Run DMZ

Another of Northern California by my daughter Elise

I love this picture. I took it last night when my grandmother didn't know I still was holding my camera. We were at a movie premiere and I asked her to "dress for La Jolla," so she pulled on one of my old sweaters and declared herself and her white capris in compliance. She also didn't eat much dinner but later devoured two full plates of free cheese, quiche and fruit tarts like no one ever feeds her. The movie was a documentary called "Over 90 and Loving It" about 12 incredible senior citizens who are holding up extremely well and doing things that defy their ages, which range from 90 to 105. It's airing around this time on PBS television stations nationwide. Four from the film were on hand for an audience Q&A, including a 96-year-old record-holder in just about every track & field event. He was a hoot. One woman, who obtained her master's degree at 98, couldn't make it because she's now an associate professor and didn't want

This is not encouraging for anyone who now pays for years and years of pushing hard, especially endurance athletes.

As you work up to longer distances, it can be easy to forget what it was like the first time you ran a mile and then a 5k and then a 10k and so on, whether it was in a race or in your backyard. You get picky about the T-shirts, stashing the cotton ones deep in a drawer. Medals don’t mean as much unless they're different or from some exotic place. Even among new-runner bloggers, eventually the shorter race posts get short shrift to the marathons and ultras and half and full Ironmans. There’s an implicit message that you’ve moved on to bigger and better things. I used to hold a similar attitude once I began running marathons , but a few people recently reminded me of what I'd already forgotten a few years ago -- that feeling of accomplishment when you push past a new barrier. Yesterday two of the women that I run with on Saturdays completed their first half marathon. They sent a great photo of everyone wearing similar T-shirts, big smiles and medals at the finish. I’m think

Beach near Bodega Bay in northern California, taken by my daughter, Elise.

The trails that make up the Xterra Black Mountain 15k are just a few miles from my house, and yet I’d never run on them. They are home to rattlesnakes and mountain lion, and they are remote enough to be creepy if you are a lone, early morning female runner. This morning, though, that area between 4S Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe in northern San Diego put on its best party dress to impress hundreds of runners, most of whom finished well before me. The race starts and finishes at Black Mountain Community Park off Carmel Valley Road. I arrived 90 minutes before the start and within 15 minutes of my arrival, the parking lot was packed. Overflow was sent a few miles away to a shopping center to catch a shuttle. That distance guaranteed a late start of about 30 minutes. By then the sun had warmed the place to the mid 50s, which is perfect for a spring race and preferable to the rains we’d been experiencing in the days prior. Portable toilet lines moved along better than expected. I saw Meg

Most of us know the skin is the largest organ in our bodies. It's also among the most abused. We expose it to all kinds of hazards, often intentionally when it comes to tanning and makeup and drying soaps. As we age, we pay for those sins with everything from wrinkles and age spots to skin cancers. I grew up along the ocean and had a backyard indoor pool, and as a teenager I didn't use sunscreen. In fact, because tanning was so competitive at my high school, and Hawaiian Tropic so expensive, my girlfriends and I literally fried our skin in Crisco. Then in college, I once fell asleep for four hours in the sun. A friend and I spent that night in a hospital emergency room. I still bear the scars from that lapse in judgement. Runners are particularly prone to skin damage, which is why when the folks at Eucerin told me about a new product and a new campaign, I was immediately on board. They sent me a bottle of their new Daily Skin Balance Body Lotion, which contains "a uni

Shot off the Mexican coast by my daughter, Alex. The water really is that blue.

My husband sent me this item about how hackers are compromising iTunes accounts to charge up items. Every iPod-loving runner I know has an iTunes account, so I wanted to pass it along. And, please, stop telling me Apple is secure. Here's proof (again!) that they are just as susceptible to cybercrime as any other company that collects your personal data. Trust no one. Hackers Compromising Some iTunes Accounts

I could have slept in and stayed in my pajamas all day as a reward for surviving March and opening April with less than 6 hours’ sleep in two days. Instead, I was pulling on my hiking shoes and driving out to Escondido to finally take in Daley Ranch. I’ve wanted to visit this city-owned preserve a mile from El Norte Parkway for years. I was particularly interested in seeing how it rates for trail running since I know of several local runners who rave about it. So when our “Happy Hour” group elected for something different -- a hike in Daley Ranch, followed by a stop at Stone Brewery -- I was in no matter how much my feet hurt, head throbbed and stomach ached. This was Victoria’s suggestion – and backyard – so she led us on a figure-eight route that had us initially climbing for some terrific views before we finally hit the Ranch House (under renovation) and set up our little picnic. She also pointed to a more level path popular with runners. Along the way we carried on as we normal