"It's supposed to be hard....

If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it.  The hard...is what makes it great!"

 -Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) A League of Their Own

Hi all!  The Humble Runners are back--this time for real.  It's been quite some time (since 2011!) and a lot has happened since the last post, so there will be a lot to talk about in the coming posts.  Since 2011, I've been doing a lot of running, had some great running partners, took a long hiatus due to injury, and became really great at Zumba and cross training in place of pounding the pavement (while I healed).  All of this, but now I have enthusiastically returned to the warm, gritty, temperamental,  and beautiful arms of running.  Here I am again-ready to share it all with you.  But for now, I am going to start fresh with the most current updates.

I've been thinking a lot about distance lately.  About how running long makes me feel powerful and how the overwhelming sense of accomplishment is unequaled by almost anything else.  Ultimately, it is running long that makes me love being a runner.  Now, I am no ultra-runner,  but I can't say that I haven't toyed with the notion of running great distances.  It would take a lot of work and be very hard, but like the Jimmy Dugan quote above, isn't that what makes it great?  How do you even get started?  Well, you take the first stride.  Plain and simple.  No one has told me that I can't run 30 miles, so who am I to back away from the challenge.  So, I signed up for the Pacific Coast Trail Run series 37K in Stinson Beach, California on October 26, 2013.  This 22 mile hilly, dirty, beautifully lush monstrosity,  with over 6000 feet total elevation gain, is going to be my catalyst.  What better way to start running LONG, than to set a goal to run long--a commitment that will be shared with other runners--OFFICIALLY.  Here, I will share my journey to Stinson Beach.  Please join me and share any ideas, advice, motivation, etc!  I'd love to hear it.

Cheers,

Tayler

we´re back

after months and months of inactivity (and a dead link), we are back. more posts to come soon. we apologize for the white noise.

they told me so...

After class, I picked up a sugar free Red Bull and headed over to Pitman trail to pick up 3 or 4 miles.  I had run a mile to watch my husband play softball yesterday, so I didn't do a rest day between runs.  Some would say that yesterday's mile was a junk mile, but that term is a bit obscure to me so, no matter.  Anywho, today I ran in a pair of heavy running shoes that came from...Target.  Didn't think much about it because they were what I had in the trunk of my car.  I just wanted to run without having to make the stop home for my Nike Frees.  Also, I have recently been putting up with minor shin pain--ache.  Fortunately, after I get set in my gait, the ache subsides and it's all good.  Today was different.  I'm blaming it on Target's cheap excuse for running shoes...at the same time blaming myself for not making the stop home for my trusty sneaks.  After about one and a half miles, I wanted to stop and walk.  When I stopped to walk, the pain was more annoying.  I jogged lightly, keeping my knees up.  Damn.  I walked again.  Running through my mind were thoughts like, "Great.  My knee pain is gone and now I have pain in the shins."  "Is it splints?  If so, how long should I rest?"  "It wasn't this bad two days ago when I was wearing my Nikes..."  Frustrated, I yanked at my laces and pulled my feet free from their "over cushioned" confines.  I stuffed my socks deep into the shoes followed by my loosely balled fists and took off on my bare feet expecting the worst in discomfort, thinking that 'they' couldn't possibly be right about the benefits of relying on bare feet.  They were.  Running felt great.  Steer clear of the occasional pebble and it's all good.  I was really amazed at how comfortable things became when there wasn't a thick, over built sole in between me and the ground.   My shin aches quickly disappeared and I felt that I could continue for a good mile or two more with just the soles of my feet.  Granted, when I was finished and returned to my car, my feet were the color of asphalt.  Not sexy, but worth it for the moment.  Now it's time to think about some minimalist trail shoes.  How about the New Balance Minimus 

-Tayler

It's been a while...

It's been a while since my last post, but I've been running and am super excited about an upcoming 18K in April through Sycamore Canyon, Malibu.  In addition to the new race, I've found a great new running partner that is super motivated and an awesome partner and friend.  As a matter of fact, I've invited her to share on this blog as a new Humblerunner.  Her name is Jaclyn and she is one of my best friends.  She, her husband Travis, my husband Branden, and I will all be participating in the Sycamore Canyon run in April.  The next several posts will be reflections on our running to prepare for the race and any other information we read or learn through experience that you may find helpful.  Keep posted and happy running!

top of the world

tyler and i are running in big baz's 15k this saturday. do i feel ready? hmm...we've done quite a bit of running lately, but i've felt quite tired after the last three. crikey. we did a beach run last thursday and since it was high tide, we ran in soft dry sand. my legs were on fire by the time we made it to the balboa pier. we made it halfway back to the newport pier when we decided to run on the boardwalk. t's knee was bothering him and while i wasn't happy about that, i was thankful i could get off the sand.

we also had a beautiful run at el morro. we took a different route that time and ended up going through some incredible areas, including this pretty grassy meadow area:

you can faintly see the trail through the grass behind me.
we went back to el morro this past saturday (we had and are having the most incredible weather - it was nearly 80 degrees over the weekend!), but a park ranger was standing at the gate turning people away. the park is now closed indefinitely because of the recent rains we had and some of the trails need major repair. so we ended up going to top of the world in laguna beach which was awesome but very challenging. it was alllll the way down and then alllll the way up. turns out we did over 900 feet of elevation. some areas were so steep and over that sandstone that makes it really slippery. i sat and slid/crawled my way down in a couple of areas. this was down "car wreck canyon." we figured out why it was called that when we got to the bottom:

i was pretty tired after this run (more like hike). on the way up (and i mean up), i could see tyler waaaay up ahead, teeny tiny in the distance. i tried running at some points thinking i might catch up, but some of the uphill was so steep. overall though, it was a beautiful trail. we also saw some amazing carved out cave boulders. maybe you have to see them so that makes sense? we were kicking ourselves for not having brought our phones to take photos.

so, saturday will be here before we know it, and i'm not sure if i'll feel 100% ready. i am excited though because my parents will be here. it'll be their first time seeing me race (and compete in anything athletically for that matter).

stay tuned.

xo,
jessica

car wreck canyon photo via here.

we did it again

the humble runners ran in the big baz 12k last saturday at blue jay campground at the saddleback mountains. tyler joined the group this time, and we also recruited a new humble runner - tayler's husband, branden. the trail was really beautiful - challenging in some areas, but it was awesome. one minute you're climbing up rocks and the next you're hopping over streams. sister ran late that morning (no pun intended) due to circumstances beyond her control as they say, so we started a little late. the others went ahead and i waited for her so we could start together. after about three miles, we lost each other, so we basically ran the race alone, which turned out to be quite nice. of course it would have been great to run with the group, but it was still okay running alone. it was so beautiful that you kinda forgot you were even running/walking. here are a couple of videos - one of me getting to the finish line and one of jennifer. we came in last since we started late, but we're okay with that. it's not about the time after all, right? we unfortunately don't have video of our fellow humble runners getting in, but we assure you they made it in in great time feeling great.

and the humble runners: tyler, jennifer, big baz (a very experienced humble runner), me, tayler, branden

xo, jessica

New Year! New Shoes! New Challenges!

      I started the New Year with an annoying cold and I'm still not sure that I'll be feeling well enough to join Tyler and the ladies for this Saturday's 12k. Either way, I've got to get back in the game steady and strong once I'm feeling well again. I'm hoping that will happen soon because I'm excited to share that I just joined Map My Run's 30 in 30 Challenge. Check it out! Plus, I got new shoes and some sexy gaiters from Dirty Girls (thank you Culleen!) for Christmas. The shoes have been awesome at the gym so far, but it's time to get them good and muddy! They are the Nike Livestrong Lunarglide +2, seen below (waaaay down below)...
I'll report back later to let you know how it's going. Also, visit back soon as I cover my sports bra shopping experience properly titled, Say No to Jiggle in Jogging!
Happy New Year, Jennifer