Good morning!  How are you guys doing?

We got home yesterday evening and I’m so excited to finally have the time to fill you in on the California Classic Weekend.

I’ll start with the good and move on to the bad & ugly tomorrow, so if reading a post about a train wreck is your thing, you’ll want to check it out.

We got to  Chukchansi Stadium an hour early and had no problems finding parking.  In fact we scored a spot 1 block away from the start plus it was free.  Already winning! (You know you’ve been in the bay area too long that you are excited over free parking!)

Turns out my friend Britney & her fiancée were just a few cars behind us.  This girl is a total rock star.  She did her first Century ride and one of the route direction signs got blown away in the wind.  They made a wrong turn and this girl owned the “bonus” 6 miles.  She is freaking amazing!

Then we made our way to the start line.  I love it when races are organized and start on time and the Classic is no exception.  They had plenty of porta potties, and take it easy on us by not sending us on a hike to get to them.

I hung out with my running & cycling enabler while we waited for it to start.  His support of my crazy adventures is amazing.  I couldn’t imagine doing this stuff without him.  I kind of love that boy.

The first 5ish miles are slow since they are through residential streets with a police escort.  But then the coolest part of the ride is when they close down Freeway 168 for 10 miles and turn us loose. 

It’s definitely worth doing this ride just for this experience.  I mean, how often do you get to ride your bike on the freeway?  Legally of course. 

After the freeway, the first rest stop wasn’t far away.  I stopped for a minute or two but was feeling so good I decided to keep going.  A lot of these miles were on back country roads that were not blocked off, but clearly marked.  Oh how I miss wide open spaces.

Miles 15-25 went by so fast.  Every few minutes I hear my Garmin beep with every completed mile and I couldn’t believe how they flew by.

The last few miles are in town and again not blocked off so there was a lot of stopping at red lights.  My buttocks (<-said in Forrest Gump voice) appreciated the rest.  

As I crossed the finish line I spotted little grandma!!  Mike surprised me by picking her up. 

You guys!!  I can not even tell you how happy I was to see her.  I often think of her telling me “you can do anything you want to, you just have to do it.”  Her words have gotten me through some rough runs & rides.  I wish you all could meet her. 

And my Lu came with us too.  I freaking love this girl.  She has been to most of my races and is such a cute little cheerleader.  In real life too.  Can’t wait for her to come hang out this summer.

I was hoping to finish under 3 hours and was surprised to see I blew it out of the water.  I’m not fast by any means, but it’s nice when I underestimate myself.

I, SCB think it should be mandatory for every warm weather race to hand out bottles of water and ice cold towels with medals.  I can not tell you how awesome it was!  I swear the Classic really does think of everything.

All rides & races are chip timed and I dig that the riders get medals too.

My left IT Band was screaming at me so I headed over to the massage booth where Julia worked all of the pain and tightness out.  It felt completely normal after and I made sure to stretch it out a few more times.

As soon as we got back to the hotel, I took a nice long bath and slipped on my compression socks to recover for the half marathon the next day.

**A HUGE thank you to the California Classic for the bib!  All opinions in this post are mine and I approve this message.**

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What was the most unique thing you saw a race do?

What would you like to see a race offer or do that would be really neat?

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!! 

I’m just checking in to let y’all know that I survived the ride yesterday.  I had a blast and can’t wait to tell you all about it.  Plus the very special surprise Mike had for me a the finish line. <3

We’re soaking up as much time with our friends & family before we leave this afternoon, so I will write a full post about the ride tomorrow.

But first, I have a half marathon to run.  Whaoo!

Thanks so much again for all of your encouragement & well wishes.  It means so much to me. 

Cyclist friends, what’s the longest distance you’ve ever done?

Tell me your favorite race ever.  Why?

Good morning!!  Anyone racing this weekend?  What distance are you doing?

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Before you read my lame writing, watch this video!!  I promise it will make up for the rest of this post. 

If you don’t want to workout after this, there is no hope for you.

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Hide yo wife, hide yo kids Fresno, because we’re on our way.  After I hit publish of course. 

I spent yesterday packing.  Well, that was after a trip to Starbucks, the dry cleaners and Bam & I worked on our tans.  It’s a ruff (<-had to) life we live, but someone has to do it. 

Plus it’s good to know I make great friend choices *cough SR cough* that enable your coffee addiction.

I hope I remembered all of the important stuff.  But, hey if anything I can run naked with my Pro Compression socks & Garmin.  As long as I have GPS I’m good.

Pandora got me through it, however that Carrot Cake bar was supposed to make it into the bag not my belly.  Oops.

Did you know it’s a proven fact that cleaning your running shoes makes you run faster?  Just go with me on this one mmmkay.

And I got this little surprise in the mail.  I love getting cool stuff like this instead of lame-o bills. 

Blogging will be kind of wonky this weekend, but I’ll pop in with updates. 

If I survive.  In the meantime, feel free to stalk me on Instagram because it’s my other addiction right up there with coffee & running.

What is the one thing you can not run without?

What did you think of the Nike Rise & Shine video?

What was the last cool thing you got in the mail?

Good morning friends!!  Today is Mike’s Friday and I will be spending the day packing for the weekend.  Here’s to hoping I don’t have a blonde moment and forget anything important…like my bike.  Cross your fingers for me mmmkay.

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Yesterday I did my hair and actually put on real people clothes.  Sometimes I wonder about myself.

Access Communications invited me to their SF office to try the new Luna Bar and I didn’t want them to think I’m homeless or anything.

They promised snacks, wine, an unlimited Luna Bar vending machine (no joke!) and promises to try their newest flavor, Carrot Cake.

It has 8 grams of protein & 3 grams of fiber, is 70% organic and get’s two cream cheese covered thumbs up from SCB.

Fun facts about Luna:

• Luna Bar and Clif Bar are owned by the same company.  I never knew this.
• Luna is geared more towards women since the bars are enhanced with iron, folic acid, calcium & vitamin D.
• Clif has a winery.  Too bad I had to act like an adult and skip them since I was driving. 

I really dig their transparent marketing that promotes an active, healthy lifestyle and the fact that they suggest their bars as an addition to a snack or dessert, not a meal replacement.  Plus they meet Whole Foods standards so they must be good, right.

I also got to meet the lovely Page.  This girl is training for an ironman next month, so that automatically makes her way cooler than I’ll ever be.  That vending machine is so worth posing for.

If you’re interested in winning a Luna vending machine, visit their Facebook page to enter. 

**I wasn’t cool enough to be paid or compensated to tell you about all of this cool stuff, I’m just looking out for your best interest.  Kinda like my friends who demand I go to certain coffee shops. 

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I got home, ate dinner and took a shower.  This is what I saw when I got out of the shower. 

Bam is claiming he is innocent and something about why you always gotta blame me? 

I believed my sweet little fur child so we had a line up to catch the bone thief. 

Who do you think did it?

What’s your favorite protein bar flavor & brand?

I typically like Lara Bars.

Have you ever forgot something uber important while traveling?

Not yet, but I don’t want to jinx it. 

Good morning!!  I hope your week is going well.

Yesterday I did my last little run before race weekend.  I am so ready to pound the pavement for 48.1 miles!

I went to Sports Basement, which is a runners heaven to pick up fuel and eye all of the delicious running fuel.

My favorite brands are Jelly Belly, Nuun, Sharkies and Cliff Shot Bloks, but only the margarita flavor because it has 3X the amount of salt and I have a thing for salt. 

This pretty lady has a great post on fueling during a marathon.

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I’ve been a faithful follower of several healthy living blog’s for years now and thought it would be fun to do a little throw back of blog fads that came & went back in the day. Here are a few I remember off the top of my head;

The Blogging Pants:  From what I recall the idea behind this was sparked by the book/movie Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants.  Bloggers would write an inspirational quote on them and mail them to another blogger.  I have no idea how it ended or who has them, it’s been so long.

{photo from HTP}

Cherry Chocolate  Bomb Smoothie:  I don’t know who created this, but it swept the blog world like the swine flu swept through Mexico.  I can’t find the original recipe or who created it, but the name say’s it all.  If you know the creator or recipe, please share it!

{pic source}

• The Green Monster Smoothie:  I remember Angela created this several years ago and it’s still pretty popular.  The basic idea is to add something green to your smoothie like kale or spinach.

Barney Butter:  Everybody was jumping on the Almond butter train.  It’s still quite popular, but I remember seeing this brand on almost every HLB out there at the time.

What brand of fuel do you use when riding and/or running?

Jelly Belly Sport Beans, Gatorade & Nuun.

Share your HLB throw back memories!

What one thing you could live without seeing on blogs?

Pictures of oatmeal. 

Good morning!  How are you doing? 

I’m kind of liking this whole taper thing a lot more than I thought I would.  As much as I love training, it feels nice not to feel the self imposed pressure to get my run or ride in.

Is it too early to start packing?  I already started my packing list and made a trip to Costco for a few travel things like a case of water.  That’s a life saver when we’re on the road.

I also made a pit stop at the outlet mall to exchange a top at Nike and there just happened to be a Hollister outlet there too.    Hollister is my favorite clothing store.  I love the beachy, relaxed look and their extra low rise bottoms, which I love. 

I picked up 2 long sleeved tops for $5 each.  Score!

I have a confession to make.  Okay well several… 

About a half hour before Mike get’s home every day I go on this crazy cleaning rampage.  I have a thing for exploding when I’m getting dressed, making lunch or whatever I’m doing.  I don’t consider myself or Mike messy people.  But sometimes I don’t have it in me to clean as I go.

Every once in a blue moon Mike surprises me by coming home early then he’s shocked to see sweaty gross workout gear laying in the kitchen floor, dishes piled in the sink and Bam digging every toy he owns out of his toy box. 

Hey man, at least I’m not the only one.

I don’t like using reusable bags at the grocery store only because I feel like I am forced to.  Pretty much the entire bay area has outlawed plastic bags and are forced to only carry paper bags.  They charge 10 cents per bag and I am way too cheap to pay it so most of the time I have something like bacon, deodorant, razors or banana’s in my purse.  Those punks aren’t going to get my 10 cents, yo.

I wore linen pants to Whole Foods the other day and felt like I totally fit in.  I was only missing Birkenstocks, a hemp necklace and a American Express Black card.

One of my favorite things to eat is Ramen Noodle Soup, but only the chicken flavor with cock sauce and lemon juice.  As long as I don’t look at the nutrition label, I’m good.  Ignorance is bliss.

I always want to adopt the dog with the most um, character.  Only 3 legs & missing an eye, tri pod, you’re coming home with me.

New readers, that’s my dog Pookie in the above pic.  I lost her last August and still miss that dumb, little furry face every single day.

Okay so this one’s going to sound totally weird and I don’t mean for it to be offensive at all but, I have never wanted kids of my own.  I’ve known this since I was a kid myself.  I do absolutely love them and don’t have any problems hanging out with them.  It upsets me when people find out I don’t want kiddos and automatically think I hate them.  So.not.true.

These pics are a couple years old, but I got to babysit my niece, Blair bear.  I’ll always remember that day when all she wanted to do was play at the park and listen to Justin Bieber Baby.  <3 

I am a very decisive person.  In fact Mike came home one day last week and declared we needed a new couch.  So we went to exactly 1 store looked around, sat down on one, looked at each other and bought it.  I bet we in & out in less than 30 minutes.  They are custom building it so we’ll probably get it later on the week.

Your turn!  Spill it, what’s your confession?

Are you decisive?

What’s your favorite junk food?

I’ve been talking about getting into trail running a little and although I’m not 100% sure I am actually going to bit the bullet and do it, I went to Road Runner sports to take a look at what colors options are available. 

I tried on the Asics Gel Scout (below), Saucony Peregrine 3 and the Brooks Cascadia 8.  I felt like my little life was over when I heard that my beloved Mizuno aren’t really into the whole trail running thing.  Say whaaaat?

Here are a few key differences between trail running and road shoes:

• They have a plate that sits on the ball of your foot through the arch to protect against bruising.  It’s a lot more firm and can not be twisted or bent easily.
• The heel cushioning is thicker and wraps around the heel so the shoe doesn’t slip on rough terrain.
• Some shoes (like the Asics) come with a gel cushioning that takes impact off ankles and knees.
• Treading has a rugged designed for traction on wet and muddy surfaces.  Wahoo bring on the mud runs babe!
• They tend to have a wider width for stability.

I tried on the Saucony’s on left & Asics on right and walked around for a bit to compare.

Then I tried the Brooks, but wasn’t a fan.  They are a bit wide, so it felt too loose even laced up tight.  I also found this to be the case when I switched to the Brooks Ghost 4 back when the Mizuno Wave Rider 14’s failed me, but let’s prevent another meltdown by not talking about it mmmkay.

So, if you have a wider foot, I would definitely recommend trying Brooks.

Asics for the win, hands down.  My feet are slightly on the narrow side they felt nice and snug around my whole foot, yet the toe box had the perfect amount of wiggle room.  If I decide to get into trail running I will definitely take them into consideration.

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Yesterday Mike & I went to downtown Saratoga to check it out.  The cool thing about living here is there are tons of little towns with a lot of charm & character.

I like you already!

We were looking for a place to have lunch, but forgot it was Mother’s Day and every restaurant were packed, so we headed to downtown Los Gatos which is bigger.

I just love the character here!

Mike choose The Mmoon Empanada’s.  It was my first time trying empanada’s and I am now wondering where I’ve been living all my life.  I had one pizza and one ham mac & cheese.  They were both freaking awesome.

Mike & I love to people watch so we sat along the front bar.  Then watched this guy with trash stuffed inside his shirt pulled 2 almost empty coffee cups out of the trash and started drinking out of them. 

We were so grossed out and the germaphobe in me was squirming, so Mike quickly asked me if I had cash and ran out to pay the dude to leave.  The man asked Mike “what did I do?”  Mike handed him a couple bucks to go buy himself a cup of coffee and sent him on his way.

How’s that for ambiance?

We had a good laugh as we popped into the cutest little shops.  I kind of really like these a lot.

And this table.  Oh this table!  It’s beautiful, but not for 5 grand.

Can you believe I went to Starbucks and did not get a coffee?  It was hot out and an iced tea sounded refreshing.  And it was but I am still questioning who I am.

It’s taper time babe!!  I will be doing a couple light runs and taking some time off from heavy training this week to rest up for the Classic.  This has been my post injury race goal and the excitement I’m feeling is pretty dang amazing right now knowing that I will be able to participate in it. 

Trail runners, what shoes do you run in?

Any funny or not so funny dining ambiance stories? 

If you could run any race in the world for free, what would it be?

Anything Disney because I refused grow up.

Happy Mother’s Day to my ma who love’s to cook and refused to pass that gene onto me!!

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Let’s rewind a bit to Friday.  I met up with this girl.

We hit up the Whole Foods hot/salad bar where I learned the perfect ratio of tots to salad.  Gimme some of your tot’s Napoleon. 

We talked about school, fiber, farmers market and how we want to live in Whole Foods.  We are so exciting. 

And because no lunch is complete without Starbucks in the book of Jacqueline, we walked about a half a mile to find the golden place of happiness.  There is always one within a half mile up here so the “Bucks crisis are very limited, thank goodness.

On our way Gina pointed out Philz Coffee and demanded I go inside & check it out.  This is how I know that I make good friend choices, she was totally looking out for me. 

They make each cup of coffee separately so it’s uber fresh and exactly how you prefer it.  Not sweet enough, NBD they add a little sweetener. 

The line out the door is a good sign too.  I’ll have to go with Mike next time.  We were short on time since someone want’s to be smart someday and had to study for finals. 

After Gina & I parted ways, I got to deal with the insurance company and pick up a rental, which was so fun ha!  They actually hooked us up with a brand new BMW with less than 1,000 miles on it.  You can bet I’m going to drive it like I rented it.   

Then went to Costco to pick up Mike’s girlfriends. 

Yesterday I met up with this pretty face for an early morning ride.

We did 25 chatty miles and the whole ride just flew by.  We talked about cupcakes, races, her mothers wedding, and how we live so close to each other and didn’t even know it.  Oh and Lauren ran the CA Classic in 2011, the same year I did and we didn’t even know each other.  That’s where she got her P.R-1:33.  That girl can fly, yo!

I’m hoping this becomes a weekly thing because it was so much fun! 

{Thanks for the pic. Lauren}

I came home, ate a quick lunch and took Mr. furry mc trouble maker to the Los Gato’s Creek Trail for a long walk.

I’ve been so busy training, dealing with the car and a bunch of other things this week and kind of neglected my buddy.  Turns out if you don’t run a Jack every day, they use their energy to get into trouble.  So I made it a point to spend a lot of time with him outside yesterday.

Unfortunately it was a lot warmer than I expected so we didn’t last long.  I took him to play in the water fountain at Google to cool off on the way home. 

We got to hear Miranda Lambert warming up to Fix Your Makeup for the concert at the Shoreline Amphitheater, which was kind of cool.

What was the last thing you ate?

Banana & cinnamon raisin toast.  Oh and coffee of course.

Do you prefer working out with friends or solo?

I hope you are all having a great day! 

Mine started extra early, (for me anyhow) to do my last long ride before the race next weekend.

I’ve been hanging out with this furry face all afternoon at the park.  Turns out if you don’t exercise a Jack they use their extra energy to get into trouble.  It’s actually all my fault so I’m making up for it today.

We even heard Miranda Lambert warming up singing Fix Your Makeup for the concert this evening at the Shoreline Amphitheater.  That has to count for hearing her sing live.  No?   

I’ll be back in the morning with a recap of the last 2 days, until then have a great one!

Tell me something fun you did today?