My idea of fun

Wow, my idea of FUN has changed... some.

Last year at this time if you would have told me that I would run a half marathon for fun (or that I would be running at all), the day after Christmas, I probably would have died from laughing so hard.

Well that is what I did, I ran/walked Operation Jack Half Marathon on Dec. 26, 2011.

This has been a wonderful life changing year. I started with the Couch to 5K at the end of January 2011, I remember my first 30 seconds of straight running and I thought, Holy Crap!!!! How the heck am I going to get up to a full mile? Well I did after a few weeks. I then signed my son and I up for our first 5k race, the Shamrock Run 5k in Portland, Ore. I was excited to run this event as my first race and that my son was going to do this with me.

The announcer called the 5k runners to line up and as we lined up my son turned to me and said you are ready, I smiled back and nodded, trying not to think about hurling. He then was very focused on a cute little blonde gal with a very tight green t-shirt the read “Rub for Luck” across her chest.  And as we crossed the start line he turned to me and said “see ya at the finish” and he was off.  WHAT??? You are going to leave me for this cute blonde gal????? I thought to myself. Oh I was crushed for the first few minutes till my lungs started screaming at me, reminding me to pay attention and I slowed my pace down to where I could breath . As I started up the bridge to the turn around, my son was running down and as he passed me he shouted “Awesome Job Mom!”  Then he was gone again. As I ran I kept thinking “What the heck am I doing?” and before I knew it I could see the finish line. It was an amazing feeling to cross that finish line, but the best part was that my son was waiting for me at the finish line, with a hug. I forgave him for ditching me.  That is how my running year started. Since then I have ran several races, met so many new friends and found a great running partner.

Can’t wait to see what next year brings.

Oh ya, I signed up for my first full marathon June 17, 2012. Vancouver USA Marathon!!! :o)

So a big hug and thank you to my husband and son for all their support. And to Robin for the after work calls to meet up for a run, the great races, Sunday morning meet ups and everything else.

The Killer (to me) Workout A.K.A Danielle’s Smack down

The Killer (to me) Workout    A.K.A Danielle’s Smack down

I have been running for 11 months now and new that I really needed to add some strength training to my workout. So, I went through my gym to find a trainer and about passed out when he told me the cost. $1500., for 3 months. Not happening.  

So………..

Last night I enlisted the help of a co-worker/friend/fellow runner, Danielle. She has been posting on Dailymile all her awesome strength training workouts. I have used the excuses like, I can’t do sit-ups, so ab work is out of the question (I know it is a stupid excuse). I really can’t do anything where my tail bone comes into contact with the ground, it causes an unbelievable pain that can last weeks.

Well I have that excuse no more. Danielle introduced me to the Stability Ball (Oh My!!!) We did dumbbell curls, triceps dips, pushups on a stability ball (dear God), single leg squats, walking lunges, single leg calf raises, weighted squats on a stability ball, hamstring raises on a stability ball, crunches, and weighted oblique twists (who the @%*& came up with this). Then to add to the torture she showed me how to properly use a foam roller. Apparently sitting in a corner collecting dust is not its function. Who knew?

I am happy to report that I am alive, I did survive, the abs are a little sore along with the glutes, but it was a great workout, Thanks to Danielle. Now I need to remember everything and do it again and again and again……

11 miler

Sunday’s run 11/13/2011

Lesson learned, I really need to listen to my body.  I started my week off thinking I could take it easy and not do much running, since I was planning on doing 11 miles on Sunday. Wrong!!! I thought would ease back on the running since my ITB and shins had been feeling achy since I met up with a pot hole hidden under some leaves on the previous Sunday’s run.

I met up with Heather to do an 11 mile run through Salmon Creek area. The first 4 miles felt awesome, then at about 4.5 miles my ITB let me know it was there and for the rest of the run it kept reminding me.  The run got done, Thanks to Heathers great company and the thought of Chipotle after the run.

Chipotle's is a great treat after a long run. :o)

http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/Default.aspx?type=default  Just in case you don't know about Chipotle.

A New Goal

A New Goal

Ok, so I am putting this out there for everyone to see.  I want to have logged 700 miles by the end of 2011. So far I (as of 11/14/11) logged 574 miles this year. For me to complete this challenge I will have to run at least 18 miles per week for the rest of the year. It is doable!! I will do it!

Girl Friends Half Marathon 10-16-11

Girl Friends Half Marathon October 16, 2011 Recap.

I have to start with the night before…….

The Girl Friends Dinner

A bunch of us got together for dinner at Cheryl’s house and Kim’s husband cooked dinner for all of us. It was amazing and fun. I got a chance to hang out with my running buddies Robin, Cheryl, Kim, Kate and Stephaney. AND I got to meet two ladies Tami and her Mom Pat.  We ate BBQ Chicken, grilled Salmon, pasta, salad, and fruit. For munchies there were peanut butter stuffed pretzels, animal cookies, M & M’s, candied pecans, candy corns, nuts and the best ever pretzel/Rollo/pecan goody. YUMMY!!!!!

Wake-up

I had (thought I did) everything laid out…. Shoes with timing chip strapped on, socks, panties, bra, shirt with race bid attached, hydration belt pack except for the accelerade drink bottles. I was ready to go (so I thought) I ate my oatmeal and banana, drank some water and headed out the door to meet the gals before the race. While looking for a place to park I went over in my head again making sure I had everything I needed. Guess what I forgot………. My Garmin!!! Panic raced through my blood……I drove home and got it, thankfully I didn’t live to far away. How could I forget my Garmin, oh boy.

Pre-race

Met up with the ladies, took a few photos, and waited and waited and waited in the potty line. Missed seeing Heather C. :o(

First and second mile

SUCKED!!!!!! Robin, Stephaney and I were dogging walkers. Zig zaging trying our hardest to get around all of them. It was horrible. The start had paces marked 5- 6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 12+, and then the walkers.  I am still angered about that bobbing and weaving those first 2 miles about killed me.

Mile 3

I was toast after all the dodging. I had to take a couple short walk breaks to recover.

Mile 4 to 7

I was getting into my long run pace, enjoying seeing fellow friends running, talking with Robin and looking at all the cool t-shirts.

Mile 8   Oh mile 8

I felt a little light headed so I grabbed for my Tri-Berry Gu. (This WAS my go to Gu for long runs, not sure about that now.) Ate the GU and drank some water. It took a while to go down. By mile 8.5 I could tell it was not sitting in my stomach well. I mention to Robin that I may need to walk a bit. So we walked for a few. Started running again and all I could feel was that GU sloshing. I kept thinking….”Please stay down I do not want to puke while doing this race.”

Mile 9

Robin mentioned that she needed to find a porta potty, I thought, Yep good idea. No porta potty in sight :o(  Bushes were looking really good.

Mile 10

Porta potty!!! Yea!! I was feeling the same, icky stomach that was just sloshing away and knew that a potty break was not going to help me.  I left Robin to wait in line, so away I went away knowing that Robin would catch up to me, and she did.  I was cursing as I started up Grand Blvd, Really a hill at 10.6 miles!!!! Made it to the top which was also mile 11.

Mile 11

Woohoo!!! I made it to the top of the hill. There was a young boy about 7 or 8 holding a sign that said something like…. Way to go Hotties!! I just laughed and realized how crappy I still felt, but I could run another 2.1 miles. Did some more walking, I seriously thought I was going to blow chunks any minute.

Then I see our next adventure…. A hill. I thought I can do this!!!!!! And away we went.

Mile 12

Mile 12 marker was mid-hill and Robin was cruising up the hill away from me. I was ready to start walking, then I heard yelling and lots of cow bell and I do mean LOTS of cow bell. As I get to the top There is my friend Kelly screaming and ringing a cow bell, Steve (her boyfriend and friend of mine too) and a friend Lisa was there too cheering me on. I really want to stop and hang out, but Kelly told me to GO!!!. I really needed that….cheering for me.

Mile 13

My fuel tank was empty, I kept telling myself to finish strong and then I could puke. Robin told me the same thing push through and puke later. So as I was rounding the block to the finish line there I saw my Mom and my niece Saraha standing there waiting for me, I almost started crying. I gave them a quick hug each and told them I would be back. Off I went to the finish line.

Mile 13.1

I finished and I got a PR. 2 hours 46 minutes and 40 seconds Chip time!!!!! WooHoo.


As I was catching my breath and thinking about this awesome accomplishment. I got a text from my husband saying "Congratulations!"  I was very happy to hear from him.

Nope I never did puke, couldn’t eat anything till the evening, but I did not hurl I finished my second half marathon.

Whats next???? Hmmmmm, Hopefully Hood to Coast!!

Volunteering at the Max Muscle Vancouver Triathlon/Duathlon

On Sunday 9/11/2011 I volunteered at the Max Muscle Vancouver Triathlon/Duathlon. Wow, it was pretty amazing to see all those athletes. Some were doing the olympic distance, the sprint distance and the tri-it. One sticks out in my mind. A gentleman walked up to me and began telling me about his 59 yr old wife, whom is a doctor and was doing her first Triathlon. He was so proud of her he could not smiling or talking about her. I wish I would have seen them at the end.
I will be doing that again next year.

I think I found my new Monday night routine!

Well I went to the gym to attend my first Pilates class and my first Zumba class.
I started off with the Pilates class. Wow that is no easy workout!!  The instructor was great, she killed my abs. She had us to several abs workouts and  while doing planks she said that if we dropped out of position we would have to do it again. Let's just say this girl did not drop, my muscles shook like crazy. but I did not drop. LOL.
And my first Zumba class tonight I had a blast!!! Oh my, this girl can not dance, but neither could other people, but it was sooo much fun. 15 minutes into the class and I looked like I had ran through a few sprinklers. I think I have found my new Monday night workout.

Slacking

I am Slacking.

1)      I have not been blogging like I had planned too. I want to get this blog set up better and to post more. Will start working on that today.

2)      I know that if I listen to those lazy thoughts once, I know I will listen again. This morning when my alarm went off at 4:17am I hit the off button, knowing that I had a second alarm that goes off at 5:30 am. Well, when the 5:30 am alarm went off, I noticed how tight my muscles felt. I think I must have slept in the fetal position all night, because when I stretched out everything ached. And there is where my lazy thoughts began……No running this morning for you, your muscles are to tight. And you can’t run tonight either, because it is going to be 95 degrees out. Well I am going to venture out on my first night run. I guess I should be more specific, my first run in the dark. I have a head lamp, reflective vest and a few clip on blinking lights, oh and a small flash light. I think I should be fine. I will post on how it goes.

3)      My food intake or diet what ever you want to call it, it has been less than healthy. I need to sit down and plan out some healthy meals for Don (husband) and I. Will work on that too.

Why I run.

Today I over heard people talking about why would anyone run, on purpose. A friend/co-worker ran a 50K yesterday, she started telling me about the run and when she started to notices some aches and pains. A gal said "Why would you do that on purpose." I use to be right their with her thinking.
Danielle use to tell me I should start running, and I promptly asked her whom would be chasing me and with what? Everytime I saw someone running I thought wow to be that athletic, that would be awesome. Well I decided to give it a try. and I love it. Just don't ask me that while I am running. :o)

I run because of the challenge, the way my heart races, the way I breath feels, the way I am in control, the way it clears my mind, the way I feel so alive afterwards and the sense of achievment. Oh and I want to lose weight :o) You can run for the same reason or for your own, everyone is different.
I run because I can!

5k PR!!!!

Yes!!! I PR'd today at the Race for the Homeless 5k. This was my second 5k race. My first 5k was the 2011 Portland, OR Shamrock Run and my time was 39:04 and today I ran the Race for the Homeless in Vancouver, WA and my time was 35:54. Very happy with that time.

Had a great time talking with a few running buddies and I got to see some people that I have not seen in a while.

Over all great morning run!!!

Lacamas Lake 4- Miler

Yesterday I ran the Lacamas Lake 4 miler. It kicked my butt, handed it back to me and then kicked it again. I started off too fast (as always) I looked down at my Garmin and noticed that I was running at a 10:03 pace (my norm is about 12:30) Breathing was a little heavy so I slowed down my pace to about 11:30. I was feeling good, then we got to about 1.5/1.75 miles and we went off road to the trail. I thought wow this is great, then came the rolling hills on the trail. Glad no little ears were to close cause I am sure a few curse words flew out of my mouth. (I did not know that this was another easy part). As we exited the trail and met up with the pavement I thought "Sweet" I know pavement. What I didn't know was the hill at mile 3 that awaited me and the others. It was evil. The only positive thing about this hill for me was to see the other runners/walkers panting as heavy as I was. :o) After climbing up the evil hill, I made my way to the track and to the finish line. As I was running and about a 1/4 of a lap from the finish my left calf muscle screamed mercy. I stopped to stretch it (cause I couldn't do much else) a lady screamed at me "NO!!!! Don't stop you are almost there!!!!" well my calf muscle listened to her and it relaxed and I made a run for that finish line. After the race I told myself that I would not do this race again, next year I would volunteer at the race, but not run it again. Then a little switch went off and I decided next year I would run it and I would kick it back. Last year I would have never considered running this or any race, in fact Danielle F. for instance said "you should start running" I promptly asked her "whom would be chasing me and with what?" Thanks Danielle, look what you have done. :o)

Fit Right NW did a great job putting this race together, count me in for the next one. Now to actual train on some trails.