One Of These Days...

One Of These Days I'll make a decision: What to train for...

I am deciding between training to shave off 3 minutes in my 5K for a 25min, or to train for a sub-5 marathon. As both trainings are very different, especially in mileage, the decision or the "muse" hasn't gotten yet to me... For now, I am just enjoying every 5K I get...

The race of the week: Magnuson Series, Washington Games 2009.

The highlights of the race: One of the few times I have been in the front of the pack gave me the glory of missing a turn with 4 other people. Then, I saw a lady behind me that turned around and went uphill. I looked what she was doing and saw the whole group of runners above the hill I missed. Trying to catch the lost time going uphill was not funny and, of course, impossible. After that, my run occurred in a panting mode for a 31:23.

Anyway, it was fun in a beautiful sunny and warm day in Seattle. (!)

Running Together, But Together

And after two years of running alone but together, a dream come true. My beautiful daughter and I were Running Together, But Together.

4th of July. A Seattle midnight race. 1,000 participants. The Firecracker.

My 5K Playlist

I love My 5K Playlist... and... I pretty much depend on it. Starts at 155 bpm so I don't blow the race, and by the end of the race I should be sprinting at 180 bpm.

Well, today, 1o seconds before the race, I pushed my button, and song number one started. But, because I still had some few seconds, I stopped it. When we were set to go and I pushed play the thing didn't do anything. Pushed again, and again and went to another song that is not in the 5K playlist. Great, I was in another playlist. Tried to get over, but... Type A... remember? Therefore, stepped aside of the sidewalk for some seconds (maybe 10?) back to 5K playlist and because the mess up I was already panting.

Oh well. I continued in my well known Lake Washington Boulevard, running good. I was checking my pace from time to time, but knew that I was out of a PR, probably for more than a minute. If I ran the Livestrong Challenge so good and I did 29:35, I thought that I would be close to 30 minutes this time. The order was shut up, run and enjoy an overcast 54F degree race.

And then... when I was about 100 m from the finish line, I saw the clock. It marked 27:55. I told to myself: "Lizzie, get a PR, sprint and get it. " 100m in 25 seconds was in my range. I sprinted with all my heart with a pace for that segment of 6:29min-mile, the necessary pace to get under my PR of 28:22. But, it seems that I was probably farther than 100m. Final time: 28:32. No PR but a wonderful race. I would say... an excellent race. No regrets on stepping aside to fix my Ipod, as my 5K music is definitely vital to me to get a good pace. We don't get PRs all the times because of a variety of reasons. This time I know why, due to my playlist. (My kids would say because of my lack of abilities to play an Ipod while I race)!!!

Time: 28:32 - Division 5/19 - Overall Female 59/250 - Overall 146/429

Great race, a lot of fundraising for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, nice goodies for survivors, and a lot of prizes...

Crushing Cancer With Our Running Shoes

Cancer has won several battles in my family. My dad, my sister Miryam, my fathers-in-law German Moreno and Bill Lee, my political cousin Rafael Ignacio Porras, and the in-laws of my sister Sara, Luisa and Pepe Panero.



Though many more battles will be lost by us, I dream with the day that we'll win the war. The day that research has gotten the clue to eradicate cancer for ever. Today, we in Seattle, raised closed to a million bucks through Lance Armstrong Foundation, racing the Livestrong Challenge, and Crushing Cancer With Our Running Shoes.

Cancer has won many battles, but we'll win the war.
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My medal, a yellow rose. I had a great race, no PR, but I ran good!!!















My oncologist, Dr. Saul Rivkin. So fortunate of being in his hands.













In honor of Camila Lashly, 1 yo girl who is fighting like a warrior.

Survivors To The Left

Susan G. Komen, from Illinois, died of breast cancer in 1980 at the age of 36. Her sister, Nancy, promised Susan that she would find a way to speed up breast cancer research and, founded in 1982, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The rest is history, with the foundation raising over $35 million a year.














Last year (this year too), the company where I work (Boeing) pledged $100 for every employee running the race and I became motivated to raise funds for the cause. As I became more aware and touched by the works of the foundation, I joined, I pledged and I raced, feeling humble while running among hundreds of survivors. Six months later, for my total surprise, I was diagnosed.

This year, it was my story and I ran the race from the other side of the fence.

Dressed in pink, (a lot to say for a black-and-white lady), I joined my adorable son Diego, his fiancee Shelly, and my good friend Emily. I saw my good friend Melinda also in the start line. At 7:45 am we were set to go, and there we went. There were so many people, that I lost sight of my son. Melinda took off very fast, and Emily and I ran together the whole race. Thanks to her I could keep a decent pace. The Alaskan viaduct going uphill didn't look so bad, but when you run it under 8 min/mile, is going to look really bad later, even in the flat portions... The support was great all along the course with cheerleades singing "Early detection is the best prevention" and "I am the Cure"...

After mile 2 I was panting but, thanks to Emily I still kept a good pace. If I would have been alone, I would have dropped my speed considerably.

Getting close to the finish line was quite a moment. The support to the runners and to the survivors was simply amazing. Just a third of a mile from the end I told Emily "let's sprint", but I think she didn't hear me. I can't describe what I was feeling. I was lost in my thoughts with flashes from last year's race. Today I would cross a different finish line. A sign indicates: "Survivors To The Left". When I heard, "another survivor crossing the line", I cried, and then I saw my son, right there waiting for me, and in an indescribable moment I will never forget, we hugged each other, like saying, we have come a long way, in such a short time... And a press guy captured the moment. What a gift.












http://www.seattlepi.com/photos/popupV2.asp?SubID=4880&page=4&GTitle=seattlepi.com%20photo%20gallery&pubdate=6/7/2009


Six months ago, Diego was with me at the doctors' office, hearing those terrible words: You have a malignant tumor. Six months later, everything was happiness, and joy: His mom is a survivor.

Gimme More...

After my exciting PR in UW Bothell I hurt my back doing yard work. Last week I had great difficulties to even walk, but I stepped on the treadmill every day to loosen some muscles. One day I walked one mile in 24 minutes. That bad it was. This week I started to recovered and ran on Tue and Wed just a couple of laps/day around our lake (1.6 miles per lap). The pace was around 12 min/mile, and the back still hurt and my body felt really heavy.

I had scheduled a 5K race today in Edmonds (Waterfront Festival), and as it was my PR for last year (29:01), I really wanted to do it. My friend Mike was going to rabbit me again to help me with a new PR. However, I was not feeling well. On Friday I told him that I would run depending on how I felt.

On Friday night I had some back pain and took 1 gr of extra-strenght acetaminophen with nighttime sleep aid. WRONG!!! When I went to bed I was so tired, and needed to sleep, but my legs and arms hurt and were restless. It had all the characteristics of RLS, which I hope was caused by the pills, because it was really uncomfortable, not a very nice feeling and I refuse to have that syndrome. My limbs wanted to go in different directions. After 2 hours fighting with the situation, I fell asleep.

Hubby woke me up at 7am with a nice, hot cup of cappuccino and I already had a headache. I decided not to race as my body didn't feel right. I got up, threw away about 490 pills to the garbage can, opened the shades and went back to bed. The day was especially gorgeous (we've had a gift of weather for the last 2 weeks, sunny and in the high 50's - mid 60s), and I couldn't be cozier in my bed... but I felt remorse.

Like if I could not make my own decisions, I asked my husband: What should I do? then he asked me: What do you want to do? My response was simple: I want to race but my body doesn't. Then he gave me the key when he said: "If I go by that standard, I would have never pulled the ivy from the backyard". That was it. He was right.

At 7:45 I got my cereal and yogurt, got dressed and at 8:15 I left.

Found Mike, got my bib #2090, jogged for 10 minutes, and ready, set, go. Mike rabbited me the last portion of the race where I reached 6.40 min/mile. Thanks Mike!!!

And... I did PR with 28:22 !!!! Division 6/21 - Overall 93/211 - Gimme More...

Ode To My Favorite Coug

I didn't know a prouder Washington State Alumni than Russ Westover... My Favorite Coug, as I always called him. He was a very friendly co-worker, who shared at work the love for his family, and who always offered a gorgeous smile. And there was no Friday that he didn't have a Coug item on him.

On Sunday May 10th, tragedy knocked at his door.

When my boss told me what happened I was in disbelief. All my recent emotions, that are far for closure were deeply touched, thinking on what another family has to go through. I was so stressed out that when I went to bed, my husband had to cover me with three blankets because I couldn't stop shivering.

I made the conscious decision of not going to the Memorial service. I am not yet emotionally prepared. However, I chose another venue.

On Saturday there was a race in University of Washington: Dawg Territory, Coug's rival. And with the beautiful scenic campus of UW Bothell, the gorgeous sunny and warm day, and the memory of Russ' beautiful smile I sang with my feet and heart an Ode to My Favorite Coug. Russ, God Bless You.



































Blowing a kiss to my hubby. The lady on my side, #210, took the second place of the Master Division.









The race raised my spirit.














I ran an official time of 28:59, a PR!!! Last tenth of a mile were sprinted at 6 some min/mile pace. It was insane. I saw this girl #200 and challenged her to sprint. We were running like demons, and everybody had to look at us because we were amazingly fast... at least for a tenth of a mile....

Division: 6/19 - Overall: 52/112


I wonder why I have that posture....