The Green Girl's Runners United To Remember Run

The Green Girl and fellow Sole Runner, Krishna, joined runners across the world today to participate in a Runners United To Remember run.

The RunJunkEes helped organize this virtual event to honor the victims of yesterday's tragic events at the Boston Marathon and display an act of unity and solidarity among runners.

The Green Girl on her Runners United To Remember run

Participants were encouraged to wear a shirt from a race on the memorial run.

As Krishna and I ran along The Strand, the gusty winds whipped sand across our faces. I was grateful for the company.

Our words echoed those of runners all over the world as we struggled to understand the senseless acts.

Sunset from The Strand

It's heartbreaking. Why a marathon? It's the last place you'd expect an act of terrorism. Can you imagine after running 26.2 miles? They knew when the most runners would be finishing. The finish line is where family and friends wait for you. There are no words...

We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves. The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable.
Sir Roger Bannister

The Green Girl and Lexa's Santa Monica Ride

Lexa at the Santa Monica Pier

The Green Girl and Lexa with her new rear tire headed up to Santa Monica for a long ride Sunday morning.

In an attempt to avoid the saddle pain I experienced on my first long ride, I layered my running shorts over my new padded Pearl Izumi Sugar Shorts.

I parked at a meter just north of Venice Beach and headed south on The Strand.

Dismount & Walk Bikes

The Santa Monica portion of The Strand is approximately 8.5 miles.

I had assumed I would be able to follow The Strand all the way down to Manhattan Beach where I often run after work.

Unfortunately for Lexa and me, bicycle traffic is not allowed on some portions of The Strand and there was no way for us to go that far south without having to go on the street.

Instead, I just opted to go up and down the continuous Santa Monica portion. We were able to go as far north as Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades before we turned around and headed back to Venice Beach.

At one point, I did make a feeble attempt to ride on Pacific Coast Highway but the cars got way too close to me and I quickly changed my mind.

Mr. Green Garmin mounted on Lexa's handlebar

This was our first ride with Mr. Green Garmin attached to the handlebars with the Garmin Forerunner Bicycle Mount.

It was a lot easier to look down to see my speed and distance since I'm not coordinated enough to take my hands off Lexa while I'm riding.

Lexa in the bathroom with me

One advantage to having the world's smallest road bike is that Lexa can fit into a bathroom stall with me.

I must admit the padded shorts made a world of difference. We ended up doing 25 miles and I didn't experience any discomfort.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the Green Girl's cycling career.

CasITa-to-5k Overcast Run on The Strand

The CasITa-to-5k went for a run on The Strand after work on Tuesday.

The CasITa-to-5k has strayed from the Cool Running Couch-to-5k Running Plan and instead, we've just been alternating between maintaining and increasing the walk intervals.

One of the outcomes of my RRCA Coach Certification has been a paradigm shift in how I will approach training going forward. I will be applying my newfound knowledge as I put together a first time half marathon training plan for one of the CasITa-to-5kers.

Using the walk/run intervals, we are able to comfortably and consistently run 3 miles so we will continue to increase the running time. I still have my hopes set on a Spring graduation.

The Spring 5k race will be twofold. It will be the official CasITa-to-5k graduation but it will also give me a baseline to build the half marathon training plan.

The Green Girl Runs Out of Fuel on The Strand

The Green Girl's intention was to get in a 12 mile run on The Strand after work last night.

I missed my long run over the weekend and well, you know what they say about the best laid plans.

I had hoped to leave the office early but time sensitive issues came up. I didn't have a chance to eat lunch. I'm a snacker so I did manage to have some sunflower seeds, carrot and celery sticks with ranch dressing, an apple, and an orange during the course of the day.

When I arrived at The Strand, I was relieved to see the meters had a five hour limit and I inserted more coins then I've ever used on one of those devices before.

As soon as I started running, pangs of hunger hit me. I devoured an apple sauce and sipped on my sports drink to quiet my stomach.

My legs felt great but I could feel the tension in my neck and shoulders so I focused on some deep breathing. I gazed into the sunset and tried to relax.

Darkness had fallen by the time I reached the Hermosa Beach Pier. It was so peaceful running alongside the ocean at night.

Instead of going further, I opted to turn around at the 5 mile point since I figured I could just do an extra mile loop at the end to get me to my desired 12.

Unfortunately, I fell apart around mile 9. The sips of sports drink were no longer quelling the starvation cramps in my stomach. The thought of trying to ingest sports nutrition made me feel nauseous so I skipped the bars and kept running.

Interestingly enough, my body felt great and I know I could have run further than 12 miles had my stomach not been protesting so loudly.

I finally had to give in and cut the run short at around 10.5 miles.

I hit a drive-thru on my way home and got some soda to settle my stomach and a couple of cheeseburgers. After a nice, hot shower, I ate until my stomach stopped hurting.

Lesson learned, this will not be repeated.

The Green Girl's Manhattan Beach Pier Run

This evening, the Green Girl went for a run on The Strand.

I arrived at the metered beach parking lot just as the sun was beginning to set.

As I started out on my run, my body felt good. I was pleased that my calves were somewhat loose for a change.

I made an effort to focus on relaxing my body - especially my shoulders. Lately, I've been noticing how much harder it is for me push my body when it's overly tense.

I headed south towards the Manhattan Beach Pier.

At the end of the concrete pair is a circular building housing the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium. The aquarium is open to the public and admission is free.

I ran behind the building to the edge of the pier to catch the last glimpses of the blazing sunset over the dark ocean waves.

On my way back, I discovered my muscles had relaxed and I was able to pick up the pace.

By this time, sections of The Strand were enveloped in complete darkness and my eyes cautiously scanned the pavement for uneven footing.

I relished every second of my run tonight.

CasITa-to-5k On The Strand

The CasITa-to-5k ran on The Strand after work yesterday.

The past few days have been unbearably hot so I was thrilled to see it had cooled down by the time we hit the beach.

At the request of one of the CasITa-to-5k members, we repeated Week One of the Couch-to-5k program.

We alternated between running for a minute and walking for 90 seconds. Our run intervals were at a brisk 11:30 minute mile pace.

It was a beautiful evening for a run on the beach. Beachgoers were scattered on the sand. Gentle waves foamed as they brushed the shore.

After we completed our intervals, we did some hill work. The beach path itself is fairly flat but the small streets that dead end at The Strand create hilly offshoots.

I almost made it all the way up without stopping but I got really winded about ten feet short of the top and had to stop and walk to catch my breath.

As we were heading back to the metered parking lot, we spotted a Serta Sheep peeking out at us from a window. Within the same unit, there was a large Jack head from Jack In The Box displayed in an upstairs window. On the front patio stood huge replicas of Sulley and Mike from Monsters, Inc.

I'm proud of our little CasITa-to-5k group and I'm looking forward to progressing through the program with them.

CasITa-to-5k At Sand Dune Park

The CasITa-to-5k visited Sand Dune Park for their warm-up yesterday.

The three-acre Sand Dune Park consists of a children's playground and a giant sand dune. The sand dune is approximately 270 feet long and 115 feet wide at the top, with an average slope of 27.7 degrees.

After being closed by the city earlier this year, the sand dune re-opened this week.

It was estimated that about 9,000 people visited the sand dune on a monthly basis before its closure due to noise complaints from the neighbors and erosion from wear. Residents also complained about the amount of trash visitors were leaving behind in the sand.

With the re-opening of the sand dune, reservations must now be made online ahead of time. There is a $1.00 fee for adults 13 and older per hour and there is a one hour limit per person. Annual passes may be purchased for $60. Children 12 and younger have free all-day access.

A fence has been erected around the perimeter of the dune and reservations are enforced by a city attendant.

Since the CasITa-to-5k didn't make reservations ahead of time, we climbed the flights of stairs to get a view from the top.

As winded as I got going up the stairs, I couldn't begin to imagine what it's like to climb that sand dune.

The climbers all went barefoot or wore only socks. One woman had on a pair of aqua socks.

After our sand dune adventure, we headed out to the ocean to run on The Strand.

We are still on Week 1 so we started off with a brisk five-minute walk and then alternated between 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of about 40 minutes. It was a really relaxing run and I enjoyed myself immensely.

The Green Girl's Run Along The Strand

After volunteering at the Christmas In July 5k Run, the Green Girl went for a run.

I started at Dockweiler State Beach and headed north on The Strand.

The Strand is a 22 mile paved bicycle path that runs along the coast from Pacific Palisades to Redondo Beach.

Despite the warmer temperature, I felt strong today. I felt quick on my toes and I was able to maintain a good pace without pushing myself.

When I hit Ballona Creek, I crossed over the bridge to the Ballona Creek Bike Path but instead of following the path east, I headed west towards the narrow peninsula.

At the entrance of the headland, there was a gate that was fashioned to prevent bicycle traffic from entering. I zigzagged my way through and continued down the path.

This section consisted of a paved bi-directional path bordered by rocks. Fishing lines were propped along the sides.

A considerate seagull moved to the side when he saw me heading in his direction.

I luxuriated in the beauty of being surrounded by a body of water on both sides. The gentle sound of waves crashing against the rocks soothed my soul as I reveled in the sensation of the cool ocean breeze.

I ran the length but instead of turning around right away, I stopped to sit and just enjoy the scenery.

On my way back, I realized I had rediscovered a certain joy that's been absent from my runs for awhile now. I felt liberated.