Touring San Diego

The kids had no school this Wednesday so we decided to try The Midway again. I tried to get both my teens to come with me but I could only convince one. We headed out at 11 am it has been super crazy hot in San Diego but when you are on the Midway there is always an awesome ocean breeze.
My favorite part is watching Jack try and fly all the small planes and Bella joined him so it was double the fun.

Lunch is really good on the midway too. I had the veggie 

sandwich and Bella had chicken nuggets along with Jack. Its so much fun to sit and talk about everything we saw and plan what else we are going to do. We stayed on the Midway for 3 hours and then headed to Seaport Village for a nice walk and to see the Kite man. Jack loves him. We had a great time and on the way home both the kids fell asleep. I think that means I did a good job. I love mini exploration trips.
Now its time to get ready for The Cuyamaca 100k. Saturday morning send me some good running vibes and see me happily doing my thing please. I am planning on just enjoying myself and taking it easy. I am thinking 17:30 hours or so. I will share the entire story with you soon. I am looking forward to it . San Diego puts on really good ultras and with the weather we have how can one complain. You can't !! Happy weekend peeps may you be filled with happiness and joy this weekend.

Last Night

This picture was taken 9  years ago. Last night my friend and I went  to a concert. It was Dolly Parton. She has loved Dolly since she was little and I actually remember sitting in her room listening to her little record player  while  she would play  Jolie . Back in the day her mom looked like Dolly to me, Big Blond hair and beautiful. She is  one of the people in my life that own a piece of my heart. I will  always  love her. She feels like my sister. Sometimes we don't talk for months and we live close to each other. I try and call but she doesn't call me back but that's OK. Life is different for us and even though she might not call back as often as I would like I know she loves me. I am not a touchy person I don't hug or touch my friends much and that's OK with me. Last night with out thinking about it I leaned on her shoulder and just watched the concert. I didn't even think about it until I removed myself and It hit me how much I care and love her. I have no expectations because the time we have had together has already exceeded anything I could ask for. There is the Life journey we have traveled together. I don't judge her I just hear her and I think she does that for me. She thinks my running is CRAZY !! She is an amazing artist. I love all things America and I am Mexican and she loves all thing Mexican and she is American. I love kids  having them and being married. She never wanted kids she has a cat instead and she is not married by choice and she loves that. We made different choices and just accepted the others life path no questions asked.
 I was so happy to be able to take her to see Dolly. I hope one day we can go to Dolly world just for fun. Our history looks to me like  line that goes all the way back to when I was a little girl and there we are looking at each other.  Complete opposites physically but best friend with out even knowing it. I can't count the times she has told me your crazy Glor !! #grateful 

Monday Mood

This Sunday was good. I keep finding myself saying Thank You man upstairs for my people. Spending good quality time with my dad is huge. Do you think we can heal our child hood by raising and doing better by our own kids ?  I often feel I have and I am. I often  feel like running is The I made it, I am OK part of my life. When I am in the middle of the mountains by myself I cry all the time because I stand there and look around and feel like man our world is beautiful and I get to be a part of it. I don't know why I love running so much but that feeling of just moving and being free is so good. I feel it in the core of who I am. It heals it helps me grow it fills me with such love and gratitude for today. My people and movement make up such a huge part of who I am.. 

Saturday Thoughts

This morning I woke up at 5:30 am and headed out to meet my friends at Lake Hodges for what I thought was a 20 mile run but soon I found out it was 10. I stopped at Mcdonald's and got some coffee. I arrived on time Yeah !! It was an easy fun run and I really didn't feel like running but as soon as I got there I was happy to see everyone and get going. Running with friends is such a plus. The miles seem to just go by so quickly. I had previously decided that I really did not want to run Cuyamaca 100k next week. Its a really hard long course and I am was not feeling the love . Then after running with the gang I decided I would show up and for sure run the first two loops. The first loop is 30 miles and the second one is 12. Let me just say it is a crazy awesome race. The aid stations are great and the volunteers know what there doing. I am just being a big baby !! 

This picture is from last weeks race.
Thats the plan for next week 100k. Do the first and second loop. Then if I am done I will be ok with that. The third loop is so hard. I also feel like come on G. You know you can't just run the first two loops !!! You will have to finish once your out there. I just don't know what I will do but I am going to show up and find out. I hope you are having a great Saturday !!

September Thoughts

Do you ever feel like your living in this space where you know what you like and your surroundings are all familiar . You have your routine and you consider yourself lucky because you have a passion. Getting older I feel more secure about what is mine and at the same time scared that all my first have already happened. I often ask myself what is your big dream G. What would you love to do ? Whats holding you back ? My forever excuse has been having kids. I feel instant guilt when I put my needs first. I have had kids for 22 years. Half of my life. I never really thought that I could do things. Western States was my first big ME moment. I did something that with the help of my husband and Trail Crashers was all mine. It was and still is my biggest G moment. It taught me that I should keep trying to dream big because if I fall short I can always try again as long as I don't give up I am ahead.

Here are a couple of my big G dreams
 Go to college and I want to take writing classes .
 Have a calendar one day with my favorite paintings all done by me.
I want to run another 100 mile race. I am thinking San Diego 100 next year and I can have my kids pace me for a couple miles ..
How exciting my kids running with me.
My biggest one. Write a children's book a book about a little girl that came here from Mexico not able to speak English with out her mom or dad. How she was able to see the good in people and be more than OK.
The next step is always the scariest if you can dream it then you need to write a map that takes you there..Stop thinking about it and make it happen time..
Does this weather have you thinking ? Have a happy Day.
G

Noble Canyon race report 2016

Race day arrived just as planned. My friend Daniel picked me up at 4 am and I was grateful to have a ride. We arrived around 5:30 am and it was so so cold and it got colder. I got my number 122 and I got some coffee went to the potty and waited for 6:30am. 

before you know it the race started.
OK I am going to be honest here. I have been really tired lately and even though I am getting my miles in I just have not been feeling it. You know the happy freedom you usually feel when you run and you find your happy place. Its been missing but soon to return I am sure.
For this race I decided my game plan would be this. I wanted to have a good time and just try to be in the moment and take in the course. I thought to myself lets just look at it as a 31 mile day. I started in the back and hung out with some awesome runners. They told me cool stories and this runner right behind me was wearing sandals and the guy in front of me was 72 years young. That's what it is all about for me. I love the stories and I love the people I meet. A huge part of the  trail running community is meeting super interesting people. I ran in the near the back about  12 miles and then I felt like I was ready to run a bit faster. 

It was getting warmer and this was not an easy course but I just kept thinking baby steps forward  G. The aid stations where so awesome. The volunteers took great care of us and they had everything you could ask for. I had amazing cantaloupe and water melon and some bananas and potatoes. They had ice for us and filled my water bottles on the spot.  Arriving at every aid station was a relief was such a nice break. There ready to help you and I always felt better leaving than coming in.  

I started feeling really good at like 14 and like crap at 22. Gotta love the range of feeling you get to experience during an ultra. I saw a couple of my friends and got some hugs. I saw the awesome Scott Mills then my thoughts went to how lucky I am. I will always envision him at Western States calling me into Michigan Bluff looking at me and telling what I needed to do to keep going. Then he patted me on the shoulder and said you can do this. It was one of those moments that just stays with you because he is a legend in this sport. You know the man.
I was tired and hot but just kept taking baby steps said hi to everyone and just enjoyed the myself. 

I knew my friends would be waiting for me and I was anxious to see them and ready to be done. This is a tough course it descends Noble Canyon and then Pine Mountain and Indian Creek Trails. You definitely earn your medal at this race. My time was 7:29 and I am happy with that. Happy I got to meet so many new runners and hear so many inspiring stories. Happy to see my Trail Crasher friends. It is always such a nice reunion to see each other after knowing we where all out there doing our best getting out ass kicked somehow.
 I met a girl named Stormy and she was all sunshine. I would say that it was a great day and a tough race and I can't wait until year.

Finding what makes you come alive is what it is all about and for some of us its getting to kiss a rat after a long day !!! Good Times

Noble Canyon 2016

Tomorrow is Noble Canyon 2016. This will be my 4th year running it. It is a really fun 50k that is challenging for sure. The awesome part is there will be so many familiar faces there. Running is always better with friends. I don't think it will get to hot that is always a plus. This is a race I highly recommend. I will let you know how it goes..Happy Weekend.

Thursdays field trip

Yesterday we went to Old Town in San Diego. My plan was to go and explore.  Jack my dad and I got there around 11 am. Old Town has a ton of tourist and that's always fun to see. They also have 4 free museums and they are all fun. Jack is 3 and he loves them so we take our time and look at every little thing. I try to get as much in as I can in 3 hours because I have to be at my older kids school by 3:30 and that's about 45 min away. My favorite part about Old Town is all the Frida Khalo art. I love bright colors and the feel of the Mexican haciendas. So pretty. We strolled around and Jack sang on the stage they had there and that was so cute. Then we went to the Mexican Cafe and had lunch it was so good and so not healthy. My dad has not been feeling great so Its super important to me that I spend time with him. I feel like having Jack around just helps. That was our field Trip for week. I think it is really important to get out of the house as a stay at home mom staying home all the time can be a serious downer so I just don't do it. I know that getting out and seeing people is always good for the soul. Thats why even if I don't feel like it I make myself just get out and explore.

Weekend stuff

This weekend we ran at Lake Hodges. Everyone is tapering so there was no need to drive really far for 14 miles. I went to the wrong spot but eventually literally ran into my friends out on the trail. It was crazy humid but not to hot so the run was actually nice. We ran around Lake Hodges and it was nice to see so many runners out there and mountain bikers. Becca made cupcakes and after a couple of us went to breakfast.
I took today completely off and just rested and took a 2 hour nap. This next week I will just do short runs and the most important thing for me is I need to get to bed early. The older I get the better I run when I sleep at least 8 hours. That is not a bad problem to have. I love to sleep when ever Jack does. I have a busy week ahead of me filled with family dinners and a baseball game with my sister. I am really excited about saturday run .. Noble Canyon is so much fun because so many people I admire will be there running. I hope your week was good and happy times ahead..

This is now

This is my right now. Date night with my dad . We went to see a play last night . Loves labors lost and it was not my favorite. It was really hard to understand and really long. I feel asleep during the play. That has never happened before. My dad laughed at me and I felt like I was back in school. You know that history class that you could barely stay awake for and you kept nodding of at. That was me. It was good but it was not for me.
 When I am with my dad I feel this sense of time all around me. I know the moments I spend with him are so special and precious. I listen to what he tells me and try to bring my self back to being present all the time. He has always been so good me and now that he is getting older I don't want to miss out when it comes to just hanging out with him. We really have a good time together.
Today Jack and I headed to Lego Land. It was awesome. No lines!
We played and went in the fountain and had snacks. Then we went on 8 rides. How cool is that !! There was no spinning rides either . I was feeling tired and a little down this morning so I made the day about Jack and made a good dinner for the family and now I just feel tired and happy. Happy Days.

Taco Tuesday

What I am learning is this .. What do you have to lose if you try and see how high you can leap.. don't give up,  whatever it is your dreams are made of keep dreaming and planing to make it real..
Why not see how high you can jump ?

Saturday's Story

This Saturday I was supposed to wake up at 4:30 am to get ready and be out the door by 5am to make our Saturday morning run. I did not hear  my alarm and I totally over slept. (bummer)
fortunately my girlfriend spent the night and she woke me up at 5am. I hurried my butt and we where in the car driving to the mountains by 5:10 am . I did not have anything to eat except for a cup of coffee. 

We made it there by 6:40 and lucky for me everyone was running late and the whole group was still there. The SURF group  and The Trail Crashers both started in the same place. We ran 21 miles. It was the first loop of The Cuyamaca 100k. I was really tired the entire run. I had already put in 60 miles on my feet for the week but I really needed to get on the course and get some miles in at altitude. OK so I totally sucked and it was hard. My legs felt like heavy logs. The kind you have to pull behind you. I even thought about hitch hiking back but I was honestly so happy to be out there. I don't care that I was in the back I do feel bad that everyone had to wait for me but my friends where there waiting. Happy to see me every time I caught up to them so they could continue running. If I had any kind of direction savvy I would lead the slow group. Oh wait I would be the only  one in it for the most part.
There really is nothing better than hanging out in the mountains with a bunch of people you admire. I feel that running in the mountains is a place where you can put away all the hats we have to wear as adults and just be free. A bunch of free adults running up and down the mountain with no cares in the world. We ended up running 21 miles and 9 where up hill. One of us saw a mountain lion (not me ) I got almost 40 thousand steps in for the morning. (so cool) I got to hang out with my friends all morning oh and please let me not forget one very special friend jumped out of the bushes and made a noise like a lion and scared the everything out of me. 

We will all be running Noble Canyon 50k in about 2 weeks. Wishing everyone an awesome week. 

September Days

Happy September --
Can you believe its only 4 months until Christmas ? Crazy hu
Checking in with the plan for the month.
 I have a race coming up Noble Canyon 50k Sept 17th.  It is always exciting to have something on the books. My training is going well I wish I gotten  to the gym more but I will be happy with having enough time to get my miles in. My plan this month is to make all of our group runs too.. I thought I would write a list of the stuff I have been crazy interested in this month. Some to do with running other and motherhood.

I have been digging my new Under Armor shorts I got at REI. My favorite thing about them is they have legit pockets and they breathe so well. I had to get both black and blue.

After Western States I could put another GU in my mouth. I felt like I had a really bad GU hang over. It was not the GU it was my poor planning when it came to my nutrition but still I can't eat them yet so I switched to V-Fuel . I am really liking this stuff its easier to swallow because it is not so sticky and thick and it taste great. I like the vanilla flavor. My tummy likes it too. Its a win win.

OK lets talk how crazy I am about my Fitbit.  I am a loving it and have become a little obsessed with my daily steps after finding out I could compete against my friends and myself. This little bracelet is super rad.

My new shoes are working really well for me. I have gone through so many shoes and I know we are all different and I would recommend everyone go the REI or your local shoe store and try all different brands and trust your judgment. If they don't feel good on your feet  just be done with them and move on. I am really liking the Hokas  . I go to this website first and if I cat find them there them I buy them at the store.
My favorite food right now are almonds.. It is kinda silly but I am loving almonds.
My favorite song Gold Kiiara.  I am seriously digging this song.

The other thing I never leave home with out specially right now that Jack and I are going on our long walks is my City Stroller. This is not my running stroller it is my walking easy stroller. I can carry it with one hand and still hold Jack Stroller. It is really nice so he can nap in it and it is nice enough to go into a restaurant with it. It is super durable but it is not made for running. You need to get a BOB for running. Hands down the best stroller for running. I am also digging this lunch box for our snacks. Its so cute and it closes well. The puppy box.
Hope you are off to great start and may you have an awesome month !!