Long Beach Marina Sunday Morning Blogger Run

After this morning's weekly Long Beach SparkTeam walk, the Green Girl met up with Chris from What I Run Into and Rad Runner Girl at the Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath.

I met Chris on the course of the San Francisco Half Marathon. I was running and she happily ran up beside me to ask me if I was The Running Green Girl. I was flattered by the recognition and felt like a mini-celebrity.

The morning was overcast and chilly - the Green Girl's ideal running conditions.

We headed out on the beach path towards the Shoreline Village.

The conversation came easily, as it always seems to when runners are among other runners.

We followed the loop around the Shoreline Aquatic Park with the Queen Mary in the distance.

Chris will also be doing the Disney Princess Half Marathon so the three of us chatted about the upcoming race.

After we all parted ways, I grabbed a bite to eat and then decided to take advantage of the weather by getting some additional mileage in.

I had gotten a few more miles in when it started to rain. Cars splashed past me as I ran along the edge of Shoreline Drive.

I'm grateful for running and all the opportunities running has afforded me like meeting other awesome runners like Chris.

Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll, Run, Click

The Green Girl had a really good time at the Long Beach SparkTeam skate night at Skate Depot on Wednesday.

It's been awhile since I was invited to a birthday skate party so I had no idea the sport of skating had evolved since the 1980's.
Instead of the flimsy, faux leather skates with knotted laces that wouldn't loop through the holes, all the cool kids were sporting designer Stacy Adams roller skates with tiny wheels.

I was fascinated not only by their slick looking dress shoes on wheels but also by the way they could shake, pop, and glide across the skating rink.

I finally decided on the Canon S90 as a replacement for my beloved SD700. It arrived just in time for me to take it with me on my trip up to Northern California for my sister's graduation.

I went for a run this morning around my parent's suburban neighborhood.

I followed the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks down to Congress Springs Park where my niece loves to go up and down the slides.

Even though I grew up in my parent's house, the surrounding area is foreign to me. If I don't stick to the main roads on my runs, I end up getting lost in the maze of perfectly manicured lawns.
I headed back down the transportation corridor towards an overpass overlooking Highway 85.

For as far back as I can remember, Highway 85 was under construction but as soon as I moved away to college, they decided to get their act together.

I was so disappointed that I missed the opening ceremonies. The evening before they opened the freeway up to traffic, several cities along the route hosted a giant street party on the freeway.

In honor of the Highway 85's inauguration, the city of Campbell planted a number of pansies spelling out the city's name on the side of the freeway bed. Motorists slowed to read the message and created a traffic jam. The flowers were gone the next day.

On my way back, I passed the local fire station.

My niece is fascinated by law enforcement professionals so we often visit the station. We've observed them washing the giant fire trucks and playing on their little putting green.

Once, one of the firefighters even invited us inside but my niece wasn't comfortable going in so we politely declined.

I'm really looking forward to spending the extended Memorial Day weekend with my niece.

Sole Runners Trail Run With Rad Runner Girl

Rad Runner Girl joined the Green Girl on her Sole Runners Tuesday night trail run in Palos Verdes.

Rad Runner Girl is going to be doing the City of Laguna Hills Memorial day Half Marathon on Monday. She was anxious to get one last hill run in and she's never trail run before so she decided to come check out the Ocean Trails with us.

The weather was warmer than usual last night and there wasn't much of a breeze.

Rad Runner Girl took off with the faster group and I settled comfortably into the back of the pack.

Even though my beloved camera is on the brink, I still insisted on snapping [mostly blurry] shots along the trail.

The wildflowers have dried up and many of the stalks had turned the color of hay.

I felt a sense of libration on my run yesterday knowing I have finally found the right pair of shoes for my little feet. I love my 1012's.

Since I started running in them, I haven't had any plantar fasciitis flare ups or posterior tibial tendon discomfort. I also noticed my arches are a lot less sore when I do my nightly massages with the Tendon Rescue.

As we headed back down the trails, the clouds cleared and we could see a full moon in the bright blue sky.

I forgot to charge Mr. Green Garmin so he died on our way back.

Tonight is Long Beach SparkTeam skate night at Skate Depot. They offer 'Cheap Sk8' on Wednesdays from 8:00 - 10:30 pm. Skating and rental is only $6.75.

I can't inline skate because it aggravates my plantar fasciitis but I can roller skate.

I'm looking forward to a fun night of skating with the Sparkers.

First Summer Training Run and Long Beach SparkWalk

The Green Girl started off her weekend with the first Sole Runners session for the summer training season.

Coach Steve introduced all the Sole Runner mentors and then we did an hour long ChiRunning workshop before a short run.

By the time we started our run, the weather had warmed up and the heat was getting to me. I struggled to run an entire mile and then stopped for a walk break. I ran/walked the rest of the time.

I was pleased to see sweet slices of watermelon were waiting for us when we got back. They were the perfect treat before our post-run yoga* beside the marina.

Instead of heading back home after yoga, on a whim, I decided to stop by the OC Marathon expo.

The Kids Run the OC race was going on when I arrived. I enjoyed watching the kids walk around proudly with their medals around their necks. The expo even featured a smaller kids expo.

Sunday morning, my friend, Jackie, joined me for the weekly Long Beach SparkTeam walk at El Dorado Nature Center.

The Nature Center was in full bloom and the floral color palette was breathtaking.

All the little Nature Center critters were out enjoying the beautiful day. We saw bunnies hopping in the tall grass. Jackie spotted a hummingbird. We walked by a little squirrel eating a peanut.

I love how the Nature Center trail winds around the lakes and through both meadow and forested areas. The trees are so densely populated in some areas that they block out virtually all sunlight.

In a 2 mile hike around the Nature Park, you can experience chaparral, coastal sage-scrub, forest, oak woodlands, and grassland habitats.

On our way out, we spotted a family of turtles relaxing in the sun. I admired the coloring on a red-eared slider.

* The Green Girl was pleased to see she was still on speaking terms with yoga post-breakup.

Sunday Morning Long Beach SparkTeam Walk

The Green Girl has a routine on Sundays.

To begin, I always wear on my trademark orange SparkPeople shirt so I can be easily recognized by potential new Long Beach SparkTeam members.

One of the highlights of my Sunday mornings is catching NPR's Weekend Edition Puzzle Challenge on my way to the weekly Long Beach SparkTeam walk at the El Dorado Nature Center. I am looking forward to the day when I am picked to do the puzzle on the air with Liane Hansen and Will Shortz.

It was a magnificent morning for a walk. The ground was covered with dry brown leaves but the tree branches were bursting with rich green hues.

After the walk, I like to visit the Long Beach Southeast Farmers Market to purchase my fresh produce for the week.

I love the variety of local fresh fruits and vegetables the farmer's market affords the community. The Long Beach Southeast Farmers Market also offers fresh fish and meats like Lindner grass-fed bison.

Today, I purchased some cilantro and Swiss chard. I got a trio of sweet blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries, along with a big bag of juicy oranges. I also stopped and picked up some raw honey sticks after Isabelle mentioned them yesterday. I'm curious to see if they could be an option for Athens.

It seems like every time I visit this Farmer's Market, I run into some friends and today was no exception. I saw a couple of girls from my running group and another one of my friends.

After the Farmer's Market, I usually swing by the Long Beach State Associated Students Recycling Center to drop off the recyclables.

The Green Girl Experiences Full Body Vibration Therapy

The Green Girl tries to coordinate at least one free or low cost activity each month for the Long Beach SparkTeam.

For the month of March, one of the SparkTeam members arranged for us to attend a mat pilates class with Clint Bigham, the owner of 2020 Fitness.

After a challenging mat pilates session, he encouraged us to try out some of his equipment.

There was an InBody body composition analyzer, TurboSonic vibration therapy devices and Vibraflex machines. 2020 Fitness also has an infrared sauna. This was the first time I was exposed to whole body vibrational technology.

To start off, I tried out the Nuga Best Therapeutic Thermal Massager. I took off my shoes and lay down on the bed. Rollers went up and down the length of the bed along my spine for an intense massage. I could feel some of the tension in my lower back being released. My feet rested on the tourmanium ceramic plate on the end of the bed.

The Thermal Massage Bed is supposed to also promote Chi 氣 flow through the body. This automatic acupressure thermal massage system is essentially a bed with projectors made of Jade that roll up and down and massage your body. The Jade stones contain minerals, calcium and magnesium. According to the manufacturer, when the deep infrared heat rays pass and penetrate through the Jade stones special crystalline layers, the stones emit a specific wavelength and frequency that correspond with certain elements in our body.

Nuga Best also says when the tourmanium ceramic is heated, it emits deep infrared rays and negative ions. They claim this helps treat illness and pain while strengthening the body's immune system.

After getting a really good massage, I decided to go try out one of the whole body vibration machines. This particular vibration machine essentially looked like a giant scale. I stepped on it and pressed the button to turn it on. Immediately, the machine started violently shaking my entire body. Even my teeth were chattering.

A few of the 2020 Fitness regulars commented that they swear by these full body vibration machines to help them recover quickly after their workouts.

I wasn't too crazy about the vibration sensation so I turned off the machine and stepped off.

I love being exposed to things that are new and different so I'm really glad the Long Beach SparkTeam had the opportunity to experience the different types of equipment at 2020 Fitness.

El Dorado Nature Center Walk

Every Sunday morning, the Green Girl walks with the Long Beach SparkTeam. I really enjoy our weekly walks.

We usually walk around the El Dorado Nature Center but due to recent restoration efforts, we've been using the park across the street as a temporary detour.

We were pleased yesterday when we discovered we could return to the Nature Center for our walk.

The 100 acre El Dorado Nature Center is part of the El Dorado East Regional Park. The park sits on what was previously farmland. It features only California native plants from 5 regional plant communities - oak woodland, riparian, chaparral, coastal sage scrub and grassland.

The Nature Center also features a small Visitor Center with educational displays and a small gift shop that offers environmentally themed books and gifts.

We meet in the parking lot of the El Dorado Neighborhood Library and then walk over to the Nature center. The dirt trail is 2 miles long so if we loop around twice, our total distance, including the walk to and from the parking lot, is approximately 5 miles. The park also offers a quarter mile paved trail.

As part of the stream restoration, they added some foot bridges and made some changes to the trail. It was a pleasant surprise to find the path winding in a different direction yesterday. One duck wandered up on the path while the rest of the ducks remained wading in the stream. We also spotted a rabbit hiding in the bushes.

First Ever Long Beach California Dreamin’ SparkRally

The Green Girl is throwing an event for the first time in her green life. I'm hosting the first ever Long Beach California Dreamin' SparkRally to help celebrate SparkPeople's Show Your Spark Weekend which goes from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, June 28.

SparkPeople is a free website that offers nutrition, health, and fitness tools, support, and resources. I think of it as a healthy social networking site. I believe strongly in Spreading The Spark because of the positive impact this site has had on my life. I learned so much about nutrition simply by using the nutrition tracker. I feel more confident knowing I am able to make more informed food decisions.

SparkPeople uses this four-stage approach which they call the SparkDiet. It's actually a a misnomer because it's not just a diet - it's a holistic approach to moving towards a healthier lifestyle. It took me a little over 1.5 years to go from Stage 1 to Stage 4.

According to SparkPeople, Stage 4 has three main purposes:

• Continue to live a healthy lifestyle with healthy habits that you’ve worked hard to create
• Help to 'spark' others toward their own goals
• Get ready to go after your goals and dreams

I am trying to Help to 'spark' others toward their own goals by hosting this SparkRally.

I mapped out the route for the 1/3rd Mile/5k Fun Run/Walk. We're offering participants the option to do a 1/3rd mile around the duck pond or a full 5k loop.

After the optional Fun Run/Walk, we'll munch on healthy snacks and just have some fun.