12 PAIN-FREE Miles & Signing Off

This is the face of someone who just ran 12 PAIN-FREE miles!!

The last 5 of those miles may have been in the rain, hence the wet-dog sort of look ;)

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The stormy Strand

I am thrilled to report that although the miles were slower than normal (my long run pace is supposed to be about 9:42/ mile and I kept these around 10:00/ mile), my heel/ foot feels back to 100%!

My Pro Compression #TwoPairDontCare action may have had something to do with it ;) [PS Save BIG this weekend with their Superbowl sale! 40% off all the items in the store with FREE shipping on all order over $20! Use the code SUPER at checkout. TRAIN. RACE. RECOVER.]

And now it is time to SIGN OFF for the weekend and go PACK!

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Ryan and I (along with Walt the Wiener Dog) are packing up our Adventure Mobile when he gets home this afternoon and heading up to Malibu to camp for the weekend.

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We aren't bringing the computers, but I'm sure we will be posting on Instagram throughout the weekend. Feel free to follow us if you are interested in the shenanigans (or wait until next week for a recap post ;) ). @CarleeMcDot @ruggedwoodsman

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See ya on the flip side! Now GO OUTSIDE AND ENJOY!

Three Things Thursday

I guess I liked it so much on Tuesday that I wanted to do it again ;) Or maybe it was that I had another assortment of topics to post about and couldn't come up with a better title...

1. Phoenix Marathon

Um.... Where did the time go?! How in the world is this race LESS THAN A MONTH away?! Holy crapoly! I mean, really, I signed up for this race back in August! Let's be honest, I am beyond STOKED to meet and hang out with so many amazing runners [DUH, IT WILL BE THE PARTY OF 2015!], but at the same time, I might be slightly intimidated by the race and the goal I am shooting for...

Unfortunately if you haven't registered for the full marathon, you have missed the bus because it is SOLD OUT (I told you it would happen, so don't blame me if you didn't get in)! There are a few last spots available for the half, but I'd jump on them like NOW because they won't last!

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2. Listening To Your Body

Listening to your body is easy... when your body tells you to #RunAllDay... but it is another story when it tells you to slow down and take a day (or three) off... I am proud to say I am trying to tune into how my body is feeling a bit more these days, but that doesn't make it any easier when it tells you to take an unscheduled rest day in the midst of your training plan.

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(Just in case you missed my note on Tuesday, my heel has been giving me a little issue since the weekend. Seems more like a bruise than anything but I still want to make sure I am helping it get back to 100% than hurting it. Today it did feel a lot better, but knew one more day off before pounding the pavement was what a "smart runner" would do.)

3. My Dad Needs Bail

My dad is currently raising "bail" for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. (I was slightly freaked out when I got his text yesterday including his inmate photo, but quickly realized it was a metaphor!) If you'd like to donate $5, $10, or even $20 to the cause, please check out his donor page here (it will be up through the end of February).

3.5 Rock 'n' Roll Races

Okay, okay, maybe this is number four, but "Four Things Thursday" didn't have quite the same ring to it and I wanted to post about this ASAP so I could HELP SAVE YOU MONEY! Today I bit the bullet I registered for the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon (and the 5K the day before... I mean, who can say no to extra bling for completing the Remix Challenge?!). [I ran the half in 2013, feel free to check out my recap if you are interested.]

Twitter: @CarleeMcDot

Prices increase on February 1st for the half and full, so I wanted to at least give you the heads up about it! Also, it appears as though everyone got the memo to become a Rock 'n' Roll Ambassador (I'm not one of the cool kids), which means a TON of discount codes are floating around! So if you register for the half or full TODAY you can save $30 ($15 with one of the many coupon codes and $15 before the prices increase on Sunday)!  YOU KNOW YOU WANNA JOIN ME, right?!

What is the most recent race you have registered for?

Three Things Tuesday

I have a couple of random things, so thought I'd do a little alliteration and throw them all together in this post (although I think it is normally a "Three Things Thursday"... Oops).

1. Dumbo Double Dare

This morning I registered for the Dumbo Double Dare (which includes the Disneyland 10K and Disneyland Half Marathon). It was just early registration (LOVE that our Annual Passes to Disneyland includes this perk), but the DDD sold out in about 13 minutes. Thankfully, if you didn't get in, you can still try when they open up standard registration on February 10th.

2015 will be my THIRD Dumbo and my FOURTH Disneyland Half (The 2012 Disneyland Half was my very first half marathon and I just MUST come back every year! And how cool is it that the 2013 Disneyland Half was my hubby's very first half marathon?!). If you are interested in checking out past recaps for the races, click the links below!

2012 Disneyland Half
2013 Disneyland 10K
2013 Disneyland Half
2014 Disneyland 10K

2014 Disneyland Half

2. Pro Compression Ambassador

In case you didn't notice the update of my badge on the side of the blog, I was just selected to be one of Pro Compression's Ambassadors for a second year in a row! 

Obviously you know I LOVE their products (whether I am using the socks as part of a race costume, for recovery after a hard workout, or during my long runs), I've ALWAYS gotta #KeepItTight! Not only is this fun and exciting news for me, but normally it means good things for you as well (read that as coupon codes, future giveaways, etc.)!

3. Heel Pain

Ryan and I went hiking on Sunday morning. When we got home my right heel felt a bit bruised. I thought maybe it was the shoes I was wearing or maybe I had stepped on a rock. It didn't feel terrible yesterday - more of an annoyance. When we ran last night I ended up changing my form a bit so I could run on my toes (I am normally a BIG TIME heel striker). This morning it still didn't feel better so I gave in and have been babying it today.

Ice

No, this is NOT a dog bowl, although I have been asked multiple times ;)
It was the bowl we had our avocados in, but since we ate them all it was
in the sink. I didn't think I needed to dirty another bowl for my foot
so I just used what I already had out.. 

Elevation

The porch is one of my favorite places in our house, especially
on a beautiful day like today!

Rest

Thankfully Walt was in the rest mood too!

And even some KT Tape (I looked up the best taping techniques and used this one)

Mine never seems to come out as good as the professionals... 

I don't think it is anything to worry about at this point, but I want to work towards it getting better rather than letting it fester. Tomorrow I have a tempo run on the schedule, but if it doesn't feel 100% I will swap my cross training bike ride from Thursday to tomorrow and give my heel another day of non-pavement pounding.

Any random thoughts from you?

Night Running

Sometimes I wish I was a "go with the flow" type gal... But I am NOT! I am a "stick to the plan no matter what" type gal.

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HA! Going with the flow does NOT make me calm!

Normally I would make sure to get my run in as soon as I got off work (in the summer when it is hot I will get in my runs before work) - that way I can shower and have everything done by the time hubby gets home. Today I decided I would check with Ryan to see if he wanted to run with me. (He took last week off after the Star Wars Half Marathon so I thought running together might nudge him to get back into it.) To my surprise he jumped at the opportunity.

Ryan didn't get home until a little after 6:30pm (which is usually dinner time), so that meant we had to bust out the HEADLAMPS for our run (I guess it is good practice for the SoCal Ragnar in April :) ). I had 4 easy miles on the calendar, so even though Ryan originally only wanted to do 3 miles, I bargained and told him since I waited to run with him he needed to do the extra mile with me ;)

My Brooks jacket is AWESOMESAUCE!!
The pin stripes are reflective, so can be seen in the headlights of oncoming cars.

Thumbs up for NIGHT RUNS!

We still don't really get the selfies ;)

Not too shabby for a rainy, dark night!

I'm not sure if any of you saw the Chipotle campaign going on, but if you tried their Sofritas (their organic tofu option) TODAY, they would give you a free entree between tomorrow and the end of February. Ryan and I normally get the Sofritas, so figured why not get a free meal out of it and hit up Chipotle for dinner after our run.

Source: Chipotle's Instagram

Then we saw "THE SIGN" on our way in... THEY RAN OUT OF SOFRITAS! Thankfully while we were waiting in line they brought some from another store! They also tried to make it "right" by giving EVERYONE a free entree on their next visit even if they got meat, since it was their mistake. (PS I hear they ran out at other stores too... Bummer!)

Ryan was a little bummed that they caused such a demand for
"his" choice that they ran out... Thankfully they "found" more by the time we
made it to the front of the line!

I normally go with the salad route, while Ry sticks with the burrito.

Today was NOT a normal day, but sometimes it is good to step out of the routine and mix it up a bit - especially if it includes running with your hubby and ends with eating vegetarian burritos!

Hiking Daley Ranch

Who doesn't like a little hiking with their hubby and puppy on #SundayFunday?!

This morning Ryan and I wanted to head out and do some hiking (seeing as I didn't have a run on the schedule). We grabbed Walt, a little water, and jumped in the truck. We had heard good things about some local trails over in Escondido, so we decided to check them out.

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We left the house around 9:30am, getting over to Daley Ranch around 10 (the reviews I read on Yelp said that parking can get pretty bad later, not to mention it was supposed to be in the 80s by mid-day, so we wanted to get an earlier start on the hike).

I'll admit that I didn't do much research about the trails before we arrived, but figured checking out the Daley Ranch House might be cool, so we stuck to that path. It ended up being a paved trail to the house, which was nice (especially for Walt's little legs), and then dirt past it. It was rather hilly, but nothing too strenuous. We took a few detours along the way (and quite a few sniff breaks), but we ended up getting in about 4 miles in an hour and a half.

The entrance gate

Daley Ranch

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Ryan and Walt walking along the path 

But first, let's take a selfie!

I hope folks leave some support for our local trails!

Taking a load off (or just trying to get a shot with me and Walt)

Didn't realize it was a private residence, so all you could do was look at the outside of it...

One of the old outbuildings

The old barn

Another shot of the old barn

The views of Escondido

The clouds stuck around so it didn't get too hot out

I'm sure if we ever got rain this area would be filled with wildflowers

The paved path was a bit hilly

A decent incline, especially for wiener dog legs!

Passed the Daley Ranch House was a dirt trail that we took for another mile or so

Walt isn't sure why we won't let him eat all the coyote or horse poo...

And why not try to do a mini photo shoot while we are at it!

Walt is too cool for school!

Kisses!

Thumbs up!

The camera just kept on going... Too bad I only have about 4 faces...

We will definitely be back to check out more of the trails. The area is said to have ponds, but with the extreme drought all we saw were some muddy areas that might have had water there in the past...

Are there local trails near where you live? Do you take advantage of them?