Ariana and her Very Sore Tendon

I swear I'm a 25 year old in a -- well I won't put any age to it because my Gma could kick my a** and she's 86 so let's just say, -- different age group's body. I attended our first long run training last Saturday and us beginner folk ran 4.5 miles!! It was the longest I've run in months for sure and after about 3.75 of it my right foot really gave me grief. For a little background: I started training for a 10 mile race in February, right after I got my cast off my wrist, but since my muscles had atrophied from doing little more than walking for over a month, my tendon got the brunt of the effort and decided to fight back. 2 weeks into that training I had to stop running for another 2 weeks because I woke up and couldn't take a step on that foot. Ariana's tendon 1, Ariana 0. But I've been slowly builing up again and I'm going to prevail! I finished the Saturday run and even completed the victory lap around Kezar Stadium! Yay!

That 10 mile race I was training for is actually this coming Sunday. Needless to say I will not be doing the 10 miles (as a compromise to that nasty Tendon of mine...let's name him Mr. T (names have been changed to protect the innocent - and the sensitive). However, there is a 10k option so I will be attempting that. Yes that's right, after only having built up to 4.5 miles and being in pain all the while I'm going to attempt a little over 6 miles a week later. Crazy? Sure! Not as crazy as our co-captain Zach who's training for the SF Marathon WHILE training for some Ironman Triathalon (who does that??). Anywho...I'll keep you all posted on the running attempts.



If anyone wants to donate to my efforts, our dear co-captain Mindy will be treating us to beer tomorrow night after our cross training if we raise any money (I know I needed to pull at your heart strings SOMEHOW). :) You can visit my fundraising page here: https://secure2.merchantcart.net/runsfm//mywebpage.cfm?pid=457054.

For real though, while I am running so that I can get back into shape and have a goal to aim for, I probably wouldn't have chosen this race if I truly didn't believe in raising money for the cause. Shanti is an amazing organization that makes a difference in thousands of lives each year by providing a variety of services ranging from healthcare navigation, wellness workshops, food assistance, patient advocacy and more to San Franciscans living with HIV/AIDS or breast cancer. I need your help to ensure we can continue to serve every client that walks through our doors so please donate today!

Thank you for reading!

Ariana and her Running Woes

I feel like I'm getting used to this running thing...but apparently running comes with lots of messed up feet issues that are sort of akin to relationship issues. When I last wrote, I mentioned Mr. T (that's my sore tendon if you recall). Now I wasn't really into Mr. T but sometimes they just don't know when to quit. After a few weeks with Mr. T, I had a small fling with an issue named Mr. A. Mr. A is my swollen left ankle and he appeared after a late night of dancing followed by a day of playing grass volleyball at Fort Mason. I mean it was fun and all but Mr. A isn't really my type (I tend to go with the strong healthy ankle types).

MR. T was still hanging around a bit hoping to get some quality Ariana time, so last Sunday, Mr. A, Mr. T and I all ran that 10k I was telling you about. It was an amazing sunny day and we ran the whole 6.2 miles, from the Presidio Sports Basement, across the Golden Gate Bridge and back along Crissy field. Thankfully, after the run, I think MR. A & T knew that it wasn't going to work out between the three of us -- they couldn't really handle the competition. Mr. T and I have since parted ways (lets just say we had irreconcilable differences - sayonara Mr. T!!). (See that's Mindy and I celebrating Mr. T's departure). Really, it was thanks to my body guards Dr. Wang and Bart (yes those are the real names of my chiropractor and masseuse) that Mr. T is no longer around. Mr. A and I are on the out and out too but he's still having a hard time accepting the break up and likes to flare up now and again.

I had now made it through a Wednesday practice with the Shanti C.A.R.E.S team, in which we completed one full hour and 3.5 miles of sprints around Kezar Stadium, I had successfully run the 10k and shaken off Mr. A & T -- I felt like nothing could stop me! But then, along came Mr. B. Mr. B is my really really big blister on the arch of my foot. Mr. B appeared after running about 6 miles this past Saturday on our long training run from the edge of Golden Gate Park, through the wiggle, to Dolores Park and back. I can already tell it's not going to work out with Mr. B because he doesn't like me to walk, let alone run. I think this might only be a few days and then we're through.

On a happier note - all of you AMAZING people that have already donated are, well, AMAZING!!! I got to enjoy a few lovely beers and some delicious appetizers at Kan Zaman in the Haight after that Wednesday practice thanks to you all - and let me tell you, after 3.5 miles of sprinting, that beer tasted mighty fine. And, because you all are, yup, AWESOME, I've already raised over 50% of my fundraising goal!!! Soooo....I think I'm going to make it more interesting, since I have another 3 months to do it, and raise my goal to $2,000!! Please send my fundraising page along to anyone you think might be interested in supporting Shanti, and my running woes. https://secure2.merchantcart.net/runsfm//mywebpage.cfm?pid=457054.

If they need more incentive besides reading my silly blogs, no idea why they would but either way, you can let them know this: every $0.85 to the dollar that Shanti receives goes directly back into helping an individual with a life threatening illness. Just this last year, our breast cancer program, LifeLines, absorbed a 55% increase clients with fewer resources due to budget cuts. So please donate today and help Shanti continue providing compassionate care to those most in need.

Thank you!!!

O yah, and by the way...here's my gma - see how in shape and awesome she is! That's why I call her my g-ma..she's hella gangsta.