Countdown to race day....

So, today is May 17, which means race day is in exactly 23 days! I can hardly believe it. I am going to race a 1/2 marathon on Memorial day, but I'm not as excited about that one since it's local, and not in Hawaii, and will involve straight running for at least 2 hours, but still...it's a race. And a fun one at that. I did this same 1/2 marathon race last year and it was an awesome course. It's in Laguna Hills, and winds down into Aliso Viejo, into the canyon and the park out there. Hilly, warm, but fun. So I guess, that race day is only about 11 days away. Which means I should probably be resting my legs. =0) And eating more! =0)

Also, more good news, I got a spot in the St George marathon. I had to enter a lottery and have my name drawn. It's that popular. Why you ask? I say, it's because the entire course is downhill. Seriously. St George is great, don't get me wrong, but what runner is going to argue with a no-hills course? Maybe those with bad knees, but then again, that's not me. Not yet, that is. Luckily a relative lives out there, so Landon, Nalu and I will make the trek out there at the beginning of October of this year. We'll follow this trip with one to San Francisco at the end of October for the Nike Women's Marathon. No, I am not crazy and am not running 2 marathons in one month. I am doing the 1/2 marathon for the Nike event...I couldn't resist the idea of a chocolate aid station and a pedicure aid station...seriously! More importantly, though, it's an event entirely devoted to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which you all know by now, is very dear to me, so how could I not do it? I get to see the fam too...and check out SF...I miss the Bay Area sometimes. LA is OK. The OC is better than LA...but neither is the good old Bay Area.

So, training is going well...no recent crashes...all the joints are intact and functioning well...trying to sleep more...and de-stress at work...keep praying for us all at Team in Training...that we will be safe on our trip to the race and on race day itself, and that lives will be changed by what we've been able to do this season!!!!

GO TEAM!
-Miko

And she takes a tumble...again

Well, sooner or later, it had to happen again. Only this time, I crashed and burned on the run, which just makes me look that much more ridiculous. I guess I can blame Nalu, since he was just way too excited to be out running and cut the corner on me, which led me straight into the bushes, but then again, it’s more me to blame because I changed up the route on him. Never mess with a dog’s routine. I should know better. At least it only took a couple of minutes to pick out the dirt from the cuts this time. I’ve got a feeling that there’s a nasty bruise brewing on my left hip & thigh that will probably show its face tomorrow sometime. At least nothing’s broken. =0)

In other news, race day is fast approaching. I can’t believe that we’re just over a month out from MAUI! I’m really excited. Can’t wait to get there. Training is going well. We’re about to hit our peak, intensity wise, and then it will be taper time, where we get to cut back our workouts to almost half of what we are doing now. But, I should say, I’m not getting too much of a taper because I am doing a half marathon on Memorial Day, so as you can imagine, I’ve had to mix the tri training with the run training, which can be tough to do. Actually, planning out a training schedule can be tough. Especially for triathlons. Usually there’s a day where you do a long bike ride, and a day where you do a long run. Usually you can pair a swim with either of those for a double day, but obviously, you gotta be careful about what you pair your weight training with, and plan also for that important recovery time. Thankfully the coaches at TNT have taught us how best to structure our schedules, so at least I can take that knowledge with me when I move on from TNT. So, last Sunday, I did a 16-mile run, and that is the longest I will go for the half marathon. I’ll move on down from there, to about 10 or 11 miles the week before the race, and hopefully I’ll be ready come race day. A pediatrician that I work with is also running the race and he’s challenging me to beat him. I’m hoping for at least a better time than last year. I did 2:05 last year so I hope for a time that’s at least under 2 hours this year.

The rest of the Yoshida clan is doing well. Landon’s working hard and Nalu’s working just as hard at sleeping as much as possible and finding as many hiding spots for his squeaky toys as he can. The weather is warming up, which we are all happy about. Our evening walks are nice now, but with warmer evenings they will be that much more enjoyable.

As I’ve said before, I met my goal a while ago, for fundraising, and I could never have done it without you all. Thank you so much, for all your support. Keep checking back with this blog, and I promise to keep you updated on all the triathlon happenings in the Yoshida fam.

GO TEAM!
-Miko

P.S. Added some photos from the recent Newport Beach Triathlon, that Landon and Nalu attended with me, even though they had to be up at 4am =0)