Hermosa Beach 5000

It's almost that time of year again! Last year, I posted about the Hermosa Beach 5000 race and how we (the running club) couldn't find each other because there were so many people. Well, this year, we're going with the maxim "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". We're planning to run in the race. They have separate 5-K races for men, women, and a bunch of short "races" for kids divisions--1 mile for the older kids and down to 30 meters for 3-year olds and younger. The race is on 20 April, so you'll need to go to church on Friday or Saturday. :-) Register soon!

True Motivation

While we'd like to think that our motivation is to get some exercise in a beautiful setting, here's proof that it's our post-run activities that keep us coming back every week.

The Race

Woo-hoo! Christine and I ran our first race together. The Emerald 5K Run at the LA Marathon. It was a beautiful day for a run. And congrats to Nancy for completing the Bike Tour. Of course, more importantly, Elijah's Running Club was able to raise (so far) $610 total for Child SHARE. But it's not too late to donate! If you'd still like to donate, you can! Go to First Giving and you can donate easily online.

Child SHARE

Okay, Elijah's Running Club is teaming with Child SHARE for the LA Marathon. We will be raising money for this great organization, which works with local churches to match children who are languishing in institutional care in the Los Angeles area with foster and adoptive families.

How can you help? If you like running, walking, or riding a bike, you can register for the Marathon, the Emerald 5K Run/Walk, or the Acura Bike Tour. Then you can join the Child SHARE team to let them know you want to help (I think you get a free t-shirt!). Then you go to FirstGiving.com to set up your personal fundraising website. It's really easy and friends and family can donate by simply going to your website and using their credit card.

If you'd rather not do the physical work, you can simply donate by going to our donation page.

You Light Up My Life

Okay, that was a cheesy post title and now I'll be humming that stupid tune the rest of the evening. Anyway, with the time change a few weeks ago and shorter days now, it's getting darker earlier. Which means if you run in the late afternoon, you're probably finishing your runs in the dark. That means you need to make yourself visible to all those cars driving home from work. Fortunately, the running gear companies are making more and more gear to make you shine like the running star you are.

The easiest way to increase your visibility is to wear reflective bands and clothing. The most exciting new gear out now (okay, it's exciting to me) is from illumiNITE. They put thin, reflective squiggly lines all over their garment, making an entire arm or leg reflect light. You can order it online at Road Runner Sports, although at the brick and mortar store in Torrance, they didn't know what I was talking about.

Also, you can now buy LED lights on head bands and vests, among a variety of other types of wearable lights. It's amazing when I go out running at night or early morning and pass runners who are wearing all dark clothes. Seems like a stupid and unnecessary risk to me.

So visit your local running or sporting goods store and pick up some reflective gear. And run safely.

Hello from Colorado

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I've been in Colorado for almost a month now. I have been running though. When I first got here, I felt like I was so out of shape. The altitude just kills you! But I was able to do 18 miles the first weekend and 20 miles the next. Unfortunately, when I went running two days later, my foot started hurting halfway through my run, so I had to walk about 3 miles back to my hotel. I haven't run since (about a week now). Just a little setback in my training for the O.C. Marathon in January, but I should be able to get going again very soon.

Wimping Out

Okay, I will admit it: I wimped out last weekend. Friday evening, we had the first rain in what seemed like years in the South Bay. So I'm sitting in our house, enjoying being dry and warm and thought, "Man, it would be nice to be able to sleep in a little." So I wimped out and cancelled the fun-run on Saturday morning.

That is the last time that I will cancel the run due to weather, unless there's a hurricane coming or thunderstorms or something life-threatening. So there's my commitment--come rain or shine, we're running. No wimps in Elijah's Running Club.

That's one of the toughest things to master when you're first getting into the whole running thing. The mental part. It's getting over the "Oh, I really don't feel like getting up and going out there to run for miles and miles." I've gotten to the point where I set the alarm and when it goes off, I just get up and don't think about the possibility of lying back down. Because I know that I'll feel good once I get out there. Because I know that I'll feel even better once I'm done.

So bottom line: we're running tomorrow.