I'm wondering...

Is anyone still interested in keeping this blog up? I will post on it still, but I don't know for sure if anyone is going to be posting about training or racing. I'm starting marathon training on the 21st of February and might be doing a half marathon the week before that. Is anyone else still racing?

14 June 2008

Quiet here...

June Races!

Some interesting events are coming up next month. If anyone is interested, hit me up.

• Lakewood Summerfest Fun Run- Saturday, June 21st @ 6pm
  
• This is a FREE event in Ft. Steilacoom Park
• 10k, 5k, and 1 mile runs
• Sound to Narrows- Saturday, June 14th @ 8:30 am (5k start)
  
• 5k and 12k races
• $26 per person or $22 for a 4 person team
• Evergreen 5k - Sunday, June 15th @ 9 am
  
• $25 registration with t-shirt/ $20 without

So let me know if anyone wants to do these. For the morning ones I'll need to stay down at your place. Also us girls should register for Iron Girl soon. Spread the word about that, lets see how many girls want to run with us!

17 May 2008

Before I go to bed I want to blog real quick. So I thought today with the family was awesome. After I got home and cooled off for a bit I went for a run. It was warm, not too hot. I went out a little after 7. I was thinking about this blog and if you guys are up for it we could kind of write about a weekly topic. I think the first should be how running changed your life. But let me know what you think. I'm gonna try to get some miles in before Neil gets home, so we can get to winco before it turns crazy. Have a good night.

The pics are in!

Go to asi orders
then type in your bib number or last name. Check 'em out!

Today was awesome!!!

All my hard work is paying off. I went shopping today, and first stop was old navy. My jeans have been feeling a little loose so I worked up some courage and grabbed size 4 and 6 jeans before heading to the dressing room. First I tried on the 6's and they were loose and I tried a size 4 and they fit! They weren't even tight! It's taken 3 years but I'm down from a size 14. I don't care to get to a smaller size really. Just maintain. Also, bought a new bikini to celebrate! And shoes.

Working out the kinks

Spent 40 minutes on the elliptical today, trying to mobilize my right ankle. It actually worked out pretty well. It's low impact, but still gives me some workout. The ankle feels a little looser by the time I'm done, and with a brace on, didn't feel too bad during the routine, which was a weight-loss cycle. Spent over 20 minutes at target rate (>150). Stretching and doing situps tonight. I'll do the same thing tomorrow, only I'll probably do a 30-40 minute interval workout. I figure if I do that all week, I should be able to do something on the road next week. Need to pass this APFT. Gonna be doing 5-6 days a week until next drill, of whatever I can tolerate. Wish me luck.

OK, I know I must be some kind of a nutball, but...

http://tacomanarrowshalf.com/index.html

The results are in!

Dad: 2:37:14
Me: 2:37:14 (lol)
Mom: 1:39:45
Laura: 1:39:47

Congrats to all and Happy Mother's Day!!!

Ow doesn't begin to cover it.

Man, that hurt. I had to walk some of that race yesterday, but came across at about the same time I did at the Christmas half. Wonderful to come across with Megan. Congratulations to all for their runs! Gonna work on speed for shorter distances for a while, since I have an APFT coming up. Today I walked to the store and back with an ankle brace and plenty of ibuprofen on board. I looked like a very old man. Is this what fitness looks like? :-)

Good luck to everyone, and be careful. Take care of your injuries, get back into it carefully, and have fun. Love you all.

Ow. ow ow ow ow

Ok. I've done 5 half marathons now and the Tacoma one was the hardest. Those "rolling" hills...ow. My first Seattle I didn't train and the weather was awful; in Oly I had back cramps for the last 3 miles. This one was the most physically difficult, but I had a good time. Dad and I were together for the last 2 miles and that was great. It was awesome to finish with him. So...I don't think I'm really gonna race until Iron Girl, just focus on getting stronger. The race is September 7th and it really looks awesome. We get technical shirts, finisher medals, personalized race bibs, the little stuffed duck and a catered breakfast. There is one thing on the website that I noticed just now. There is a time limit for the 10k of 90 minutes, so speed training should be done for this event. On hal higdon's website (there's a link on this blog) the intermediate training plan has interval training and tempo runs. Interval training is hard, I'm not gonna lie. You should jog to warm up for about 10 minutes, then run 400 meters as fast as you can. Start with doing this about 3 times adding one repeat per week building to 8. It's ok to walk in between because you will be exhausted after one. Tempo runs are a little easier, kind of. You will want to warm up by jogging for about 10 minutes, then increase your speed to the point where talking would be difficult. Keep this up for 20 minutes then jog comfortably for 10 minutes. Increase the time your in your "race pace" 5 minutes per week building up to 45 minutes of hard running. You will be shocked at how fast you will improve...trust me. Congrats to everyone, we all did a great job today!!!

Drill weekend- May

The PT test was a little rough. I noticed that I haven't been working on push ups or sit ups at all. The run would've been a lot easier except I was sore from the first two events. So I just have to work on those:) I ran an 18:38 with wicked side-stitches. I think I'm gonna do an easy 3 today...excited for the weekend.

Tough today

Managed about 8 miles, but I had to walk a significant portion of it. I'll be ready for the half-marathon, but afterward, I'll take a break, and concentrate on shorter distances, to get ready for the APFT in June and repair the ankle. I don't know what the next few months holds, and I want to be as healthy as possible.

22 April 2008

This weekend I wasn't feeling so hot so I didn't run, it was the 9 miler weekend for me. So I ran 9 miles today...it was awesome. Except for miles 7 & 8...they were so tough and at that point I still had to reach the car, but the last mile or so was easy. After such a crazy week it felt good to get that all out. I ran at about a 10:15 pace the whole time and I'm very happy about that. So I'm gonna run on Thursday...about 5 miles, we have the airfield race on Saturday. I'm going to try to get a 10 miler in the Monday after the race. That way I'll have just enough time to recover for my pt test. Song for today's run was Passive by A Perfect Circle.

Long one today

Managed just under 8 miles (7.90 when measured with Google Earth), including the little side track that meant I had to double back for a half mile. Ankle still hurts like hell, and had to walk at least two miles of it, but did it. Gotta get up to about nine by next weekend, then hope to get at least one ten-miler in before the half on the tenth. Nice day, sunny for the whole run, but cool, no rain. Not like yesterday, when there was rain and freaking snow all day.

Hope all is well with everyone else.

Sorry had to do it

Team in Training

I went to my Team in Training meeting today. Pretty much I'm going to be working my ass off with fundraising. But I've got some ideas already. If anyone has other ideas let me know.

• Car Wash (with TNT group)
• Table at school
• Table at businesses
• Asking friends to post the link on their websites
• Table at the Gym
• Bake sale (with TNT group)

I'm excited, but still pretty cautious, so hopefully things will work to my advantage.

Cross training day.

Today's not a run day, but I went to the gym again and had a cardio class. It was called "A taste of group exercise". Oh. Your. God. Totally kicked my ass. We got those little stability things that are like half a stability ball and hard flat plastic on the other side and jogged on those. Picture step aerobics on jello. Then we did lunges with weights, a lot of aerobic-class like moves and then jump rope. She ends it with push ups and stretching. It was so fun!!! Tomorrow is a 5 miler. Since it's so close to the Green River Trail I was thinking of going for a run then doing the yoga class afterwards. Anyway...I'm sore. Gonna eat dinner and study. Kisses.

Today's run was full of win!

I had a pretty good morning, a shitty afternoon and an awesome run. I had a little "situation" with my unit that I shouldn't go into, but meh. So all afternoon I was putting off my run, and then finally I just had to go. I was so angry and I had a headache, but I knew I would feel worse if I didn't. So I decided to go to the Soos creek trail and do at least two miles. About 3 minutes into my run it got windy and started raining, but I was already having such a good time. Soos creek is mostly wetlands and all the trees were blooming. It was gorgeous, even with the weather. I ran slow for the first mile, then picked it up the rest of the way, kinda like a tempo run. It felt like if I slowed down, my heart was going to burst out of my chest in the good way. I stopped myself at a little over 5 miles, it was a struggle. I could've gone forever today and I'm kinda sad I didn't. I listened to a lot of coheed. Some alien ant farm and garbage too. I wish every run was this fun. My ankle is a little sore though so I'm gonna ice it for a bit. Kisses and hugs!

Too effing hot

Man, it seriously was too hot yesterday. I was supposed to do 8 miles, but had to turn back at 2.5. I weighed the pros and cons and it was too dangerous to run 8 miles in that heat. Especially since we're so used to the cold. When I got home I changed really quick and Neil and I went to Famous Dave's for dinner. Icyhot is awesome. It's the only way I got to sleep. Didn't get much sleep though...side effect of my pills include vivid nightmares. So I'm dragging today. I'm probably going to shower, clean, walk Loki and then head to the gym and lift weights for a bit. Love you guys.

Yesterday's Run

For the first time in a while, I was able to run, not fast, but for a little distance. Went a little over 5 miles, the ankle held up, but the heat got to both of us. Megan ran with a Camelbak, and we took walk breaks when needed. The intent was to do 7-8 miles, but it was just too warm. We're not quite acclimated yet. Annetta and I had a nice evening with Nick and Laura and the baby at Famous Dave's, and Megan and Neil had a date night.

This morning, the ankle is stiff and sore, but starting to ease up. Don't think I'll run today, but may do some stretching and pilates, to get the abdomen tight. Got four weeks to the half marathon, 8 weeks to my APFT. Plenty of time.

Addendum

We will be meeting at Mom's at two. Be there or be lame;)

Saturday

So Saturday, Mom & Dad have a prior engagement. So maybe meeting at the house around 1:30ish. It's going to be warm, so remember sunblock and to hydrate. Sound good?

10 April 2008

So...I went for a run this morning. I was so tired and hungry...mostly because instead of getting out of bed and going...I laid there for about 45 minutes trying to come up with reasons not to run. So finally I get out of bed, begrudgingly get dressed and go out for a run. I was so hungry that the whole time I was running was, well, you know how it feels when your blood sugar is wicked low? Now...picture that feeling while running. After about 2 miles I wanted to stop and take a nap. I seriously considered taking a nap on the sidewalk. But I finished my run, the worst part was I didn't get my runner's high till the last half mile. My ankle felt stiff at the beginning, but was great for the rest of the run. I also went to the gym today. I'm gonna see how I like this gym, so far so good. So on top of my run I did 15 min on the elliptical and 30 min on the bike. Sunday I think I'll go for a swim. See you guys Saturday.

Calendar

I added a calendar to keep up with the races...enjoy!

April 9th 2008

So tomorrow morning I'm going to do a 3 mile run just to see how the ankle holds up. Hopefully it will be good. Then in the afternoon I have an appointment at Bally. I almost joined curves, but 10% of their profits go to anti-choice organizations and I operate on the Kodos/Kang principle. Bally also has a pool!!! So I'm gonna check that out and keep my fingers crossed that I like it. I also registered for the Airfield run and the half marathon. Even though this has nothing to do with running I had an exciting afternoon...I found a puppy. I took the bus home and just as I was walking through the gate at my apartment complex I heard a truck honking and I turned to see a dog in the middle of the road. So after the truck passed I got the dog to come over to me. It was a sweet little long haired Chihuahua. He was so cute and friendly. So I took him to my vet's, about a block away, to be checked for a microchip. Then I called Neil and he picked me and Binky (named after my pet velociraptor) and we went to the animal shelter. Poor little guy didn't have a collar and wasn't micro chipped. He was super cuddly though. When we turned him over to the shelter, there was a blond girl filling out an application to adopt a dog and she said she was looking for a small dog like that. So I hope he finds his family or another one that loves him. Uber exciting day!

Holy effing crap!!!

WE HAVE TO HAVE A LONG ASS FAMILY RUN ON SATURDAY!!! The forecast for now is 72 degrees and partly cloudy. Any takers? Half Marathoners do 8 miles...10kers do 4 miles...I think...maybe 4.5. But it looks like a great day for a great run!!!

Post drill aka battle assembly

I hate being injured!!! My ankle feels a lot better, just not quite running level yet. I think 4-5 days should do the trick. In the mean time...I'm going to just do crosstraining. It's really annoying to have to stop and start training but meh...what can you do. Otherwise, I have to pick up some things today. Since I didn't go to school (left my backpack at Mom's) and in front of the computer I decided to get started on my summer volunteering applications. I've been looking into a few things...

• Kent Animal Shelter
• King County Parks
• Puget Sound Blood Center
• Woodland Park Zoo
• GLBT Community Center

So that's how I spent my run time today...I'm going to do some core exercises and hit the gym tomorrow.

Why I didn't run today...

My tooth started to hurt wicked bad today. So Neil (the awesomest hubby Evar!) went around and got me a dentist appointment at 2. It turns out that the douchebag who did my filling drilled too far in and the filling is resting on the nerve...so now I need a root canal. So I can't chew on my left side or drink anything really cold. EFFING A!!! See this is why I say dentists are med school failures!!! ARGH!

Running With Emotions!

So as you all know Nick Left today and of course i was a complete Mess! if it wasn't for my Girls I don't know where I'd be. Well First off thanks Girls for the Starbucks, Loved it! nice walk too. but tonight i went to the gym for some "Therapy" I turned on my music started to run on the good Ole' treadmill and well i started to cry. i closed my eyes and went for it, my head full of emotions and millions of "what Ifs" running through my mind. "When will i see him again?" & "Will Monica recognize her Daddy?". All of this wasn't helping my Tears so they just kept coming. Hitting the treadmill like bullets. And, all i could do was pray. For courage and some strength. and then it hit me. I'M RUNNING! I opened my eyes and looked at the timer...i had been running for 32minutes STRAIGHT! i couldn't believe it. I usually stop for a break after five. But, Oh Man was my Mind going in all sorts of directions. But when i saw the Timer, i Smiled. Running with Emotions is a crazy feeling but boy does it get your heart going. So today all in all was a bitter Sweet Day, i got a great Work out but I'll Miss my Hubby....:):

01 April 2008

My run today was much better than yesterday. And shorter! I ran my usual 3 miler and it was so pretty. the sun was coming up over the Cascades. You could see the snow on them...gorgeous. It was frakkin cold though. My ears nearly froze off!!! So I'm going to RRS (Road Runner Sports) and getting a headband tomorrow. And I think I gotta re-train my body to run first thing in the morning... at about 2 miles I was so tired that I was starting to slouch. I just kept telling myself that I would be going downhill any minute now. That's the beautiful thing about running, it teaches you to savor the downhills, appreciate the flats, and conquer the hills. And I know Mom is gonna look at me like I'm nuts, but I love to run hills. I think it's the feeling of conquering a task that looked so hard. All and all a good run. Tomorrow after school I'm going to RRS and then for my cross training I think I'm gonna take Loki for an hour long walk. I really don't know what I'm gonna run this weekend... I really think that a 3-4 miler is enough for this weekend, I'll just jump to 8 miles the next weekend. It'll suck, but I know I can do it as long as I'm careful and take plenty of walk breaks. Much Love!!!!

Team In Training

On Saturday April 19th at 10:30 am in Tacoma there is a Team in Training meeting. Team in Training is a fundraising program for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Basically they have volunteer coaches who train you over 4-5 months for walking or running half or full marathons, triathlons or other races. While you train they help set you up with a website where you raise money for research for blood cancers. If anyone wants to join me the meeting is at the Wheelock Library, room 2, 3722 N 26th St. So if you want to go, let me know!

31 March...Happy 5 months Moni!

I'm glad that all my classes are later so I can run in the morning. My run was kinda meh today. I ran from my apartment complex down 104th ave. The run I usually do around Kent goes from my complex down 240th street. The run down 240th is nice because it goes from the apartment complexes to beautiful suburbia with great views of the cascades. The run this morning...ehhh not so much. I ran down 104th forgetting that I'm not in Germany anymore and rush hour isn't at 9 am in this country. So it was like running behind a giant muffler the entire time. Where I live isn't the prettiest neighborhood but damn. I saw abandoned homes and graffiti everywhere. On part of the run there's this really busy bridge and there's no way to cross the street for 2 blocks. I saw the pedestrian path to cross it...this narrow path, mostly overgrown goes under the bridge. Creepy, I'm happy that I didn't have to cross the street. The sidewalks were overgrown and the whole run was kind of sad and creepy. Lots of houses falling apart and trashed lawns. So I mapped out another run on the route that I like around here. Trial and error I guess. Today was 4.5 miles and tomorrow is an easy 3. I think I'm gonna try to do the 7 miler this weekend. I know I can do fine on the half with skipping the 10 miler if I have to.

Iron Girl

I added a link to Iron Girl Seattle for the ladies. It looks like it will be lots of fun so check out the site. Oh and I checked out the site for Tacoma City Marathon last night. 10k can be walked if need be and strollers are allowed on 10k so if you want to bring Moni then that's cool. Have a great day!

This weekend's run

K guys...here's the deal. I mapped out two runs for next week to correspond with both training schedules. I don't know what Dad and I are doing seeing as we have drill. If we run from Mom's I already know how we're going to do it, but depending on how things turn out for drill weekend I might just do it on Friday up here in Kent. I mapped out two simple out and backs.

4 miles

• Start across the street from Mom's
• Turn left at Center Dr.
• Continue on Center Dr. until you reach Powerline Dr. (you might want to stay on the left side of Center Dr.)

7 miles

• Start across the street from Mom's and turn Left.
• Follow sidewalk down to where it turns into a bike path.
• Turn around at Hoffman Hill Blvd.
• Run to Center Dr.
  
• Cross Center Dr. and turn left
• Run until Center Drive ends and turn around
• Finish at Mom's

I think Neil and I are staying down with Mom (if that's cool) so we could do it that weekend but it will be tough. I might even suggest that half training does a 3 mile pace run and the 10k stick to the 4 mile plan. If we do the lesser training we'll all be able to run together. Laura, you can still make it but it's gonna be tough. We have about 6 weeks till the race and if we can get you up to 5 miles by then it shouldn't be bad. I just need to know how far you can run at a time. If you can do a two miler then we're in business. If you can't now then we'll have to just work harder. You can still do it! I talked to Neil and he said he'll coach you on form and how to pace yourself.

Oh yeah and if we do the 3 miler use the route that I posted earlier.
Much Love!

6 Miles

Today was a good run. Although I was really worried about Dad for the most of it. I love you Dad but your form today was scary. I took a few walk breaks but I ran at a good pace so I didn't really need them. My hill at the end was a tough one, but I enjoyed it. I'm a total glutton for punishment. My ankle was a little sore at first, then by 1 mile it was throbbing, a little after two it was a dull ache and by the end felt fine. Although I felt really bad about it, the week I took off seemed to make it a lot better. As usual I was super high on endorphins by mile 2:) I cannot believe the weather actually cleared up for our run! That was awesome! We can only hope that we're this lucky again but we probably won't be. The really tough long runs are coming up. Next week for the half training says a 7 miler. I'll map out a run going from Mom's. 10k training calls for a 4-miler. Great Job today. I'll see what I can do for mapping them out and post it in a bit. Much love!

Today's Run

When I got up this morning, I was alternately dreading and looking forward to my run this afternoon. This stubborn ankle is giving me problems, and even the brace is only partially helpful. I can walk OK, but the extremes of dorsiflexion and repeated impact are painful every step of the way. I took antiinflammatories and acetaminophen prior to leaving, which helped some.

Having said all that, I'm glad I went. Annetta ran her route with Lucy, and Megan and I did a course that rolled through residential neighborhoods and around one of the main roads in town, and finishes with a long hill back to the house, nearly a mile of upslope. Although the day was initially cloudy with scattered showers, the sun came out just as we started, and stayed out for the entire run. I did hurt for most of the run, and had to walk a few times, but even my cold didn't affect my endurance. Normally, I finish 6 miles a little faster than Megan, but this afternoon, she was well ahead of me, and I stopped at 5.3 miles instead of doing the last loop with Meggles.

Regardless of the hurt, I have to keep working the ankle and work on endurance, since the half marathon is on May 10th. I think we have at least one 10k and another run on the fort prior to the half. I have that damned thing about DNF: Dead Last Finish beats Did Not Finish, which beats Did Not Start.

Music during the run: Drunken Lullabies, by Flogging Molly. Nothing like raucous Irish punk/folk to keep you up.

Next week: stretching/pilates tomorrow, aerobic workout of some kind on Monday, maybe something low-impact like elliptical at the gym on Fort Lewis. No long run next weekend, unless we can do it during our Reserve drill.

I've added something...

I added some running links to the page. So there's links to local stores some of the races we will be running and links to the sites that have lists of upcoming races. There's also training links so play around and have fun. I'm really psyched to have a family run this weekend. I'm going to resend invites to the blog, I don't know if Neil and Laura got theirs. See you all tomorrow!!!

I know it's late but I'm motivated

So if everyone is running on Saturday...then we got two great options. We could go to the trail at Dad's which is marked for mileage or we could run in Dupont which is really runner friendly. I mapped out runs near Mom's that we could use. I mapped 2, 3, 4 and 6 miles. I'm not sure what the weather will be like, but it's the evergreen state so you can bet on rain. I'm suggesting that we run outside no matter what because we're not guaranteed to have nice weather on race day and it's best to know that the rain is easily dealt with. So you should probably dress in layers and have a hat with a visor or sunglasses.

All points start across the street from Mom's house.

2 Mile Run - Turn around point is Center Drive.

3 Mile Run - Left at Center Drive; Turn around point is 1 block past Kincaid St (or Ave)

4 Mile Run - Right at Palisade Blvd; Turn around point is 1 block past Tolmie Ave

6 Mile Run- Cross Palisade Blvd at Kittison St; Left at Haskell St (stay on right side of Haskell)
Right turn on to trail; Follow trail to wilmington; Left on to wilmington;
Run on footpath around state farm; Right onto wilmington; Right on to Center
Drive; Left onto McNeil; Go past Mom's onto bike path; Run on bike path to
Johnson Ave, cross street and finish at Mom's.

Don't forget to take walk breaks! There are water points about every two miles on races so that's a good way to pace yourself. You should also take walk breaks if your breathing is really labored or your legs feel really fatigued. If that little voice in your head starts saying things like "it's too far" or "I just wanna quit" don't listen to it!!! Don't forget to stretch and have fun above all else. See you Saturday. Oh and we need to hash out a time. I'm good after 10 am. Hugs and Kisses!

Caturday Saturday

Dad and I were talking about going for a family run on Saturday. Dad and I have to do six miles and I don't know how far you have to go Moms and Laura. We could make it ipod optional and practice our perfect pace. You should be able to have a conversation and run comfortably at the same time. Anywho... we could do this at the trail at Dad's or by Mom's house. Just let me know and I'll break out the google map thingie. Also, Run Fatboy Run comes out this weekend. I really want to go see it...so again let me know if your interested. Love you all!!!

I will get this party started!

Hey guys! I just want to introduce you to mine and Dad's brain child...the family running blog. I thought (read in Runner's World) that if we have a blog about our running we can support each other and hold each other accountable. You know what I mean, days when you feel like you just can't do it, well here's the encouragement. My run today was kinda bleh. The sky finally cleared up and when I got to the Green River Trail it was misting. But hey, what's a run in Washington without precipitation of some sort. Guess what happened when I got to the turn around point? Yes, amazingly, crazy, sideways, rain! So the last two miles were soggy, but as always I'm glad I did it. I have a two mile run tomorrow morning (yay!) and I'll do some pilates with that. I'm a quarter of the way done with my weekly mileage. Anyway, I hope everyone's running is going well. We're about 6 weeks from the race.