 3:40. Crazy fast times. I saw the winner running and he was just flying by and it looked so easy for him. Love that. So here I am my medal my new glasses and me. 

Jack likes my pint glass and we had Subway and a bunch of good food after the race too. I am so thankful for my health and that I am able to run races like this. Its also nice to have my family waiting for me at the end. What I learned this weekend is you just have to keep trying and not give up. Oh and my cold is gone. See running is good for your health it made my cold go away…Happy Trails Peeps..

Next Sunday..

Hi. I have been resting up and being a mom. I have gone for a couple good runs but I a trying to listen to my body. I have a 50K that I have been looking forward doing this sunday. It will be my first time running The Hodges 50k. I have heard great things about this race and I am crossing my fingers its not to hot. I know its a really well put together race and the organizer is a really great guy. Mike has ran this race twice and he did great. I just want to have a good time and do a little better than my last 50k. The race is about 15 minutes from my house so that is very cool. A local 50k.
Lake Hodges is always full of runners I think its hard to find trails around here and you can get a-lot of solid miles out there.There are hills and its pretty.  I had a bad experience out there once so I really don't run there as much as I could. I ran out of water and it was over 100 degrees and I was not alone but it sucked . I will be running 31 miles out there Sunday so I should get over any feeling I have about Hodges while I am out there. I am looking forward to the experience and seeing some friends out there on the trail. Oh and seeing my dad and family at the finish line is always a huge plus. I have my kids this weekend so they will be there too. I love having cool races to look forward to but even more the cool life experience you get is kinda awesome .

Touring San Diego

This weekend we went to the Air and Space Museum . Kids are free at Balboa Park this month.. Jack Loves airplanes. He can say two words and one of them is Airplane.

We had great weather this weekend. I love going to Balboa Park. I just started making more and more trips to this great place. 

One of the really neat things about going to Balboa Park is every 15 minutes an airplane passes by. If I was a little kid and I loved airplanes and then I went outside and an airplane passed by that would be so exciting. Jack went crazy.

Ready Set Go…..This place was great there was so much to see and I highly recommend it.

Simple is good.

Everyone has been made for some particular work and the desire for that has been put in every heart. Rumi
I always battled with the notion that my calling was not enough. That it was not as good as other callings but when I am still - I hear the whispers in my heart and I know what I love to do and what fills my heart. Its simple and what I have to remind myself is that simple is good and how lucky am I that I know what I love.  I know what I love to do. First thing I need to not judge what I love. I am OK with knowing my family, running and all things paper are my loves.
I think sometimes we just brush the little things away ..when we grow up we put those things that make our heart sing aside. Its those things that will keep our mind and souls alive. If you love to do something and you don't think your good at it just practice and take it from me learning is half the fun. It really is. I am not the best scrapper but I love it so I do it. The process rocks. I am not the best cook but cooking for my family also rocks my world. I am not changing the world but I am changing my world for the best and that's good enough for me. 

Tourist Stuff

While we were in the Bay Area we got to tour Facebook. Mike used to work there so his friend showed us around.(nice guy) I was excited to see this place but Christopher was crazy excited to see it. It was very high tech college like. I was seriously impressed. We toured the grounds and got to go the sweet shop. Oh my gosh so so good.

It did not take long to view what we could but it was well worth the trip.

We also got to see Instagram. That was very cool with all there vintage cameras. It looked like a nice place to work.

but if you ask Jack and if he would speak he would tell you the best part was the gift shop . That's were he got his cute Facebook fox..It was nice to get to do something besides the race. I was so sore walking around but hey how many times do you get to tour a place like this.

D.C. 50 miler part 2

 I took this at mile 37. This was where I picked up my pacer Andy.  I know him from Instagram and he used to work with Mike so he was not a total stranger. He was the perfect pacer. He was very talkative and happy. That worked for me. Oh and he likes taking pictures and his wife is a scrapbooker. How cool is that he was a fun runner with great stories.. I was feeling great at this point. I was almost done. 

This was close to the end. There where balloons and lots of family and friends waiting for there runners. I felt the best Mile 30 to 35 . I felt the worse mile 40 to 42 by that I mean I felt so tired like all I needed was a 20 minute nap. I felt great after mile 42 not because I was almost done but because I kept thinking this is what I have wanted for the last couple years and here I am. DOing it. SO I tried to take it all in. My wish came true. 

Maybe this sounds a little wimpy but I dreamt about having enough time to train and not getting injured and actually getting to go do this for a very long time. Everything came together and I finished my first race. This is Andy and a very tired me and Jack looks tired too.

At the finish with my family. My phone was a little blurry I forget to clean it. I got a cool Jacket and a wine glass but no medal. I wanted a medal but hey I put the wine glass on top of my medal rack.

Thats the end of my adventure ..I loved this sign. This is what I learned ultra runners are cool people they talked with me and we shared special moments. I love this freaking sport. I love that I came in smack in the middle of my age group. I love that I came in 11:47 minutes and yes I believe if you want something bad enough you will get it..You just need to put the work in. I loved all 50 miles. I hope to do this same race next year I give it 5 stars..Dick Collins marathon/ 50 miler..

Dick Collins 50 miler part 1

Hi guys I made it. I am going to tell you half of my story today and I will post the other half tomorrow because I am waiting on those pictures. We flew into San Jose and the night before the race Jack was seriously unhappy. I think it was his teeth but having a crying baby in a hotel room is stressful so I got maybe 3 hours sleep. I was up at 4:30 am and my butt was at the start  by 5:45am. The race started at 6:30 so I had plenty of time to get my bib and go to the bathroom and get my drop bags to the right place. As soon as I got in line to get my bib  standing next to me was Dr. Gordy Ainsleigh wearing his number 0. It was really cool to see someone in there 60s that has been running for as long as he has who is still so passionate about running. This man has ran the Western states course 120 times. (crazy cool ) So the race started in the dark and I did not bring my head lamp and that was ok because there was so many people with them and the race starts on concrete for about the first 20 minutes and by then the sun was out. 

The really cool thing about running this distance is that I can talk when I run because I am running at a pace I can keep for 50 miles  right? I first met a lady that lives on the same street as my mother in law. She was really sweet and this was her first 50 miler and she was in her 50s. Thats so perfect. Then I met lady who ran up to me and said hey wanna talk ? I said sure and for about 2 hours we ran together. She was 20 years older than me and could kick my butt any day. I was and am so inspired to keep running and stay healthy. 

I took these pictures while running and there no the best but the course was so inspiring. I would look up only to see these majestic massive trees all around me. 

This race Dick Collins Had the best aid stations I have seen in a race. I know I haven't ran that many trail runs but these people where serious about there stations. They all had huge smiles and they were very excited to help you. I made sure to thank them all for being there. Its always great to see so many happy smiles when your out trying to run 50 miles.  I felt strong and happy and the hardest part was the hills. There was so many hills. They never stopped . Just ask my legs.

I just kept running and I did not use music. I talked a-lot with God. I did most of the talking but I felt heard. I knew I wanted to finish around 11 hours so I also did a-lot of math. I was so freaking happy..

I was at the top of world. So for nutrition I drank Trailwind until mile 25 . Then I started with a GU every 45 minutes and I had a banana at every aid station and I felt great. 

You could see clear to San Francisco. 

Its kinda hard not to be happy when your running here. 

30 minutes before I got to the turn around this guy I met his name was Rob told OK Gloria for the next 3 miles we get to run down hill lets go. It was so cool we ran together as fast as we could down hill it was not that fast but I felt like I flying with some pain but it was a great feeling. 

This was mile 25. There was a great aid station and good food and drop bags. I sat down and put some stuff in my bag and got up and started up again. I did not want to stop for to long I just wanted to keep going. It was a little warm but totally manageable.  

Twitter time

If you want to fallow me on my run tomorrow you can ! My friend let me barrow his spotter . Every couple miles it sends a signal to tell my peeps to tell them where I am and my time. He also set it up to go to my twitter account. So you can fallow me and get updates. Cool hu !! https://twitter.com/theglor   Happy trails.

San Jose day 1

We arrived in San Jose around 9 pm last night. Jack cried on the plane and that was so stressful mostly because it was that pain cry. His ears must of really hurt him. Its always hard when babies cry but when its your baby its so difficult. If you see a mom with a crying baby on a plane be extra nice to her I am sure she feels really stressed. We got to our hotel and all went straight to bed. Today was amazing . I reconnected with a very old friend on Face book recently. We were best friends 25 years ago. That is crazy hu !  Let me say that when I love when your my best friend I treat you like gold.
We wrote notes and letters we sat up in bed late at night and talked about what we wanted to be when we grew up. We shared our deepest secrets and I was able to tell her about how much I missed my real mom. You know we did each others nails and she french braided my hair. She was always really smart and I admired her so much. While I was acting crazy she was very settling.
OK,  so I saw her today !!!!!!! I wanted to cry but I held back . I feel like there is this huge gap of time that passed but really its just us. This is not the best picture of us but its the most focused one. We caught up on life. It was good. I feel like I had a huge cup of a sweet chamomile tea for my heart. Its moments like these that make all the bad stuff just go away. Moments like today are heart healing..So now that I am all warm and happy inside..

                                                   Lets Run !!!!
My big run is in the morning. My second ultra my first 50 miler. I have ways wanted to run this distance . Ok not always but for 6 years. I have wanted this and now its here. I will keep you posted ..
EEEEKKKK here goes peeps. I am really grateful for today . Happy Trails friends. 

Touring my town and some thoughts

I had a huge urge to get out of the house today so while my older kids were in school jack and I went to Balboa Park. I couldn't take my big camera because when your baby boy is mobile you have to pay lots of attention. I really like Balboa Park because its not easy to find a place that has lots of trees and lots of green grass around here. So we ran around from one end of the park to the other.

There is also a green house and they had so many pretty flowers in bloom. Jack walked so much today. I think its the most he has walked in one day. 

So yes this little boy owns my heart. We had fun and he just kept walking and walking. So tomorrow we will be going on a plane and Jack is going to his first 50 miler … I am excited and feeling quiet all at the same time. Half of me thinks I am crazy and the other half is super excited for the run itself. I get to run all day Saturday and I love running. That makes me happy and leaves me feeling like I have a cheat day. I call days like my Birthday cheat days. A whole day just for me. A cheat / Gloria day. Then I think about the fact that its a race and that carries expectations. So I am just going to think about it like fun 50 mile run day. I am getting all my stuff ready right now… I need like 10 Gels and I need to pack my first drop bag ever…
Life is exciting over here a trip to the park with her baby by day and off to run a crazy distance on the weekend. I love this great gift of having our own life and making our own adventures. I am taking it all in the nerves and the stillness and the butterflies in my tummy. I will keep you posted.