Brunette on the Run

Anacortes Half Results

2010-08-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

Location: Anacortes, WA

Official time: 1:57:44

Chip time: 1:57:40

Pace/mile: 8:58/mile

Overall: 49/126

Gender Place: 21/71

Age Place: NA

Oh my gosh....can it be true? I am actually posting a half marathon race recap? YES IT IS! I still need to do recaps for the Kirkland Half and the Seattle Rock N Roll Half, but maybe that will be my goal for the upcoming week :) On to the race recap...

After spending the night at the Little Bro's place up North, we woke up early and drove to Anacortes, WA for the Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Anacortes is very positioned between Bellingham and Whidbey Island, both of which are North of Seattle. It had been years since I was in Anacortes, but it was really a cute, small town. It was actually much, much nicer than I expected (I would even go back for a weekend, tons of small shops and views of the Puget Sound....but I digress) It was a quick drive and we found the start of the race quickly.

The packet pickup was situated right behind the Town Hall, and there was no line. I easily picked up my shirt and bib in no time. Unfortunately, I didnt READ the website well enough, and there was no timing chips for this race. WHAT? Luckily I had my Garmin with me, or else I would have been really pissed. The race was only $45, but still! I was surprised.

Walking to the start

Getting ready and standard shoe shot...

All of the runners walked 2 blocks to the start of the race. I again was very surprised to find out that the 5k, 10k and half marathon runners were all running on the same course at the same time. Yes, you heard that right. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem sharing the road with other runners, but a 5k is a totally different race than a half marathon. As the gun went off, I quickly found that I was running entirely too fast and I didn't want to get tired. Slowing down was difficult and luckily again, I had my Garmin to keep me on pace. As the Garmin beeped for the first mile, I actually had my fastest unofficial mile PR yet: 7:43 for the mile! At around mile 1.5 the 5Kers hit their dog-leg, and went back to the start line. It was a relief to not have sprinters running around me :)

Mile 2-4:

Mile 2 was along the Tommy Thompson Trail, which was a nice paved path along the waterfront. Luckily there were no other pedestrians in this area. It was really a nice run along the water, and reminded me of parts of the Bainbridge Island Half. We then reached a pedestrian foot bridge (or the tressel that is on the logo at the top of the page. It was really nice because it was REALLY long, and we had a cool breeze off the water on both sides of us. I have never run on such a long, low bridge before, but it was really scenic and beautiful.

Oh, did I mention that it was totally flat?? The 10kers had their dog-leg right before this tressel, so they didnt get to run anywhere along it. Too bad for them (haha)

Mile 4-5:

I purposely didnt look at the elevation for the half marathon. I figured I would be running the race no matter what, so I wasnt thinking about it :) Well, as it turns out, there is a HUGE LONG HILL at mile 4. I mean, it is really huge. It was one of those monster hills that even experienced runners walk up. As this was the case, I turned the corner and saw everyone walking. I made a point to not walk, and just power up the whole thing. I might have been going really slow, but I still managed to pass 2 people on the way up!

As always, the picture doesn't do it justice!

At the top of the hill we then had a steady, long decline. My legs were really tired, so I was not going as fast as I could have on the descent. Oops.

Miles 6-9:

This part of the course was flat again, and all along the waterfront. Aside from the huge refinery, there were pastures and views of the Puget Sound. It was really pretty and relatively easy. Somehow I forgot to bring my GU! I kept thinking that it wasnt a big deal, and that there would probably be a GU booth somewhere along the race. Well, I was wrong. As I hit mile 8, I realized this and just kept thinking "I need more energy, I need more energy..." It was really not a good idea to dwell on this, and I was psyching myself out. I even ended up walking for about 1.5 minutes just to calm myself down. After that, I was okay, and just focused on finishing under the 2 hour mark.

Mile 9-10:

We circled back again and went back over the tressel. Luckily I knew the end was ahead and it was all flat from here. I also saw a huge seal swimming along with me while I ran above on the path. That is definately something you dont normally see on a half marathon!

I was passed (insert sad face here) buy a man who was pushing another handicapped man in a makeshift running wheelchair. I am not sure if it is the same person, but I have read about someone who does the same thing and brings their handicapped brother along in every race. I'll have to research this more....

Miles 10-13.1

From here on out we were back on the Tommy Thompson Trail and heading back into town. It was still really flat and had few pedestrians to avoid in our way. Since there were so few runners in this race, I was really running by myself for most of the rest of the race. It was a really wierd feeling.

I did run past an older guy in his 50's. He noticed my Garmin and asked how fast we were going. His goal was to break 2:00:00, and I let him know he was well on his way. I kept on cruising at that point and just focused on the finish.

Running through town was difficult because we actually ran past the start and went a few more blocks to the finish. The volunteers at the end of the race were mostly really nice, but there were a few towards the end that I had to ask which way to run since it wasnt clearly marked.

The finish line was out on a pier at the point of the city. Luckily I finished in:

So much better than I expected! For feeling as drained as I did, I was thinking I wouldn't break 2 hours. This isn't my PR, but it is my second fastest race :)

Well, its not a medal, but it IS a ribbon :)

At the end runners were presented with a finisher's ribbon, and had an awesome snack table (string cheese, yummy almonds, fresh plums, bagels, breads, bananas, etc!) The Art Walk was right next to the pier, so most runners went through that afterward.

You cant tell, but the shirt is the color of a highlighter!

Overall it wasn't a bad race. I really enjoyed the snacks at the end and the finisher's ribbon, but running with the 5kers and 10kers was difficult. Also, psyching myself out with no GU was irritating. I will definately be prepared with my GU for this weekend at the Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon!

Happy Running and Racing!

Anacortes Art Dash Link

Link to Results

Return of La Nina?

2010-08-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

Nooooo!

So I was reading an article on King5.com (Seattle's local news) and apparently we are in for a lousy, wet and cold winter. Last winter we had La Nina, which meant it was warmer and dry. I was particularly a fan of 55 degree farenheight average in January! Not good news for local outdoor runners:

Seriously, I really prefer El Nino to La Nina!

A recap of last week's Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon on the way!

And another two...

2010-07-30T12:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay.....I have been another bad blogger lately. I SWEAR this time it was not just me being lazy. So much has happened in the past 2 weeks. Aside from starting a new position (and I am up for interviews this week AGAIN as well! Yay!) my grandmother also passed away. Urgent family get-togethers and frequent trips home in addition to 2 weddings have made things quite busy. I promise to be a better bloggy buddy in August!

To start things off in the right direction, I signed up for 2 more half marathons! I am going for a new Half Fanatic moon level as well. Currently I am a "Neptune" and I am going for "Uranus" (haha, seriously, it is not my choice of a name!)

Neptune (my current achievement):

2 Half Marathons in 16 days or

3 Half Marathons in 3 consecutive calendar months

Uranus (next goal):

3 Half Marathons in 16 days or

6 Half Marathons in 6 consecutive calendar months or

8-10 Half Marathons in 365 days

After these two races I will be at Uranus and will have completed 6 half marathons in 6 consecutive calendar months! (Mercer Half, Whidbey Half, Bainbridge Half, Kirkland Half, Seattle RnR Half, and the next two.) Pretty exciting stuff :) So here are the next two half marathons I signed up for:

Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon (Saturday, July 31, 2010):

This half is located in Anacortes, WA, and also includes a 10K and 5K race. Races fees are $45 and include a race shirt, goodie bag and finishers ribbon (not medal?) This looks to be a smaller race, but should be enjoyable. The course runs along the water at Anacortes and along some sort or bridge. I am hoping for pretty scenery and hopefully not too many hills!

Tacoma Narrows Half Marthon (Saturday, August 7, 2010):

This half is located in Tacoma, WA and runs across the famous Narrows Bridge, through Cheney Stadium and finishes in downtown Tacoma. The current race fee is $90 and includes a t-shirt, chip timer, goodie bag and commemorative finisher's glass. This race should be somewhat hilly, but probably and hopefully no more hilly than other races in the Puget Sound area. Should be another beautiful route.

I am really excited! Although I have not been blogging, I have been running, so I feel prepared for these races. I cant wait and a recap to come shortly! Are any of you running in these races?

Happy ~~running~~ racing!

2 years! ♥

2010-07-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is only somewhat running related.....but today I am celebrating 2 years with my boyfriend :)

Ill skip most of the mushy stuff, but I am so happy with him (and to find someone that will put up with my running schedules, races, special meals, driving me to and from races, taking corny pictures of me while running....you get the picture)!

He even knew I wanted to run after work, so we have later dinner reservations! Yep, he's a keeper :)

Beat the Bridge 8k, May 2008: our first race

Post Seattle Marathon 2009: My first half and his first full marathon

4th of July, 2010 (after the Fun Run)

Thanks for running with me, and always supporting me too!

Happy 2 years! ♥

Running Randoms.....

2010-07-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

A few random things about running that I encoutered in the past week:

A HUGE deer: while running over the weekend, I came upon a HUGE deer. Now I have seen deer before, but nothing like the size of this one. I am guessing that it was young because it didnt have antlers (or it was a large female) but it was gigantic. I mean, it was the size of a cow! Are they normally that big? It just stood there while I ran up to it on the road. I tried to make a lot of noise to scare it away (from me, and out of traffic) but it just stared. Good thing no one else was around to hear me!

Similar to this, but larger!!

I ran into a tree: yep, you heard it right. On my early morning run last week, I ran into a tree. Well, I was running and there was a large, low branch in my path. I went to duck my head, but I didnt duck enough. I smacked the top of my head into the branch. Whoops!

A crazy mumbling runner: while walking to work this morning, I saw a runner approaching me. As she got closer, I could see she was talking to herself, saying "....almost there! I'm almost there!" It was so strange....I sure hope I don't mumble out loud while running! I'm pretty sure that I don't.....

This list goes right up there with the cat on the leash. Have you seen anything strange while running??

Wait, what??

2010-07-13T12:57:00.001-07:00

Hmmm….two things:

First, I somehow woke up extra early today to run 5 miles before I went to work. Anyone who knows me this is somewhat impossible since I am NOT a morning person and a complete night owl. I don’t know what motivated me to actually get up and run (vs my normal hitting the snooze button multiple times) but I’ll take it!

Somehow my run was more groggy than normal. I thought I would have been more awake since I wake up early for races, but it just wasn’t happening :)

Second, I JUST realized that my time in the BYS Fun Run on the 4th of July was only 3 seconds off my PR from 2009! Wow?! How did I not realize this? I was seriously thinking my PR was faster, and I wonder if I would have pushed it harder in the race if I had known. Hmm??

Looks like I need to sign up for a few more 5ks soon…..I am NOT running at my potential! Has anything strange happened to you lately??

4th of July Fun Run 5k Results

2010-07-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

Location: Bainbridge Island, WA

Official time: 25:23

Chip time: 25:01

Pace/mile: 8:03/mile

Overall: 100/361

Gender Place: 22/177

Age Place: 3/19

On the 4th of July I decided to try to run in the annual Fun Run 5k on Bainbridge Island. I ran this race in 2008 and lets just say that it wasn't pretty. The course runs through downtown Winslow, has 2 major hills and is not for the out-of-shape. You can read my other recap here from 2008.

This is a rather small, local race, so I arrived about 15 minutes before the start of the race to register and get my t-shirt. The race was $25 and included a shirt, but no chip (they have never had chips). There was also an option to do the 1-mile Race as well for around $10. I registered and grabbed my shirt and headed to the start.

While waiting for the gun, I noticed that there were around 400 runners already waiting. I weaved my way to the middle of the pack. There was one false start, but then the race started on-time at 9:15 am. As we started down the street, I realized that people with their dogs, small children and stroller were up at the front. Really? I ended up running through a few bushes and dodging people to get to where the runners where. Not what I was expecting.

The first .2 of the race is downhill, then we start a slow decent until we reach the first mile. This is usually where people start dropping back. I was able to run and felt strong up the first long hill, and thankfully passed a lot of people too. We turned and went about .5 downhill. I used this as an excuse to run faster and try to get ahead of my normal pace. I was surprised again that most of the people around me were running slower on the downhill than on the uphill. Bad knees or something? I didn't get it...

There was a water station around mile 1.8 that was well stocked. At this point I was running at less than an 8:00 pace! I was pretty surprised...I was keeping pace with a girl who looked to be about 4-5 years older than me. Since there was few people in this race, it was awkward that we kept jockeying for position the rest of the race. More on her later...

We then started the dreaded HILL. Not only is this hill steep, but it is long and deceiving. You think you are at the top at one point, but really it is a false summit and you have to keep climbing. In 2008 I made it to the top but had to stop and catch my breath afterwards. It wasn't pretty! I just kept my head down and kept on going. It was nice to actually be the one who was passing others this time around! Unfortunately there was a little boy who was about 10 that flew by me....grr....

At the top of the hill there was a few people trying to catch their breath and sitting down! I even saw a guy puking at the top! I felt really bad for him, but it was pretty gross!! The last .5 was all downhill and I tried to catch my breath and go as fast as I could. I kept running back and forth with the girl that I saw earlier. I made my mind up that I would finish before her....no matter what it took.

As we turned the last little corner we start to run through the downtown again. I was able to see the end in sight just as the girl passed me. I kicked it into high gear and sprinted past her at the very end of the race. Unfortunately that pesky 10 year old cut me off at the end as well (he must have had it in his head to beat me, haha).

My Garmin said that I was about 25:01! This is fairly close to my 5k PR!! My goal was to get around 27:00 because it is such a difficult race, and I blew that out of the water! While walking through the end of the race, I noticed that I came in 101st....that pesky little kid robbed me of the top 100! Grr..... (UPDATE: I actually placed 100th! Yes! That little bugger took 99th......and he was under 14 years old!)

While grabbing a water and waiting for my friends to finish, I overheard the girl that was running with me during the race talking about ME! She was taking to a guy about how this girl "cut her off at the end".....um, no, I didn't do that and I just plain out beat her! Guess some people are sore losers racers :)

Unfortunately there are no stats posted yet from the race. I was hoping to get this recap done earlier, but I was waiting on these results! Ill update if the results ever get posted.....I want to know my age group placing!

Also, on a side note, I went to a wedding later that day on the 4th of July. While talking with a group of people, one of my friends went around and introduced everyone. One of the girls looked at me and asked if I did the Fun Run earlier that day. I said yes, and she replied:

"you looked familiar....you beat me by one second in the race!"

Haha, whoops! It was really awkward talking to her. Apparently she does a lot of races and runs often. I don't think she was too fond of me though :) Overall, it was a great race and I took over 6 minutes off my time from 2008. I celebrated with a margarita or two afterward at the street parade :)

Hope everyone had fun on the 4th!!

UPDATE:

I placed 3rd in my age group! Woo Hoo!

www.bainbridgeyouthservices.org/funrun.php
Race Results Link

Benefits: Boys & Girls Club of Bainbridge Island

"You ran....on purpose??"

2010-07-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

Holy heat wave Seattle!

Well, summer is here all right....we hit 94 degrees in Seattle! To be fair, it was 91 degrees when I went on my run. I was set on getting at least 5 miles in, and I really didnt think it would be that big of a deal while at work. Yeah, I was wrong.

That was one of the most difficult runs ever! I made it my 4 miles at a 10:00 pace, but it wasn't pretty with the hills. For kicks, I decided to run another mile, thinking I could run back through a few sprinklers on my way. Within FEET of reaching the sprinklers someone turned them off! So much for my cool down.....it must have been there to tempt me :)

Anyways, when I got back from my run (dazed and confused, haha) a woman was walking through the front doors. She looked at me and said:

"You ran? In this heat......on purpose?"

I smiled and said yes, and she looked at me like I was crazy. Getting a few miles in isnt that crazy, is it??

Happy ~~heat stroke~~ running!

Well, hello summer!

2010-07-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

In true PacNW fashion, summer has finally arrived AFTER the 4th of July. Most of you who are from around Seattle know this, but for all of you who are not, we rarely, rarely get hot weather before July. Then BAM, summer arrives just in time! Literally, we might hit 95 degrees tomorrow! A week ago Monday, it was a lovely 60 degrees, and it might have dipped into the 50's during the day. Im not kidding....

Check the time....its 10:00 PM!

I decided to finally get a good run in since the RnR half, yet the weather was not cooperating. I ran 6 miles at about a 9:30/mile pace. The heat just takes it out of me. I did pause a few times to take the follwing pictures:

Hello, Seattle!

Rat-cows on the loose....

Sunset over the Olympic Mts

Love the awesome sunset......and no, that wasn't enhanced! Ill spare you all the self portrait this time....85 degrees at night wasn't a pretty picture :) We'll see how many I can get in in tomorrow's heat! Here's hoping to more than 10 miles this week, why wont the weather cooperate?? Recaps to come...I didn't forget!

Happy ~~hot~~ running!

A good excuse this time....

2010-07-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Bad blogger again, but I have an excuse this time...

I just started a new job last week! :)

Needless to say, this past week was my worst running week so far. I only logged 10.1 miles, which is way below my usual 25-30. I guess starting a new position, going to a wedding, a bridal shower and having a certain vampire-related movie debut at midnight one day last week took up all of my time. My hip was a little sore after the Seattle RnR Half, so I think I might have needed the days off. Im hoping to get back into it tomorrow and log those miles! Also, a recap to come tomorrow too...

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July….it is always one of my favorite holidays!

Another new half PR?

2010-06-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Yep, another new half marathon PR at the Seattle Rock N Roll Half this morning!

1:55:59!

Recap to come tomorrow...Im too exhausted to type it all tonight. Hope everyone had a great race, it was my favorite so far!

Seattle RnR Expo & Bloggy Dinner

2010-06-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

INSANELY busy last 3 days....I can't even begin! Lets just say that the Seattle Rock N Roll Half is almost here and snuck up on me! The expo was the last 2 days, and I have to say it was amazing! Not only is this the largest race I have run in (about 35,000-40,000 people!) but it is the most well organized event to date:

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Health & Fitness Expo sets the stage for an exciting marathon weekend! For two days, over 100 exhibitors will offer free samples, showcase the latest in running gear, sports apparel, health & nutritional information and much more.

Literally, they were not kidding! There was TONS of freebies, discounts and samples to be had by everyone. I particularly loved the Sports Beans booth (which my other Step-Sis was working) and the GU booths. I also enjoyed the random free samples of fresh kiwi and the Fage yoghurt stand. Yum!

Not only was there plenty of free swag, but there were great discount too. I was able to snag a 24 pack of GU for $20, including tax! There were all flavors and sizes and types (GU, Chomps, Brew...) but this is the best deal I have found anywhere. Also Sports Authority had some awesome deals on discounted new running gear. I should have picked up a few Under Armour shirts....

This event was HUGE and very well organized. Although this race differed from others in that you had to bring a signed waver form AND i.d. **and they will NOT let you take someone else's bib!** the lines were organized by corral number and the lines were short. After you picked up your bib and D-tag, there was another line as an option to upgrade to the full marathon, or change your corral number (which I did, to finish earlier...more details to come on the reason!) It was really simple to do, and there were no questions asked. My kind of packet pickup!

Bib with D-tag attached

After we received our tech shirts, there was instructions on how to put on the D-tag and plenty of people to answer questions. After this area, we were ushered into a large Brooks RnR memoribilia area. I have never seen so many items to purchase for a race! Plenty of options for men and women's shirts, tanks, shorts, pants, jackets, hats, socks, keychains, etc. I mean, they had everything and more that you could think of. I was impressed, and actually bought another Brooks Seattle RnR tech shirt (pic to come!)

There was even an area to win free Brooks swag too. Unfortunately I was horrible at the ball-toss game, but the rest was fun and free.

All in all, it was a great expo. Just check out all that I went away with:

Yes please!

After the expo I met up with other awesome bloggy ladies at the Spaghetti Factory to carbo-load before the race. I am so happy that I was able to meet up with a few local familiar faces and even a few bloggers from across the US!

Bloggy runners!

Seriously an awesome night! A HUGE thanks to Mel for setting up the evening. I don't know how she does it all! :) I cant wait to run with all of you ladies tomorrow!

Night and good luck ladies! (and thanks to Kerrie for the picture!!)

Wow, 100th post!

2010-06-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, wow, wow.....

Where did the time go? I never would have thought that I would EVER have a blog, let alone post 100 times! So far it has been an interesting journey, and I love all the bloggy friends I have made and even met. Thanks for making the past 6 months so rewarding :)

Lovely view at the park....so what if I was the only one laying out!!

I went for a final long run yesterday before the Rock N Roll Half this weekend. I decided to put in some miles at a slow pace just to get my mileage up. I ended up running 10 miles including hills at a 9:47 pace. It was 78 degrees during the run! As you know, I am not good with heat, so I think that also made me run at a much slower pace.

Sunny colors for the sunny solstace weather!

Randomly during the run I spotted a 4-leaf clover! I decided to grab it on my second loop, and when I stopped to pick it, I found 2 other 4-leaf clovers right next to it! I really do have a special talent for finding clovers. The last time I found a 4-leaf clover I ran a sub 2 hour half at Kirkland. Here's hoping for good luck again on the race this weekend!

I just got back from the Seattle Rock N Roll expo, and I have a ton of info to post. I'm off for a quick run around the neighborhood, but will post soon. I hope everyone is enjoying the sunny Pacific Northwest weather.....I am loving it! It seems that summer FINALLY decided to show itself here!

Happy running!

Image found here

RIP Bug...

2010-06-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Yuck, it finally happened....

A bug flew into my eye while running! I should also preface this post by saying that I am horribly scared of any creepy, crawly creature, expecially bugs and spiders.

Well, I should say that actually 3 perished while on my run, but the first was definately the worst. I dont know how this hasnt happened to me before, but I sure paid for it on this run!

While running 6.2 around a local park, I was cruising along at a good sub-9/mile pace when something hit my eye. I quickly stopped and started blinking, but I could see it was HUGE. Since I hate bugs and are terrified of them, I frantically started clawing at my eye to get the thing out. Literally about 3 minutes later I felt it and tried to get it out with my finger (so gross!) but only a small portion of the bug came out! Without getting too graphic and grossing myself out more, pieces of the bug kept coming out of my eye during the rest of my run.

If you cannot tell already, sadly, the bug did not make it.

I guess there are just not too many bugs to fly in my face in the city. And that I am extremely thankful for!

Sorry for the gross post. Happy (bug free) running!

Thank You :)

2010-06-15T22:39:00.000-07:00

After having an exceptionally crappy day, I found this waiting for me in my mailbox:

An AWESOME gift pack from Julie over at Minnesota Mileage!

The goodie pack included:

A lovely note :)
2 Powerbar Energy Gels in Strawberry Banana
Pack of Jelly Belly Sports Beans in Fruit Punch
A Starbucks gift card

So amazing! I am new to the bloggy world, and this is the first thing that was sent to me. If you all are not familiar with Julie, she is a super-speedy bloggy runner who has completed many 5k, 10k and half marathons, but she is now training for her first full marathon! She not only sent this awesome gift pack, but has supported me since the beginning of my blog. Thanks Julie :)

Not only are the gifts amazing, but the Powerbar Gel is a flavor that I have not tried yet, and I have never had Sports Beans (which I found out my other Step-Sis is working the Sports Beans booth at one of my upcoming races!) Product reviews to come!

Perfect for my 10 miler this week and a new product review!

This is my excited face, haha. I'm a huge dork....

On a running side note, I went for a quick 4 miler and realized that I didnt start my Garmin! Boo! I run with my iPhone and took a call a few minutes into the run.....but I never stopped running. I ended up running my 4 mile loop (with hills) at a 10:00 pace and without stopping and talking the entire time! I might have sounded funny on the phone, but she knew I was running, so I think it was fine. I could have gone faster, but I probably would have run into something or someone while talking and with my headphones in. I also probably had quite a few funny looks in my direction (I probably looked like I was chatting with myself, haha). Oh well, I got the run and the call in!

Happy running and thanks again Julie! :)

Back Blogging

2010-06-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

Yet again, I was a bad blogger yesterday :( Yet, thanks to the wonders of Blogger, I can post this yet put a different time and date on it (sneaky, sneaky!)

Anyways, I went for a lovely 8 miler today (well, yesterday, but you get the hint!) I did a 4 mile loop twice that included several hills. It has been my regular loop now for the past 2 weeks, and it can be pretty challenging to get a sub-9 mile pace for the entirety of the run. I realized that the Seattle Rock N Roll Half is coming up in a few weeks, and I need to start running my longer training runs!

I ended up running an additional hill, but finishing 8 miles at a 9:15 pace. Not bad, and definitely an improvement over the last few longer runs, but not at my goal yet!! grr.....

It was also an extremely dark and stromy day again in Seattle, with periods of sunshine. My kind of run (but not tanning/summer weather!)

This picture doesnt do it justice!!

Why cant it just be sunny like this all the time??

B-E-A-utiful!

Alright, well I am a cheese-ball. Hope you all are enjoying summer weather somewhere and getting your longer runs in :) and not back-blogging like me!

Running on Builders Bars!

2010-06-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

After reading the article I posted yesterday about the guy who runs on bananas, I keep thinking about the runs I have accomplished lately and trying to figure out which runs were more successful than others and why. I have come to the conclusion that he might be able to run only on bananas, but I could probably run only on Builders Bars!

On all of the runs that I have done lately (hill runs or just regular runs around the neighborhood) my speed and energy level seems to go with how much protein I have had that day. Usually this means if I had a Builder's Bar earlier that day or not. Even just yesterday I ran 6 miles and was completely dragging. I not only ran one of my slowest paces in months (9:45/mile) but I had no protein in my system. Today I had a Builders Bar and ran 5 miles at a 8:55/pace including hills. That is a huge difference!!

I don't think I would go as far as eating ONLY Builders Bars (I would need coffee, GU and Hefeweizen in the mix too!), but one a few hours before a long run seems to give me better results. More on my review of Builder's Bars here.

Is there anything that you HAVE to eat before a long run or race?

Happy running :)

Running on bananas?

2010-06-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

Running on bananas, not literally running bananas :) My friend sent me an awesome link to Dean Karnazes blog on Runner's World. (If you are wondering who Dean is, he is the guy who ran 50 marathons in 50 days in all 50 states. You can read more about Dean on his website. He is the topic of another blog post in itself!) Anyways, Dean was talking about his friend, Mike Arnstein, who recently won the Napa Valley International Marathon. While Dean was talking to him, he found out that he was a “Fruitarian.” The article states:

he sometimes eats 40-50 bananas a day (no, that’s not a typo). In fact, other than oranges and the periodic tomato and stalk of celery, that’s pretty much all he eats.

Mike Arnstein is a “Fruitarian.” That is to say, he only eats fruit and the occasional raw vegetable. He doesn’t even eat nuts. Okay, that’s because, you’re thinking, he is one.

Wait, don’t be so quick to write the man off. Listen to these stats. Mike’s been a fruitarian for the past two and a half years. In that time: he’s watched his percent body fat naturally fall to around 3%, he’s bumped up his training mileage to 20-30 miles a day (often logging 160-mile training weeks), he’s watched his half-marathon PR drop from 1:17 to 1:10, and he runs a successful software company with 20 employees. All on bananas.

Crazy! It really makes you think about your pre-race or long run routine. I swear that I need a LOT of protein and little to no carbs. Can you imagine only running on bananas? I dont know how you could do it!

What are your thoughts? Is this possible? Do you think you would become deficient on other nutrients or would it be unsustainable for the planet? I would love to hear your thoughts (and the comments on the article were interesting as well!)

Happy running! I'm off to go run 8 (but on protein, not bananas!)

Banana image found here.
Mike image found here.

Stairs, stairs, stairs

2010-06-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

Im tired just thinking about it...

While running (almost everyday this week !!) I have been noticing a lot of stairs on my running route through the new neighborhood. Being the avid internet searcher that I am, I decided to Google it. Luckily, I found out information on the subject from the Seattle Times:

Resident TH has counted 120 public stairways on MY NEW NEIGHBORHOOD. TH wisely describes it as a "fairly objective estimate." His objectivity comes from exploring on foot every corner and cul-de-sac of his neighborhood.

At last count — in 2005 — Seattle had 482 public stairways. TH points out that while MY NEW NEIGHBORHOOD is not the highest hill in Seattle... it does have both the most and highest steps of any hill in the city.

Literally, this guy wasn't kidding. There are a TON of hills and stairways to run on. I have noticed my time only slightly improve while running 4 miles around the neighborhood. I decided to do 2 loops today and had to run up the set of stairs twice! My time was decent (9:31/pace) but it wasn't pretty. Im hoping to get this to around 9 minutes per mile (which I have done once on only 4 miles) for all 8 miles.

Here's hoping! I really do hate stairs/large steep hills!! Do you try to run on stairs, or just incorporate hills into your runs?

Photo found here from this awesome Seattle Daily Picture Blog!

Month Review: May 2010

2010-06-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

May 2010:

       Total Miles: 105.1
       Average Pace: 9:19/mile
       Running Time: 16:19:48
       Yearly Total: 514.9 miles

Yearly Time Total: 83:11:11
Blog Posts in May: 11

Well, not the best blogging month, but a decent running month! This month included my first SUB 2-HOUR HALF in Kirkland (recap STILL to come, but short recap here), increased mileage, went 21.7 miles over my monthly goal (83.4 miles/month), increased my yearly mileage by 97.9 of where I should be for my Tall Mom 1,000 + goal, went on 2 vacations to Alaska and Vegas, and moved into my new cute apartment. Phew, Im tired just thinking about it :)

I promise to be a better blogger next month and post more regularly. Hopefully I will have a less hectic schedule. As always, a few extra pictures from the month:

Kicking up my feet after a run and looking at the glaciers

Running by the Seattle "Fraiser" viewpoint

Sounders game at sunset after a run (Sounders won too!)

Chloe wanting me to play and not go for a run

Hope everyone had a great May! Happy running!

Moving, moving, moving

2010-06-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I meant the title in two ways: moving while running, and moving as in moving to a new apartment. Whew! Through the chaos of moving into a new apartment, I was still able to manage 24 miles so far this week, but they were neither fast or impressive. I was able to find a new route around my new neighborhood, which has plenty of hills and stairs that I can incorporate into my runs. Here are a few pics from the run this week:

Excited about running stairs....

New Running Route

I'll write more later....off to a Sounders Game! Monthly recap to come as well.

Happy Running!

Oh no!

2010-05-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Had a bit of a scare there. I went out for a run today and when I went to turn on my Garmin....nothing. I mean NOTHING happened. Blank screen and I had checked it last night and made sure it was charging.

I tried the power.
I tried the lap/reset button.
I tried plugging it back in to the wall.
I tried plugging it into my computer.

NOTHING.

This went on for about 10 minutes. Then all of a sudden it came back to life. PHEW! I was getting really scared there....and I have never had any problems with it before. I ended up running 7.5 miles and the battery is charged, luckily there were no other problems. Maybe it was just playing tricks on me?? Not funny at all.

Off to finish packing then moving tomorrow. Happy running and Memorial Day weekend!

Halfway to the goal!

2010-05-27T23:47:00.000-07:00

While entering my miles into my RunningAHEAD log, I noticed that I have logged over 500+ miles this year! Plus, as you know, it's only MAY! Woo hoo! I am officially over halfway to my goal of 1,000 miles in 2010! So exciting!

Aside from that, I have been keeping up my miles during this busy week. My last few workouts are below:

Monday: ran 4 in 35:00
Wednesday: ran 8 in 1:12:00
Thursday: ran 7.5 in 1:10:00

For those of you keeping track, the average pace on the Thursday run was 8:37/mile! That is a lot faster than my normal 9:00/mile pace. I'm not sure what is going on, but I'll take it! I read somewhere that to notice a difference in running you just have to keep at it and your time will slowly slowly get better. It seems that it is taking about 4-5 months of consistent training to lose half a minute per mile on my pace. Has anyone else noticed this too? I might just be slower than others :)

Hope everyone is having a good week! Happy running!

No running :(

2010-05-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, Im guessing it was all wishful thinking for the weekend. I WANTED to run, and probably could have on Friday, but bachelorette activities and the group arriving at different times made it impossible to get a workout in. I did see 2 girls running down the strip and I was insanely jealous! Although, I am not good at running in the heat, so it might have been a bad idea :) Besides that, it was a wonderful weekend in Vegas! Also, dancing is sort of a workout too....

On another running note, I was trying to run in the North Olympic Discovery Half Marathon on June 6th, but it seems that it has sold out :( I was waiting to see if I could work it into my schedule, and when I was sure that I could, they capped the entrance to 1500 runners :( There goes my chance for a race with a medal! I might try to find another race early in June before the Seattle Rock N Roll Half that I luckily signed up for. Anyone know of other races in Washington State?

Aside from that, I have been running around with errands because I am moving next weekend :) I'm planning on fitting in an 8 miler later on today before our Sounders Game (a friendly against Boca Juniors for those ~~futbol~~ soccer fans interested!) Last week was a sad running week, and I am hoping to get more than 16 in this week. Good thing I did the 12 miles before I left for Vegas, or else it would have only been about 10 miles! Eek!

Also, I found out that I won a giveaway from the awesome Julie over at Minesota Mileage. Check out her blog if you haven't already....she is super speedy! More details to come on that when it arrives :)

Happy running and let me know if anyone knows of other half marathons in the PNW for June!

Viva Las Running!

2010-05-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Quick post, but I thought I would post something before going on hiatus again this weekend. Just had a lovely 8 miler (9:08/mile) through stormy Seattle. A pretty strong run for me considering I wasn't really trying to run at any pace.

I'm hoping to go look at apartments, then come back, get another 4 in on the treadmill, pack, and off to Las Vegas for my friends bachelorette party. That should put me at 12 miles today!! *Hopefully* I can put in another 4 miles while there to make up for my weak running week (haha, that rhymes!)

Happy running and have a great weekend!

Ahoy Runners! Cruising USA Picspam

2010-05-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

First off....welcome new blogging buddies! I'm really excited and can't believe that there are 50 of you that read my random running rambles!! I promise to post more and hopefully keep you entertained :)

So as you might remember (since I posted a WEEK ago!) that I went on an awesome Holland America cruise through Alaska. Here was our route:

The trip was amazing. I would recommend it to anyone....basically as soon as you are on the boat you don't have to worry about anything. Food and travel is planned for you (with many options!) so all you need to do is plan time to get to that pesky treadmill. I was usually the only one there, and managed to put in 22 miles on the boat (it was after the half, and I was getting sea-sick running on the moving treadmill!) Here are a few running related pictures before I go into the full blown cruise review picspam (You have been warned!):

Amazing and empty gym I had to myself

View from dreadmill

Notice there is nobody else there?!

One run...probably not the best idea since it was extremely rocky that day. I was holding on to the treadmill the entire time to NOT fall off. You know you're a runner when...... :)

Cooling off after a run....

The BF and I in Glacier Bay

Naturally I found the Alaskan Brewery in Juneau :)

Alaskan White is the best!! Yep, it's a wheat beer.....

Red Dog Tavern in Juneau

Creek Street in Ketchikan

Finding the perfect gift for friends.....kidding. WTH is that? A furkini??

Yep, even finding SUN in Alaska. So what if it was 62 degrees!!

Overall it was a great week! Unfortunately I have been really busy after getting back (finding apartments is very time consuming!!) and I have barely had time to run let alone blog. I will have to find time next week after my weekend trip to Vegas this weekend. And to answer the questions now, yes, I will be bringing my shoes to the bachelorette party, and NO, it's not a party for me :) I have a feeling I might be the only one at the gym in Vegas as well.

Has anyone else been on a cruise or running while on a boat?? Hope everyone is having a great week! More blogging to come next week.....Happy running :)

Some pictures from HAL website

A New PR???

2010-05-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, the Kirkland Half Marathon was last Sunday and….

I finally got a sub-2 half marathon!! Wahoo!!! I guess those clovers really were lucky!

Can you tell I’m exhausted excited??

It was one of the most difficult races I have run, but I had it in my head to do a sub 2 half, and I came in just under the mark. It wasn’t pretty, but the recap will have to come later because I am on an impromptu cruise to Alaska (thanks to my awesome boyfriend!!) Recap to come in a week when I have adequate internet reception next week.

Leaving Seatown

We are in Juneau, and off to Sitka, Ketchikan, and Glacier Bay. It has been awesome so far and I even ran a few miles in the gym. We were cruising up to Glacier Bay the past few days, and it was a bit rocky. It wouldn’t have been that bad while sitting or standing, but trying to run on the dreadmill was a bit tough! I probably looked like I was drunk or something. More details to come in a day or so…..but I will leave you of a few pictures from the Oosterdam’s gym:

Not bad for not taking a day off after the race!

Happy ~~sailing~~ running! Did anyone else run the Kirkland Half? I didn’t see anyone that I recognized. Let me know if you ran it as well!

You know you're a runner when....

2010-05-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

Workouts:

Monday, May : Ran 4 miles (8:40/pace on treadmill)
Wednesday, May 5: Ran 8 miles (9:06/pace)
Thursday, May 6: Ran 5.5 (9:20/pace) & fast-walk 5.5 miles

Okay, so yesterday I went a little crazy and not only walked 5.5 miles to run an errand (don't ask, and yes, I'm sore from lugging my huge bag up hills!). I also went on a run with my awesome Step-Sis. Thanks for being my running buddy!! :) I unfortunately didn't take a picture on the run, but here is pictures of the 4 and 5-leaf clovers that I found on my extremely long walk Wednesday:

I am either going to have REALLY good luck this weekend, or I have an uncanny knack to find deformed clovers. I really find them all the time. (I'm crossing my fingers for an awesome tough half marathon in Kirkland on Sunday!!)

Now on to the story. On Wednesday I went for a nice 8-miler through the city. I was making a decent 9:00/mile pace without really trying. I was cruising along though the waterfront when I saw another woman running towards me. I didn't think anything about it until she got within 10 feet of me, stopped and turned abruptly and started running right in front of me! This wouldn't bother me, but they sped up and was going just slower than the pace I was going. I just thought that I would speed up and pass them so I wasn't going to run over her through the entire park.

I picked up the pace a bit and passed her. Within a few seconds, I realized that she was again right on my heels. I think she was trying to race me! The sun was shining and I could tell she was right behind me because of her heavy footsteps and her head's shadow bobbing on the path. What was she doing? I picked up the pace even more and she was still right behind me! We went for over a mile and a half at almost a 7:40/mile pace until the end of the park! Seriously, has anyone had this happen??

Let's just say that she never passed me and stopped just before the end of the park. Well, I hope she learned a lesson to not cut people off and try to race them through the park! Who does that? I don't think she knew who she was messing with :)

Do any of you have funny running stories??

And another one.....

2010-05-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well, here goes....

I just signed up for the Kirkland Half Marathon on Sunday, May 9th!

I think I just might be crazy, but I felt like running another one this weekend. You can find out more about the course here. Apparently, its ANOTHER really hill course, so who knows about my sub 2-half:

Wowsa! Elevation graph from here

Also, I have no idea if there is a finisher's medal or not. I know they had one in year's past, but I didnt see anything on the website for this one. Maybe I'll get lucky and not only receive a medal but also get my sub 2. By looking at the elevation, Im doubtful for both! At least its another one under my belt though!!

Hope everyone had a fun Cinco de ~~Drinko~~ Mayo yesterday. I celebrated by running 8 miles (story about that to come) and having pork carnitas with a hefeweisen and lime. The lime was to be festive, or course!!

Off to run a few miles with my Step-Sis. Happy running!

Month Review: April 2010

2010-05-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

April 2010:

       Total Miles: 122.4
       Average Pace: 9:35/mile
       Running Time: 19:33:09
       Yearly Total: 409.8 miles

Yearly Time Total: 68:03:02
Blog Posts in April: 11

Woo hoo, new monthly mileage PR! This month included 2 half marathons (Whidbey and Bainbridge), increased mileage, went 39 miles over my monthly goal (83.4 miles/month), increased my yearly mileage by 76.2 of where I should be for my Tall Mom 1,000 + goal, and proudly became Half Fanatic #391.

All in all, it was a great month. The two races were great runs (for being sick and a difficult course) but I'm still chasing that sub 2. I'm thrilled (if you cant tell) to be a Half Fanatic, and I'm hoping that I will continue to race consistently in the future. My average pace was decent for the month, but could be improved. Hopefully my new shoes will do the trick in May :)

Also, here's a little product review:

Hammer Gel ($1.25/single serving):

Hammer Gel comes in the following delicious flavors: Apple Cinnamon, Banana, Chocolate, Espresso, Montana Huckleberry, Orange, Raspberry, Tropical, and Vanilla.
For over a decade, Hammer Gel has been the benchmark of concentrated carbohydrate energy gel, primarily because of what it doesn't contain - Hammer Gel has no added refined, simple sugars, and no artificial colors or sweeteners.

Rock solid energy
Made with real fruit and wholesome ingredients
Versatile and economical
Espresso and Tropical contain caffeine.
Gluten-Free and Vegan Friendly
Contains no MSG
Kosher Certified
Comes in Gel Packs or 26 Serving Jugs

Hammer Gel was being distributed at the Bainbridge Island Half, so I took a few while running by. I tried the Vanilla gel before one of my runs last week (it was in the beginning of the run, since I was dragging). The gel has no refined sugars, yet it seemed to taste very sweet. The packet is larger than GU, and was a little more difficult to take while running. Overall, the flavor was decent and I would try it again. I did seem to have more energy about 10 minutes after taking the gel. I would still prefer GU, but this was a nice alternative.

Just because I like pictures, here is a view from the run when I took the Hammer Gel:

Also congrats to Tall Mom who BQ'd in her marathon last weekend and to Amanda who ran her first marathon (plus a half marathon a few days later) as well. Congrats ladies :)

Half Fanatic #391

2010-05-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, April 27: Run 4 miles & fast-walk 3 miles (post-race recovery)
Thursday, April 29: Run 8 miles
Friday, April 30: Run 4 miles
Saturday, May 1: Run 4 miles

Okay, I know....I was a bad blogger last week. As promised, I did keep up my running and post-race recovery, but I was really waiting for something else:

I am officially Half Fanatic #391!!

Yep, after the Bainbridge Island Half Marathon last Sunday and the Whidbey Island Half Marathon on April 11th, I completed their Neptune Moon Level, which is their lowest level to qualify (which is 2 half marathons in 16 days, or 3 within 3 consecutive calendar months). To find out more about how to qualify, click here for their requirements, and click here for a list of all the Half Fanatics.

To enter you have to first qualify with races that the group recognizes, then send them an email answering the following questions:

1. Your Best Hard Core Half Marathon Streak?
2. Half Marathons Run This Year?
3. Lifetime Half Marathons Run To Date?
4. Which States You Have Run A Half Marathon in?

After that, you pay your membership fee, pick out a shirt and you are in!

Luckily I heard the shirts run small, so I ordered a medium and it fits perfectly. The shirt is also of a much heavier fabric than regular tech shirts, which I like. Plus, its a women's cut, so it should fit but not be too snug :)

Also, you gain access to upcoming half marathons that other Fanatics are running in, and your own web page to update your half marathons races. It might sound dorky to some, but to me it is worth it! For me, it is just the motivation I need to keep signing up for races. This was one of my goals, now I can just work on that pesky sub-2 half!

To all of you PNW'ers, has anyone run in the Kirkland Half Marathon? Its this weekend on May 9th. I'm trying to decide if I should do it or not. Yet again, I seem to find the half marathons without the finishers medal! Oh well :)

Are any of you Half Fanatics or Marathon Maniacs??

Whoa Grandma!

2010-05-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

While looking at the news this morning, my eyes noticed the words "run" and "marathon" which usually isn't front page news on MSN. The article's headline was "Grandma runs 27 marathons in 27 days." I thought it might be a joke, but it was true!

Meet Rosie Swale Pope, a 67 year old grandmother who just ran 27 marathons in 27 days! The article here describes her month or consecutive marathons across the UK, and how she originally planned on running 26, but decided to do another marathon as her "victory lap." Wow.

"I think the main thing is to show people that they should reach out to do what they want to do.
"Maybe you can't always get there but you should always reach out.

"Although I am actually 63 doing something like this makes me feel as though I am really 36."

After googling Rosie, I came across her website. Apparently she also took 5 years off and literally ran around the world! Here is a picture of her route:

Not only that, but she started her run at the age of 57! Now I'm thinking about getting her book. She is truly an inspiration. Who inspired you today??

Bainbridge Island Half Results

2010-04-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

Location: Bainbridge Island, WA

Chip time: 2:02:09

Garmin time: 2:02:08

Pace/mile: 9:20/mile

Overall: 83/172

Gender Place: 24/87

Age Place: 5/27

Okay, seriously, I have no excuses....I just haven't posted the recap! No worries and nothing bad happened in this race, I am just SUPER slow this week. Not to worry, I have still been running. Just a ton going on :) Now for the recap!

As you might have seen me write about before, the Inaugural Bainbridge Island Half Marathon was last Sunday, April 25th. Located just a short ferry ride from Downtown Seattle, Bainbridge is a beautiful little island and known for its hills. There was a previous half marathon, the Toe Jam Hill Half, which has been run the past 28 years but has since changed its route and was renamed the BIHM. I am from the island, and never heard of it! Apparently it has been pretty small and not well known. Anyways, I was nervous for my hometown half and I knew the course well. Just check out the elevation if you didnt see it before:

Small graphic, but you get my point!

Anyways, I've been feeling down the past few weeks, so I didn't run on Saturday and headed over to the island. I had dinner at San Carlos Restaurant (a local Southwestern favorite) and had an awesome low-carb salad (with tons of guac and pork, my favorite!!) If you ever get a chance to go, do it! It was my perfect pre-run meal. I also had a peanut butter Builders Bar before I went to bed.

Waiting for the start

I woke up later than a normal race day, since I knew the island well and there wouldn't be traffic. We arrived at 9 am, easily picked up the packet, tech shirt and chip and was ready to start! The start (Winslow Way and Madison Ave) was held a few blocks from the finish line (Waterfront Park). Since it was such a small race, we didn't even have a mat or anything to signal the start! A guy came over with a megaphone and announced the start. He also said that we didn't need a mat since they would "start" the chips at the same time remotely. I didn't even know they could do that!

And we're off!

The course as I mentioned was quite hilly, with equally difficult hills and descents. We left downtown and went up an immediate slight hill on Grow. From running in the area I knew to pace myself and not burn out on this slight hill. We took a left and went on a long decent down Wyatt, which was nice. I was able to pick up the pace here and get going. After an even steeper decent down Wyatt, we turned at the head of Eagle Harbor and started a long climb to Blakely Elementary School (around mile 2.5) I was feeling great at this point and ran past quite a few guys who had to stop for a breather. One photo op below:

After we reached the Elementary School, we turned right and went down Baker hill (mile 3), which is a MASSIVE decline! I mean, it was steep! I was running next to an aid car the entire time, and was tempted to ask how fast I was going :) On a side note, the course was monitored extremely well for only 180 runners. I saw multiple police officers guiding traffic and ambulances riding along the course. It was nice to see!

Miles 4-6 were scenic and flat. I was feeling great and when I looked down at my Garmin, I was cruising at a 7:50-8:20 mile pace! That is a lot faster than I normally run, but I kept it up. We ran past the old historic Lynnwood Theater, and continued through Fort Ward State Park. The park is beautiful and has awesome views of the water (towards Bremerton) and you run through the bunkers and trees. Its a really nice area.

I dont know who these two dudes are but this is the only picture I can find :)

We then ran on the scenic South Beach drive, that is right on the water. There are some beautiful houses along this road and being RIGHT on the water was awesome. Plus it wasn't too warm with the breeze off the Sound. I was surprised by my Mom, Boyfriend and Chloe who met me at mile 6 to cheer me on! It was a huge boost for me, and nice to see a familiar face along the route. It really helped for the next horrible hill:

Toe Jam Hill! Let me just say that this picture (from the website) is NOT doing it justice! NOT AT ALL! This thing was brutal. It says that it is a 6% incline, but I think it is much steeper than that. You cant even see the bottom of the hill in the picture because it drops so steeply! I was planning on running this without stopping and slowly, and I mean super slowly, started chugging up the hill. After a hundred or so feet, I was making a snails-pace and was being passed by people walking up the hill. I gave up and realized that it was quicker and saved more energy to take long strides up the hill instead of jogging. The funny thing is that all of the other runners around me were doing the same thing! It was still tiring and I was catching my breath at the top. The nice thing was that once at the top we had almost a full mile running downhill. Still, it was tough to run so hard up hill then hard to stop yourself from slipping going downhill.

Mile 8 ran along the water again (Port Blakely) and we turned to go up Old Mill Road (or known as 3T). This was another steep hill and was equal to that of Toe Jam. I wasnt planning on walking, but I had to. I was really tired and wanted to conserve energy. There was a water stop at the top of the hill and they were handing out Hammer Gels. I ran with my trusty Gu, but I took the Hammer Gel to try at a later time. Once at the top of the hill another friendly runner started to talk with me. It was his 8th half marathon and his first time running on Bainbridge. He said it was the most beautiful course he had run on! I had to agree :) not that I'm biased or anything! He also ran in the Mercer Half and did a sub-2 hour! (Side note, I ended up beating him in this race!) It was nice to talk to someone, and we even kept talking up the hills on Old Mill and through mile 10.5. Old Mill is one of my favorite roads on the island and has a nice little view of the valley and where I used to ride horses. Just a pretty area.

We then turned and started to go back around the head of Eagle Harbor. I had another surprise and saw my Mom and Boyfriend again waiting for me! Here is an example of a hill that I didn't even think was a big deal compared to the other ones:

I was feeling good for how hard of a race it was and they got this picture of me doing a "flyby:"

Yeah, the girl behind me wasn't too impressed. I also tried to offload the extra Gu and Hammer Gels that were in my hand and ended up flinging them at the car! Sorry Mom and Bf :)

After this hill we were along the water again about to head up Wyatt (which we ran down at the beginning of the race). I saw a photog and decided to continue with my airplane theme which I dedicated to Little Bro:

Not sure if you can tell, but the ladies behind me were cracking up. You cant tell how much I was swerving to get these pics, but it was pretty funny. Yes, Im a huge dork :) Luckily they didnt seem to mind that I was totally photobombing their picture. At least they didnt seem to mind and were good sports about it!

There was a guy at the head of the bay who was cheering on the runners. As I came closer, he was actually YELLING at us! It was all encouraging, but he was really putting effort into it! I felt like he was my coach or something, yelling to go faster. We only had a mile and a half left, but most of it was a slight uphill. As we started going, I decided not to walk the last bit, and just go on up the hill. My Garmin beeped at mile 12 and I was at 1:54:00 which was a great time for all the hills and terrain, but I didnt think that I could do the last 1.1 in 6 minutes. I decided to run as fast as I could and just see what I could get.

Well, I ended up finishing at 2:02:09, which isnt a PR or even sub 2-hour, but it was by far the best race I have run. It really blew Mercer Island out of the water for difficulty and extreme hills. It was a well manned race and the few supporters out there were awesome. I wouldnt advise anyone to do this race if they havent trained for it (or if you are sick!!)

BF and I after the race

There was drinks, food and snacks after the race, but nothing exceptional (although the water stations were well stocked and had water, Gatorade and gels). The tech shirt is nice, but they had no medals to hand out (sniff sniff). I guess that's what you get when the entrance fee is only $50 and its benefiting the local Boys and Girls Club. So I guess that's okay....but I really really like medals!!

Finish line and food afterwards

A few hours after the race I received an email with all my race info. It turns out that my 2:02 is only 47 seconds off my PR! Not only that, but I placed 5th in my age group (5/27), was the 24th female to finish and was in the top 50% overall for the finishers (male and female)!! WOW, I wasn't expecting that! Ill still be chasing the sub-2, but I think its coming in my future. I did this race about 20 minutes faster than I was expecting!

More exciting news to come and a week recap on the way. Happy running and thanks for all the kind comments this week, I needed it before the race! :)

Race Results

Race Website

Picture Website

Getting nervous....

2010-04-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 23: Run 4 (8:45/mile)
Saturday, April 24: day off

I'm heading back to Bainbridge now to prepare for the Bainbridge Island Half Marathon tomorrow morning. Still not feeling 100%, so I don't really know what to expect tomorrow. I do know that I will be watching what I eat tonight and NO COUGH/COLD MEDICINE TONIGHT! I learned that lesson 2 weeks ago.

Runners up Toe Jam Hill a few years ago

I don't think that I stressed enough how hilly this course is. I mean, its going to be ROUGH. The course elevation and incline is below, and parts are over 6% incline! I drove the course a few weeks ago and my car was straining on parts of it. Lets just say that there will most likely not be a PR in my future tomorrow. I want to think positive, but I need to be realistic and not set up for disappointment.

What did I get myself into??

The good news is that the race is in my hometown AND I will qualify to be a Half Fanatic!! To qualify for their lowest level, you have to do this:

NEPTUNE

1. 2 Half Marathons within a 16 day time frame.

2. 3 Half Marathons within a 90 day time frame.

So that is something to look forward to! Are any of you a Half Fanatic or Marathon Maniac? Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

Pacing & Product Review

2010-04-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday, April 22: Run 7 in 72 minutes (10:18 pace)

Yesterday I went running with my Step-Sis again on some serious hills....and lets just say I wasn't really ready for that!! We went around her neighborhood, but in the opposite direction as before. Woah nelly, I wasn't ready for the hills! My immune system must be down still, because I wanted to stop at mile 3. By mile 6 I HAD to stop and was covered in goosebumps and thought I was going to fall over. I felt okay as soon as I stopped, but it was rough. Good thing she was pacing me, because we managed a 10:18 pace even though I was dragging. Thanks for getting my butt in gear Step-Sis :)

Watch for bikers!

Part of the run was on the beautiful and flat Burke-Gilman Trail. I had heard about it before and that it looped through Seattle, but it was awesome! Wide paved paths, tons of trees and flowers and great views of the city and Cascade Mountains. Just watch out for the bikers, they seem to think they rule the trail.

Afterwards we celebrated our run with a delicious Deschutes Twilight beer. If you don't already know, I love beer and anything Twilight related. Pretty much, I can revert back to a 12 year old girl sometimes, and Im not ashamed to admit it. But I degress, that is another blog in and of itself. I think the seasonal brew is subconsciously channeling my favorite vampire because there are sparkles all over the bottle. Lets just say it was delicious and you should try it! If they could make a beer that was Twilight-inspired that you could drink while running I would be in heaven!

I know what you are thinking, and no, my product review was not for beer :) I might have to try that sometime though! For my birthday last month I received this awesome present:

Nike Poly Good Dry-FIT Jacket ($65 or sale for less)

With flattering flat-seam construction and extended ribbing at the hem, sleeve and neck, the Nike® Women's Dri-FIT Jacket is your perfect go-to gym cover-up. This jacket gives you a wider range of motion for extra comfort, while Dri-FIT fabric provides sweat defying power.

Features
Dri-FIT: This high-performance, microfiber, polyester fabric wicks sweat away from the body and moves it to the fabric surface, where it evaporates. As a result, Dri-FIT fabric helps you stay dry and comfortable
Full-zip
Side-slit pockets
Rib collar, cuffs and hem
Fabric: Dri-FIT 95% cotton/5% spandex
Machine wash
Imported

This jacket is awesome and perfect to wear on cool days or for after long runs. The jacket is fitted but not snug, so it wont cling to you. The material is heavy enough that it drapes nicely and looks great. I got mine in black, but it also came in a bright teal and pink (among other colors Im sure). The jacket also has longer sleeves and longer through the torso, so it wont ride up on you. The neck is also high but larger (a cut Ive never seen before) and looks great while zipped up. See below:

Check out the neckline!

I should be a photographer, I know....

Anyways, its an awesome jacket. I'm having trouble finding it now online, but if you google "Nike Womens Poly Good Dry-Fit Jacket" you should find it. Thanks Little Bro for the present :)

Im off to run in the lovely Sea-town rain. Happy running :)

Nike Jacket image from here

Marathon Inspiriation

2010-04-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Okay a little late to post on this, but how exciting was Boston Monday? This was the first year I really paid any attention to Boston, and I found it really entertaining! I was rooting for Ryan Hall (Go USA, haha) to win, but he still had an awesome race. How amazing is it that the winner's time? Robert Cheruiyot's marathon time of 2:05 was faster than my Whidbey Half time of 2:06? Dang!!

I also came across an awesome post from Runblogger who posted a video documenting the 2005 Chicago Marathon. I know, I know, its not the Boston Marathon, but once I clicked on it I watched the entire thing... all hour and forty-two minutes of it. It is really fantastic and inspiring. If you are too lazy to click on the link below, here is a brief review from their website:

Spirit of the Marathon is the first film to capture the story, drama and ultimate essence of the legendary 26.2 mile running event.

Filmed globally in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, the movie brings together a diverse cast of amateur athletes and marathon luminaries.

As six unique stories unfold, each runner prepares for and ultimately faces the challenge of the Chicago Marathon. More than a sports movie, Spirit of the Marathon is an inspirational journey of perseverance and personal triumph; a spectacle that will be embraced by runners and non-runners alike.

I liked it so much Im re-posting it here:

Seriously thinking about running a marathon after watching that. Did it inspire you??

I'm still feeling crummy, and might take the day off from running. Then again, Ill probably feel lazy a few hours from now and end up running a few on the dreadmill. We'll see....happy running!

Sprinting Sisters

2010-04-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

**Well, jogging would be more accurate, but sprinting just sounded so much better :)

Step-Sis and I before the Seattle Half '09

Yesterday I went for a 6 miler with my awesome Step-Sister. We ran all along Greenlake and the surrounding areas. If you ever get a chance to run around the lake, do it! Its fairly flat, beautiful and has great sidewalks so you wont bust your ankles. We took it a bit farther on one of her favorite routes and included a few long (but not too steep) hills.

Greenlake and surrounding area

It is seriously an awesome run. You not only go past the lake, but there is a zoo too! Where else can you run and have the possibility to hear lions, tigers and bears? (And probably chickens, but that's beside the point!!)

Still feeling sick and drained of energy. I have the Bainbridge Island Half this weekend, which is supposed to be much more difficult than the Mercer Half or the Seattle Half, so I am not thinking I can get my long-awaited sub-2 half. You never know, but I'm dragging in my 6 mile runs. I'll be sure to not take any cold medicine for this one though!

Also, has anyone read this book?

My Step-Sis started reading the Complete Book of Women's Running by Dagny Scott Barrios and has highly recommended it. I flipped through a few of the pages so far, and it looks to have a ton of useful tips, stories and information. Anyone read this or know of another great running book?

Happy running :)

Robert Cheruiyot (KEN)

Spring is here!

2010-04-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 14: Ran 6 (10:30/pace)
Thursday, April 15: Ran 6 (10:00/pace)
Friday, April 16: Ran 6 (10:00/pace)
Sunday, April 18: Ran 4 (9:15/pace)

Lots of quick short runs this week. I took 2 days off for recovery after the Whidbey Half, but I really wasnt sore since I didnt run that fast in the race :( Even though I am STILL sick I wanted to get back to running anyways.

Wednesday and Thursday's runs were tough. I have little to no energy and I ended up stopping to catch my breath a few times. I felt like I was still going to pass out or fall over. I felt fine the rest of the night afterward, but the run itself was tough. Friday's was better, but I'm still dragging.

I did make it in to the doctor, and the good news is that it isn't pneumonia! I even had x-rays because that's what they thought it must be since I have had it for so long. The bad news is that there is no medicine that I can take to feel better - it just has to work itself out. Boo that!

So, I decided to use my own "medicine" and have a few hefeweizen at my first Sounders game of the season! We ended up winning in the final few seconds 1-0 against Kansas City. I figured that alcohol kills germs, right?? :)

Today was beautiful and over 70 degrees! All the leaves finally came out on the trees in Seattle, so its starting to feel like spring. I even saw a few bunnies earlier this week too. LOVE LOVE LOVE running in the spring :)

Hope everyone is feeling better and had a great weekend!

PS - We celebrated my Mom's birthday earlier this week but I didnt post anything. So....happy belated birthday Mom :)

Whidbey Island Half Results

2010-04-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Location: Whidbey Island, WA

Official time: 2:06:50

Chip time: 2:06:31

Garmin time: 2:06:45

Pace/mile: 9:39/mile

Overall: 532/1349

Gender Place: 249/916

Age Place: 68/183

Well, the second half marathon for 2010 completed! Woo hoo! The good news is that running in the Whidbey Island Half Marathon last Sunday completed my goal for the year (running two half marathons in 2010)! The bad news is that it was really a difficult run. I'll start at the beginning....

On Saturday my Mom, Little Bro and I left to go to Whidbey Island. As you might have seen, we stopped at the Tulip Festival on the way up. It was absolutely beautiful! If you are in the PNW, it is worth going to at least once. There are fields and fields of different colored tulips all in bloom at once. My only suggestion is to arrive early, as the highway can become quite crowded with all of the traffic. Pics below (and the ones from here) are taken by Little Bro:

We then made it to the Race Expo, which was pretty small for a half and full marathon. Not many freebies, but I guess that's what you get when there are less than 4,000 people running in the entire event. Well organized and lines were short but they had already run out of the small t-shirts that I preordered! Grr! Seriously, what's the point of pre-registering if you get a shirt that doesn't fit? But I digress.....the shirts were a really nice tech fabric in short sleeves for the half, and long sleeves for the full.

Luckily we stayed in a hotel that was right across the road from the half marathon start. Since Im not a morning person, this let me sleep in as late as possible :) Also, they allowed pets for a small fee, so Chloe my rat-cow was able to stay too. Pretty exciting stuff for her!

We arrived at the start with plenty of time to spare. I had my usual pre-race protein bar and was good to go. Since I have been sick lately, I took 2 Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Severe an hour before the start to reduce my cold symptoms. I figured that if I was able to run on my bad hip in the Seattle Half (with 3 ibuprofen) I could run with a cold (and 2 Tylenols). Probably not a good idea.....I hate people who "fake" cold symptoms or injuries. I really don't get sick very often, and I usually think that most of it is literally "in your head." I figured most of running is a mental game, so I could run through anything.

Little Bro and I at the start

The lines were fairly long for the port-a-potties, but luckily we didn't have to go. The race started on time and we were off! Little Bro pulled out ahead of me early on, but I already figured that I wasn't really going for a sub 2 while being so sick and stressed out lately. My real goal was to hopefully beat my Seattle Half time of 2:16. I was thinking I might run even slower than that, but I just wanted to compete in general and see how it went.

Click here for a map of the route. The first 2 miles were easy and mostly flat or downhill. My Garmin beeped at mile 2 and it had only been 16 minutes! Not bad! At this point I was feeling great and we headed into a pinwheel for mile 3. I was chugging along but suddenly felt completely drained. I mean, we were running on totally flat ground and I was ready to call it a day. This was worse than my horrible 11 miler in February. I made sure that I had plenty of protein that morning and the night before, so I shouldnt have been that tired. I also had a TON of water to stay hydrated the day before. What gives?? Then I realized that it must be the cold medicine! WTH??

At mile 4 I was wobbly as we headed around Oak Harbor. Luckily the course is beautiful and runs mostly along the harbor or in view of the harbor. It was sunny, not too warm and not crowded at all - perfect running conditions and I felt like crap. Mile 5 continues to be flat through Windjammer park (which is also the finish of the half and full marathon races). Running through here felt like I had rubber for legs. I'm pretty sure that I was stumbling and swerving the entire time. I had a few funny looks from people on the course....honestly, it probably looked like I was drunk! (I wasn't, I swear!!) Yikes!

Mile 6 heads up from Oak Harbor into farmland and pastures (with views of the water still). Somewhere along this point I started to feel really sick. I mean, I wasn't sure if I needed to throw up or find a port-a-potty. I struggled up the hill and my face was probably green or ghostly white. I did not feel good. I think that a combination of the cold medicine, being over-stressed the past few weeks and over-exerting myself in the first half of the race just took a toll on my entire system. Blah.

Miles 7-9 were awful. I wanted to die. It was flat and beautiful, but I was dragging. I finally stopped to use a port-a-potty at mile 8. It was either stop for a minute (literally, only a minute) or possibly barf on one of the poor volunteers handing out GU. Also, we were running through plowed pastureland, and there was no tree or shrub to hide behind if I became sick.

I felt a bit better at that point, but had to stop again at the port-a-potties at mile 11. It was either that or get a DNF, and I wasn't about to let that happen. I have to say I was disappointment in stopping, but it only added possibly 3 minutes total to my time (I kept my Garmin running to track time). I was also worried that I might actually pass out while on the course. I was THAT lightheaded the entire time. I managed to grab another GU, but I was so nauseous that I wasn't about to force it down. I decided to just keep running and finish as soon as possible.

Trust me, Im not as happy as I look!

At mile 11.5 we started to run downhill back to Oak Harbor, so I knew we were in the homestretch. I tried to push it, but I really couldn't go very fast. I knew a PR was out the window and I really had no idea what time it was....I figured I didn't need to make myself feel worse by looking at the Garmin. Around this time a pace car drove by my. I wondered what it was then I saw a blur fly by me. The marathon leader had passed me! (Note: the marathon started an hour before us and they ran the half course as the second half of their course). Holy cow he was fast! We were going downhill and I was probably running a respectable 8 minute mile, and he was EASILY running a 5 minute mile! I turned to the guy running next to me and our jaws just dropped. Dang, I wish I was that fast!

Mile 12-13.1 was the longest mile in my life. We wound back through Windjammer Park to the finish, but I was completely spent. My official chip time ended up being 2:06:31, which is only 5 minutes slower than my Mercer Half time 3 weeks ago!

Not only was I woozy and sick, but I was pretty sick for the rest of the day too. The medal at the end did help me feel better though!

Im a sucker for a medal!

Finishers woot-woot

I really did learn a lot from this race. In retrospect, my time was pretty good. 5 minutes slower than my PR (albeit on an easier course) really isn't that bad. I learned my lesson that you should NOT take cold medicine before running 13.1 miles, or any race in general. Please let my experience show you to not do that in the future! I also have come to respect racing, and loving good running days. I will be SURE not to take advantage of my next good running day from now on!

I also proved to myself that you can really get through anything if you put your mind to it. I should NOT have raced, but I was still able to get it done once I put my mind to it. Might have not been the smartest thing to do, but it does show how mental running can be. (Too bad it made my cold worse the past 2 days, boo) Oh well, live and learn!

On another sidenote, Little Bro broke the 2 hour mark with a time of 1:56! Good job little bro! :) And a thanks to Mom for coming out on her b-day weekend to support us!

Ill leave you with 2 pictures we snapped after the race. Unfortunately, the funny pics my Bro and I tried to take during the run were not captured. There is always next time....

Nice toe-touch Little Bro! That star-jump took the last bit of energy that I had. I had to sit afterwards, haha.

Happy running!

Race Results

A few images from here and here

Ugh, still sick....

2010-04-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Still sick, but alive :)

Lets just say that running while sick was NOT the best idea.....and now I've been even more sick the past 2 days (no running for me either). I have a lot more insight into running races though - at least I got through it!

Time to relax, recover and eat pea soup. Recap, insight and pictures to come tomorrow!

Love it, yum!!

Pics below from the Tulip Festival last weekend in Mt. Vernon (on the way to Whidbey):

All colors you can think of and stretching as far as you could see....

Cheese!!

Signed up & off to Whidbey!

2010-04-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

Workouts while sick:
Thursday, April: Ran 6 (8:51/pace)
Friday, April 9: Ran 5 (9:11/pace)

Packing and heading up to Whidbey Island today for the half marathon on Sunday! Even though I'm STILL sick, I'm excited to run this race with Little Bro and celebrate my Mom's birthday. I guess Ill have a new topic to post about - running while sick! Recap to come in the next few days...

Also, I signed up for the Bainbridge Island Half Marathon on April 25th!! Its going to be a killer, but then Ill qualify for Half Fanatic status :) Below is a short blurb that I wrote about the BIHM a few weeks ago:

The Bainbridge Island Half Marathon is located on Bainbridge Island, which is a scenic 35 minute ferry boat ride across from Seattle. The half marathon is being held on Sunday, April 25th and will benefit the local Boys & Girls Club. The fee is $50, which includes a t-shirt and chip timer (they are not sure about medals for everyone at this point).

This is looking to be a tough race. This is the inaugural year for the BIHM, and is replacing the 25+ year old Toe Jam Hill Half Marathon (that's a HUGE hill on the island). It is a slightly different course for the BIHM, but still goes up Toe Jam hill, and other hills throughout the Island. I'm thinking about signing up for this race, but because I know the island well, I'm not expecting a sub 2-hour half on this one! Ill be happy just to finish in one piece!

Exciting!! I didnt find any coupon codes, but this race is only $50 (no medal though, boo). Seriously, more medals need to be handed out (ahem, Mercer Half??) I will be sure to take plenty of pictures of my medal from the Whidbey half this weekend!

Happy running and a ~~sniffly, achy, coughing, sore throaty~~ Whidbey Half recap to come :/

Month Review: March 2010

2010-04-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, better late than never! I might have not kept up in posting, but I greatly improved my mileage! Here are the details:

March 2010:

       Total Miles: 106.8
       Average Pace: 10:25/mile
       Running Time: 18:34:09
       Yearly Total: 287.5 miles

Yearly Time Total: 47:18:14
Blog Posts in March: 16

In a month I celebrated my birthday, ran 2 races (half and a dash), increased my mileage, went 23.4 miles over my monthly goal (of 83.4 miles), increased my yearly mileage by 37.3 of where I should be for my Tall Mom 1,000 + goal, and unexpected trip to Hawaii and went through a ton personally. If not for the unexpected personal part, I would say it was an awesome month!

My average pace might be slow, but this was from running extra hills towards the end of the month, as well as the heat and humidity in Hawaii. I also counted the Makapu'u and Koko Crater hikes as "runs" which made my mileage off. At that point I couldn't run very far in the heat, so I counted it as running. Hey, I wanted the mileage :)

As for the Mercer Half Marathon, I am very pleased with my time. Taking about 15 minutes off of my Seattle Half time was a huge achievement, but it was oh-so-close to breaking the sub 2-hour mark. Maybe this Sunday at the Whidbey Half?? Doubtful if I still have this nasty cold. I should remember NOT to go on planes within 3 weeks of a race!

Also, it was a great month because I finally met up with a few of you! I was so great to meet you, albeit brief, but I cant wait until the next race! Ill leave you all with a final pic from Oahu:

Sunset off Waikiki

Happy running and hope everyone had a great March!

Changes In Latitudes & Attitudes

2010-04-07T17:15:00.000-07:00

"Changes in Latitudes, changes in Attitudes..."

**Bonus points for anyone who knows the song!! :) So much going on for me personally lately, that I havent had time to post. Luckily running is keeping me sane. Thanks for all the kind comments and regular posting should happen soon!

Wednesday, March 31st: 5.1 miles (9:36 pace)

This was my last evening in Oahu. I decided to head down to my favorite park, Ala Moana, located in downtown Waikiki. I made sure to go down to the park at sundown so that the heat wasnt overbearing.

Notice my ~~tan~~ burned forehead!

The park is roughly a 2.6 mile loop which runs along the water between two marinas and overlooks Waikiki Beach. The beautiful park is well lit and maintained, and has seemed to be safe to run. (Although, don't bring valuables to leave in your car, it might be broken into!!) The park has various fields, benches, beaches, trees and tennis courts to play in. It is really a beautiful park.

Running path along the water

This was the first time in Oahu that I actually felt like I was running normally. Although the 9:36/mile pace was slower than my regular pace, it felt great. Even though it was really humid, and difficult to breathe, I was able to hold a decent pace without stopping twice around the park. I just missed taking pictures of the sunset (I didnt want to stop!!) but the few pictures I snapped should show the beauty of the park.

Evening clouds and people walking the Ala Moana path. The beach in the distance is also part of the park. Clouds usually roll in during the evening. But its still around 80 degrees!

Thursday, April 1st: 4 miles (8:45 pace)

West Seattle and Downtown Seattle from the plane

I flew home on an early flight Thursday. Even though it was a long day, I was really wanting to get a quick run in. I went up to BHS and ran the track. It was a LOT colder in Seattle than when I left. Meaning it was about 45 degrees and it was over 65 degrees when I left for Hawaii. How does that even happen? Brr....

Anyways, it felt great to be able to run AND breathe again. I easily ran 4 miles in under 9:00/mile pace. I have to admit it was pretty chilly though...it took over a mile and a half to warm up! What happened to the nice 50-60 degree weather from March?

Friday, April 2nd: 5.1 miles (10:25 pace)

Little Bro and I went on one of his runs through the neighborhood on Bainbridge. We decided to run hills, so we were not running for time on this one. Good thing, because our pace was pretty slow :)

We took our time and talked through most of the run (which means that we were not working too hard, even though the hills were long and steep). While watching the Garmin through the run, I noticed that it wouldn't be 5 miles by the time we reached the house, so we decided to run through the golf course to get extra distance in. WHY DIDN"T I THINK OF THIS BEFORE?? Not only was the path paved and flat, but it had rolling hills and was very scenic. No, there were no golfers on the course that we interrupted. Ill have to keep this in mind for future runs......go on golf course paths!! :)

Image found here

Saturday, April 3rd: 9 miles (9:56 pace)

Since the Whidbey Half is next weekend, I needed to get a long run in beforehand. I went to Battle Point Park to attempt a 9 miler on Saturday. Battle Point is roughly 1.5 miles around, so I had to do 6 laps to get to 9 miles! That is a lot of circles....

Luckily the park has many trees and a pond so that you cannot see your entire path at a time. My dad joined me for 3.5 of the miles, which was great. He has been running for years and has inspired me to keep running and staying active while growing up. It was really nice to have the company while running too :)

While coming to the end of his run, it started to ~~rain~~ POUR. I mean, it was movie-style rain and I wasnt prepared. It took a full 2 miles to get warm again after stopping and I was still shivering at the end of the run. Even though it was a flat course and I got my miles in, it was a struggle because it was so cold, rainy and windy.

Yet another cheeseball photo

Guess it was a chilly welcome back to the PNW!!

Tuesday, April 6th: 5 miles (9:16 pace)

I was planning on a longer run today, but Im starting to feel sick :( I decided to go on a short 5 miler with hills - similar to the route with Little Bro a few days ago, but not on the golf course :) The run was short and hilly, but I think it was a good training run. Also, my time greatly improved by less than a minute per mile off my past time!

No running for me today, Im totally exhausted and have a HORRIBLE sore throat. Honestly, Ive never had one this bad :( Im hoping to get better by tomorrow and fit a long run in tomorrow. Probably lots of tylenol and cold medicine tonight.....boo. It was probably from the airplane air.

Happy running and hope everyone else isn't sick!

Product Review Time!!

2010-03-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from running yesterday....still really sore from the Koko Crater hike. No sense in injuring myself a week out from the Whidbey Half! Over the weekend I took a trip to Sports Authority in Downtown Honolulu and it was awesome. I don't believe I have been to a SA before, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a wide selection of gear for running and working out. Not only was there a variety of shoes, but they also were WELL stocked in some of my favorite brands (Under Armour, Nike, Adidas, Champion, etc). Even better was that SA had a ton in both Men's, Women's and Kids wear. Here are a few goodies I picked up:

Nike Pro Women's Sports Bras ($28)

LOVE THEM!!!

No matter what your workout, whenever you're working up a sweat the Nike Pro Women's Training Bra gives you a dynamic essential with a revised body shape for outstanding support along with technical seams and fabric for maximum performance comfort.

Dri-FIT fabric to wick sweat away and help keep you dry and comfortable
Compression fit
Swoosh design trademark at center chest
Flat seam construction to help minimize chafing
Fabric: Dri-FIT 85% polyester/15% spandex
Machine wash
Imported

Im not going to lie, I havent bought a new sportsbra in over 2 years. I always buy new tops, shoes, pants, etc, but I HATE buying sports bras. The last new one I bought (and then returned) zipped up the front and left me with a scar from where the zipper rubbed a hole in my skin. Not pretty, and no, Im not showing pics :)

Anyways, these sports bras are awesome. The fabric is easy on your skin, and the elastic around the ribcage didnt seem to irritate me while running (and sweating, ew) in the heat. I will be SURE to pick up more of these in the future. Also, the colors are really cute!

Under Armour Women's Catalyst T ($29.99)

The Cornerstone of the UA Green Collection: Recycled Bottles Become Performance Fabrics.

Performance Fabrics made from Recycled Plastic Bottles.
Signature HeatGear® moisture transport system keeps you cool and dry.
Lightweight, durable high-gauge knit fabric provides maximum comfort against the skin.
Raglan sleeves elminate shoulder seam abrasion points.
ArmourBlock™ technology prevents the growth of odor-causing microbes.
UPF 50+ protects against the sun's harmful rays.
Semi-Fitted (fits closely, contoured to the body).
100% Recycled Polyester (excluding trims).
Imported.

I saw this shirt on the rack and knew I would love it immediately. Not only does it have a great fit (semi-fitted in medium works for me, and isnt tight) but the fabric is my favorite Heat Gear, which keeps me cool (and I wear through the winter if it isnt too cold).

I also learned that UA Green on the tag means that they are recycled from old plastic bottles. So not only does it fit well but you can feel good about wearing it!

Under Armour Tech Shortsleeved T ($19.99)

Also shown are the Nike Hero Mesh Shorts ($25) and my review here

The Essential Under Armour T.

Updated style and fit, with a Feminine crossover v-neck, and longer body length.
UA Tech™ fabric moves moisture away from your body keeping you cool, dry, and comfortable with a soft, cotton-like feel for total comfort.
Raglan sleeve construction allows for total mobility and a full range of motion, while eliminating shoulder seam abrasion points.
Moisture Transfer System keeps you Dry and Comfortable.
95% Polyester/ 5% Elastane.
Imported

This UA shirt is awesome too. Unlike the Catalyst T, this shirt feels more like a cotton blend than tech fabric. The fit is awesome (loose, but I still got a medium) and super comfortable. While running it wicked away the sweat and didnt ride up. Not going to lie, I love the grey and v-neck combo! I pretty much love everything UA!!

Off to run tonight. The heat is much more bearable if you run near sunset or early in the morning (I prefer sunset or later). Hopefully the run will have a sunset like this:

Trust me when I say that my iPhone doesn't do it justice :)

Monday I ran 2 on the dreadmill, then did another 3 in the neighborhood. My time was 5 miles in 53:31 minutes, but I didn't have to stop, which was a relief. I was HORRIBLY sore from the Koko Crater hike on Sunday, and Im limping around today. Its amazing that I was fine and not sore at all after the half marathon, yet one hour long hike will do my legs in! Ill know to stay away from stair-climbers before any of the next races :)

Happy running :)

Hawaiian Hikes

2010-03-29T16:45:00.000-07:00

After my disastrous run on Friday night in O'ahu, I went with my Dad to 24 Hour Fitness to workout quickly before dinner. Even though I had that awful run earlier that morning, I needed to boost my ego and show myself that I still can run over 2 miles at a time without passing out. I was planning on jogging a few miles, but I started out quick on the dreadmill and saw this:

Whoa!!!

7:52?? A new mile PR!! Unofficial of course, but it counts to me! I wasn't even pushing it that hard, so I was extremely surprised when I saw it! (Note: I have never really tried to see how fast I could do a mile. For all I know I would probably go .2 then blow out my knee or pull a hammie. Ill stick with the real PRs for longer distances!) I also did another mile to round out the day at an even 7 miles. Not too bad considering the start earlier that day :)

On Saturday and Sunday I went for a few hikes this weekend with my Dad and Step-Mom. I did end up running on Sunday, but giving myself a few days to TRY to adjust to the heat made a huge difference.

Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail (3/27/10)
Distance RT: 2.0 miles
Elevation: about 500 ft.
Time: 1:05

View from the top of the lighthouse. Yep, the water is that color.....

Makapu'u is a relatively easy hike up a paved path to an amazing outlook and view of their lighthouse. The hike is located on the Southern Windward side of the island, and is a nice hike for all ages because the path is paved all the way to the top. Along the way you can see views of the other Hawaiian Islands (Moloka'i) and whales! I saw a few spouting off in the distance on the way up.....maybe it was Willy....

Just make sure you bring plenty of water and sunscreen. There is little shade and no places to get water on the path! Luckily we brought water, so I didn't feel dehydrated on the way up (a surprise to me). Also, the trade winds blow of the ocean, so there was a constant nice breeze.

View from the top with Dad and Step-Mom

Windward Oahu from lookout

Love the color of the water! Turtles below....

Koko Crater Trail (3/28/10)

Distance RT: 1.13 miles

Elevation: 1208 ft

Time: 1:08:31

After the easy Makapu'u hike yesterday, my Dad and I decided to hike Koko Crater (not to be confused with the smaller Koko Head or Diamond Head in Oahu). This hike is a trail that goes STRAIGHT up Koko Crater and relies on train slats to help you up the crater. This old track was from over 60 years ago when there was a military base at the top.

This hike is STEEP. I mean, there are no switchbacks and you are in the direct sunlight the entire time. I saw one girl getting into a fight with her boyfriend and refused to hike any further. She was only about 1/5th of the way up....

Train tracks help you up the crater

I would have called this the "Stairway to Heaven" but there is apparently another hike with that name already. Just if you were wondering, there were 1048 slats on the way up (1208 ft gained in elevation). Some people were running up and down this thing. I think they have lost their mind!

My Dad and I at the top

The top of the crater had views of Hawaii Kai (South of Waikiki and Honolulu) and surrounding views of the South End of Oahu and Makapu'u. The camera was on the wrong setting, but it was a stunning view.

At the top with Garmin. Hawaii Kai in the background

On this hike I would recommend going early in the morning for the best views. Temperatures would also be lower and much easier to take. After all, there is no shade or place to stop on this hike. Be prepared to climb!! Its one HUGE stair-stepper!! Be sure to bring water as well and take your time to not get sick.

On the way down

Side note: If you are wondering, YES, I am completely sore today :( You use different muscles on Koko Crater than in half marathons.....

Evening Run: 5.08 miles/ 50:30 (3/28/10)

At this point I wasn't sore from the Koko Crater hike that morning. The temperature had lowered considerably since earlier in the day, so I knew it was either then or never to get my miles up for the week.

I started running just at sundown around the neighborhood. I did roughly the same path as Friday, but with much better results. Basically, I didn't feel like I was going to die the entire time, and best of all, I didn't need to stop to suck air (!!) I ran at roughly a 10:00 mile pace, which is quite a bit slower than I run in WA state, but given the heat and the few days I have been here, Ill consider it a success.

Happy running everyone, and thanks for the kind words you have posted in the past few days. It really means a lot :)

Aloha Oh Boy

2010-03-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday recovery workout: 6 miles/61:00 minutes

On Wednesday I went for my first run since the Mercer Half last Sunday. Unlike the Seattle Half in November, I was barely sore the day after, and I felt that I could have run on Tuesday without injury. I decided to wait until Wednesday just to be sure....

This was one of the first runs in a LONG time that I had to purposely slow down. I used my Garmin and stuck right around a 10:00 mile pace. I must have still been in race mode, because I kept trying to go faster than that. I even made myself stop at mile 4 and stretch, which I never do. Overall, it was a great post-half recovery run.

Today - 5.07 miles/53:45 minutes

Due to some unexpected circumstances, I ended up flying out to Oahu late last night. Not wanting to miss out on running, I put on my shoes this morning and went out around the neighborhood for a run.

Hibiscus from the neighborhood

After mentioning to my Dad and step-mom (who both live in Oahu) about my Half last weekend, I was eager to get out and run. Good thing they didn't run with me because this was the most difficult run I have had....EVER.

I am the first to admit, I am a wimp when it comes to heat. Every time I go to somewhere warm, it takes me a few days to get used to the heat (if I ever do get used to it) and I'm usually nauseous most of the time out in the sun (note: this doesn't stop me from trying to get a burn tan though). I have run in Hawaii before, but I must have not noticed that I was sick because I was out of shape at the time. Anyways, for some reason I forgot about the heat and started running on a large hill, in the direct sunlight, while it was humid....

BAD IDEA.

I realized that I was draining of energy and turned up a road that was less steep and started a few switch-backs. After about 1.75 miles I had to stop and take a breather. I havent had to stop while running in the past YEAR. Yeah, this isnt something that I was used to.

I caught my breath and made it about another .75 and had to stop again. This continued every half a mile until I finished 5 miles. I was pooped (haha). I laid down for awhile afterwards but after eating I was only slightly nauseous the rest of the day. Im hoping the next few days will get easier, but my confidence was seriously knocked down a few notches after that run!

I have SO much respect for people who run in ANY kind of heat or humidity! I guess my strength would be running in the cold or rain :)

It felt more like 90 degrees with 100% humidity

Ill leave you with this palm shot.....much better than a shot of me sucking air!

Maybe Ill try running at night or indoors for the next few days. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Mercer Half Marathon Recap

2010-03-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

Location: Mercer Island, WA

Official time: NA

Chip time: 2:01:20

Garmin time: 2:01:30

Pace/mile: 9:16/mile

Overall: 1211/2137

Gender Place: 443/1060

Age Place: 100/214

Woo hoo! Mercer Island Half Marathon COMPLETED! It feels great to have 2 half marathons under my belt! There was a delay in writing this due to crazy times and not being able to figure out how to view my pace per mile with the Garmin. Besides that, it worked great! But back to the beginning of the race.

Little Bro and I awoke early to get ready and head over to Mercer Island. I had a solid protein filled meal the night before (chop salad then a protein bar) and half a Builders Bar about an hour and a half before the race. Noticing that it could rain that day, I put on my standard black capri pants and favorite Under Armour teal shirt. I also used the Body Glide that I just received in the mail, hoping that it would work (and it did!!). I was a bit grumpy, but I think it was just pre-race nerves.

We arrived on Mercer with no traffic at all! I was pretty surprised. Mercer is a small island and the off-ramp shoots you right into the main town where the start is. We were able to park a few blocks away and walk to the start. My Mom, boyfriend JJ and my rat-cow Chloe were there to cheer us on from the start! I looked around for my blogging buddies, but I wasn't able to recognize anyone.

Awesome pic from the start. Could that be me in the teal?? :)

Little Bro and I waiting for the gun start

While waiting in line, I realized that I needed to start my Garmin.....I pushed start and it just added on to my run from a few days before! Ahhh, I had no idea how to start a new workout! Luckily the guy next to me also had a 305 and reset the thing. I would have been SO bummed if I didn't get it working! I fiddled with it some more and accidentally reset the setting to show calories burned and not average pace. I just kept it on this because the gun went off! Luckily I could see my total time though through the race.

I had told Little Bro to run his own pace, so we were separated from the start. Although this was a smaller race, it was still crowded on the course since the race was not officially closed off to the public. They had half the road closed off but there were still cars on the other side. The first mile was along the highway and had rolling hills, but not so bad.

Miles 2-5 consisted of switchbacks through the forest and residential areas, and slight rolling hills again. It honestly reminded me of snowboarding on the backside of Stevens Pass, WA because the road had trees on each side and was quite curvy. The road also sloped from left to right on each turn, which funneled the people onto one side. (For all of you non-snowboarders, it was similar to a snowboarding cross route, if that makes sense!)

I did notice a familiar tall ponytail FLY by me around mile 3. I was about to yell "Tall Mom!" but I wasn't 100% sure it was her, and I had never officially met her by that point. I didn't want to interrupt her run and have her think I was a crazy person, so I just kept on running (I later found out it was Tall Mom!)

The end of mile 5 was a huge downhill, and I took my first Vanilla GU around the start of Mile 6. I loved the taste of the Vanilla, and the consistency. I also think that it actually gave me some energy this time! I ended up carrying the GU with me, holding it behind my iPhone. It was a bit warm, but I didn't mind carrying it.

Miles 6-9 were somewhat of a blur, and consisted of a steady overall elevation gain (there were rolling hills, but we were slightly climbing). We had rounded the South end of Mercer and were heading back up to the North end. Luckily I was zoning out for these miles, and they really went by quite quickly. The road opened up and it had less switchbacks than the first part of the race. This is when I started to notice from my Garmin that I was running under my 9:00/mile pace. I knew that I was ahead of my sub-2 hour goal, but I didn't want to psych myself out.

At mile 9 I took another GU, which seemed to help. Unfortunately, this is where the big hills started. Miles 10-11 were mostly downhill, but there were 2 major hills around mile 11 and 12. I mean, these hills seemed to go on FOREVER. Unlike the Seattle Half where the hills were solid then ended, these just kept coming! My pace slowed slightly, but I reached mile 12 and had 11 minutes to get to the finish. I could possibly get my sub 2!

Yep, not happening......

The last 2 miles really hurt my pace. Everyone was walking around me, but I kept on going. I even saw a guy pushing (YES, you heard me right!) PUSHING his lady-friend up the hill. I wanted to yell at them, but it was a waste of energy. I was proud that I was finishing strong, but I didnt have it in me to sprint the last .7 of the race (and the race finished after another slight hill, which was torture).

Overall, I finished at 2:01:20, which is more than 15 minutes faster than my Seattle Half time. I beat my goal of that race, and my sub 10 minute miles. And I was oh-so-close to getting that elusive sub-2 half. I was a bit bummed at first, but really, I did better than I expected. I was thinking I would get around 2:07:00 for the race, so I really did beat my goal.

Pictures JJ snapped of me at the finish. At least I didnt LOOK like I was dying :)

Little Bro also had a great race and came in 30 seconds behind me at 2:01:50. Good job!! Im excited to run with you in the Whidbey Island Half in a few weeks!

JJ and I after the race

Also, I finally "ran" into a few of you! (That was my attempt at a running joke!) It was fairly easy to spot our classy dumpsters :) Even though it was brief, it was great to finally meet Jill, Amanda, Mel, Zoe and Kerrie. Ive told my Little Bro about you guys, so he was excited to get to meet you all as well!

Not sure what we were thinking for this one....

Overall, it was a great race and everyone seemed to have an awesome race. I cant wait for the next one and to meet all of you again!

First Image by C. Coleman via Mercer Island Reporter

http://www.mercerislandhalf.com/

Benefits: Colon Cancer

St Pats Dash - Photobombed!

2010-03-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where I read the word "photobombed" in the past few weeks, but it is seriously my new favorite word! I have been waiting to use it and the day has finally arrived!

After searching (lets not discuss how long it took me) through the St Pats Dash photos I finally found the ones that I was in from the official site. I knew that I was in a few shots because I was with Little Bro and we specifically slowed down to get in the shot. Here is what I found:

Ha, if you cant tell, that's me in the green shorts and gray leggings, with my face hidden!

SERIOUSLY?? I slowed my pace and specifically got in the photogs way to get a shot of my color coordinate race outfit! GRR! You cant even see my face. I mean, just look at the pants on the guy who photobombed my bro and I! AHHH!

Side note: I looked up the guys time, and I ended up beating his time by almost 2 minutes, so I win in the end!

Eh, so frustrating that this was the only shot. Oh well, at least it was a PR! Little Bro had a few other good shots, but this was my shining moment with the photogs. I guess there will be other races, and hopefully no photobombing 17 year olds in crazy pants taking over my shot!

Mercer Half Review in the works......

Prep run and Expo

2010-03-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been crazy. Due to some unforseen events, I only ran once on Friday, even though I was DYING to try my new Garmin out earlier. Sometimes its just not in the cards....

Somehow it was 60 degrees when I went out on my run. Little Bro joined me for the run out in West Seattle. I was eager to use the Garmin, and he was excited for me to take another funny picture of him (see picture above).

After quickly locating satellites, we were off. I was surprised at how lightweight the Garmin was, and I didnt mind running with it on my wrist. After a few hundred feet I looked at the stats and was surprised to see that the mileage was calculating almost every second! The pace was also constantly changing, so I am guessing that its accurate to every few seconds. I had no idea that it had that capability!! My mind was blown!

The run went well, and I finished in 54:30 for 6 miles (9:05 pace). I have had too much going on to actually plug the Garmin into my computer and load the new program, so my time splits will have to wait until after the race on Sunday. Now only if I can go that fast at the Mercer....

On the run I also tried Luna Moon Energy Chews in Pomegranate. I was feeling low on energy, so I actually had a few chews on the car ride over before running (since I wasnt running that far, there was no need for energy later). The chews tasted great, although a bit more salty than normal gummy candy. I liked the consistency too (not too soft, but pretty sticky). Im not exactly sure how much energy I actually got from the chews, but I might have them as a snack in the future!

Today I went to the Mercer Half Expo, but unfortunately I didn't run into any of you bloggers! The expo was decent enough and well organized, but I was expecting more booths or freebies to try. The Seattle Half Expo had discount running shoes and more brands represented (then again it was a MUCH larger race). I guess I will have to wait until after the run for the freebies.

I do love the tech shirt for this race though! After driving through Mercer Island, I am hoping that the race isnt too tough...it did look fairly hilly! Here are the goals for tomorrow's race:

Standard goal:

To not stop during the race
To beat my Seattle Half time (2:16:59)

Realistic goal:

To run in 10:00 miles (2:10:00)

Super-secret goal:

To run in 1:59:59

I don't know how likely my super-secret goal is since that is close to what I have been running on, but I run on flat ground. Hills are a whole different race! As long as I PR and stay uninjured Ill be happy! I cant wait to meet some of you tomorrow.....Good luck!

YES YES YES YES!!

2010-03-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

First, thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday!!

I officially have the best boyfriend in the world. Last night I opened my birthday present and saw this:

A Garmin Forerunner 305! Yipppeeey! I am so excited! I know we discuss running a lot, but I guess he must have known that I have been wanting one. Probably had something to do with my ~~complaining~~ ~~whining~~ annoyance of mapping/pegging my course after each run to find my average pace. Guess I wont need to do that any longer! I can run free!

Review will come in the next week or so, but I cant WAIT to get out there and try this! Yes, its a little large on your wrist, but its extremely light. Also, the larger display will be easy to read while running.

I am so excited, I even brought it with me to work just to look at :) Thanks JJ for being an awesome boyfriend and supporting me in running!! I cant wait to try it during the Mercer Half this weekend!

Also, my Body Glide arrived yesterday as well. I can already hear the snickering happening so, yes, I bought myself lube for my birthday. I am REALLY hoping this stuff works and doesn't stain clothing. From what I've read it does work, and if not, I can always go back to using my tape:

Too bad I'm supposed to be resting this week before the half, all I want to do is try the new gear!!

Happy running and let me know if you have any tips or tricks for Garmin Forerunners! Hopefully I can figure it out before this weekend...

Birthday Run

2010-03-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

So today is my birthday :) I decided to take the day off and relax. I went for a 9.4 mile run in 1 hour 29 minutes (9:29/miles!) The plan was to go at a slow and steady pace, but I somehow managed a decent time. The weather is perfect for a birthday run....61 degrees and sunny!

I couldn't believe how warm it was! Knowing the weather was nice, I wore my new Nike Hero Mesh Shorts that my little bro got me for my bday. I usually run in capris or something covering my legs since I am not a fan of the Nike Tempo shorts that everyone else seems to love. The difference is the cut and that the Nike Hero's are made of mesh. I love them!!

I wore these over a pair of leggings for the St Pats Dash yesterday, and just the running shorts today on my run. Not only do they fit me perfectly, but the shorts DON'T RIDE UP!! The mesh seems to move with me and doesn't crawl up my waist or legs. Not only that, but they are super comfortable and have other really cute colors. I might have to buy another pair in orange or purple tomorrow! (Nordstrom carries them in the stores, but I didn't see them online). Thanks little bro! :) I finally have a pair of shorts that work for me!

Also during the run I tried one of the GU Espresso Love gels that my mom bought me:

Ive mentioned before that I tried the Vanilla and Chocolate flavors years ago, but not this one. I have heard rave reviews but Im still skeptical on a coffee flavored gel mid-run. I took the gel at mile 6 today and it was DELICIOUS! Not only was the consistency much better than the Powerbar Gels or Clif Gels, but it was the perfect not-too-runny and not-too-thick. The flavor was also great! By mile 9 I was feeling great and didn't have an upset stomach!

Pros:

Great flavor
Perfect consistency
Good amount (1.1 oz, which is smaller than the other gels)
Didnt make me thirsty or full
NOT SALTY!!

Cons:

No litter leash

Let me tell you right now, I will NOT be buying the Powerbar Gel or Clif Gels from now on, unless there is a dire emergency. This product (IMO) was far superior to the competition. On taste alone it exceeded my expectations! I could even use this as a snack (I have quite the sweet tooth). Yes, that is how much I liked these!!

Cant you tell I'm excited??

Hope the reviews helped. I am so excited that I received 2 AWESOME products from the fam on my birthday! Now I'm off to finish my favorite mocha and read my book. Then off to dinner at my favorite Tom Douglas Restaurant, Ettas. Get the salmon dish....you can thank me later. (For all you PNW'ers, take advantage of the 3 for $30 deals all month!)

Happy Running :)

St Pats Dash 3.8m Recap

2010-03-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

Location: Seattle, WA

Official time: NA

Chip time: 32:15

Pace/mile: 8:29/mile

Overall: 1262/7823

Gender Place: 294/4318

Age Place: 50/523

Today was the Henry Weinhard's St. Pats Dash in Downtown Seattle. The website said that this was the largest St. Patrick's Day run in the US, and their expectations were exceeded; over 15,225 people participated in the 3.8 mile dash today! As you can see from the picture above, it was a complete sea of green on the streets! My boyfriend JJ and my little bro joined me for the festivities.

Wearing green and not getting pinched!!

This was my first time running in the Dash, and it was also a new route for them this year. It started at the Seattle Center, went around a block, then headed up highway 99, pinwheeled, and went back to Seattle Center. What the race didn't state was that it was a gradual hill all the way up 99, which lasted well over 1.3 miles!

Since the race officials expected the crowds for this event, there were 4 waves: Green (run, timed and award), red (run, timed only), Purple (jog, untimed) and Yellow (walk, untimed). In theory, this was a great idea, but at the start of the race all of the other waves crowded the start. Admittedly, we arrived with about 30 seconds to spare, but it took over 3 minutes to get through the crowds to the starting line! This left us with a huge gap to start running, then fighting the last of the "fast" red wave for positioning.

The first .3 were pretty easy, as I was virtually running by myself. As soon as I turned and started to make my way up 99, I was constantly dodging people to get through. I actually felt great during this race, and it was nice to finally be passing the majority of the people :) My goal was to run well, but not injure myself before the Mercer Half next weekend.

After the pinwheel turn I made a quick dodge for the photo guy (I think the dude in front of me blocked my shot) but then I had a burst of energy and ran as fast as I could while in control the last mile and a half. My final time was 32:15, but I am not sure if this is the gun time or the chip time. The official results only show one time, where usually they state which is which. Does anyone know which time is posted? My iPhone said it took me around half an hour, so I'm not sure which is correct. The timing chip is probably correct and I probably just have wishful thinking!

Also, my little bro ran with me for most of the race. He mentioned that there were a few of you who yelled "Sarah" and "Brunette" during the race! I had my headphones in and I'm usually in a complete zone while running. Please know I wasn't ignoring you!! :) I did look for you guys after the race, but I was unable to spot you in the 15,000+ crowds. I hope you guys had great races and I want to meet you guys soon!!

JJ and I posing near the fountain

Just in case we missed the photo-op during the race, my bro and I decided to take "action shots" near the fountain. Hopefully none of you spotted us looking like total dorks. Note that these are the "good" shots, the bad ones are ridiculous! I managed to look like an evil leprechaun in one shot.....

Standard sibling action shots

The tents post-race had the standard fare: magazines, brochures, granola bars, electrolyte water, fruit, etc. They were also giving out beads and St Pats gear at this race. (Race ~~medal~~ beads shown in picture below) We went into the Henry Weinhard Beer Garden and saw former Sonics player Detlef Schrempf. We would have stayed longer, but the beer garden was cash only, and the line was too long to go out and come back in. I was looking forward to the beer garden too!

Post race tents and beer garden at Seattle Center

Sooo, we ended up having a beer with our post-race breakfast. Crisis averted. Hope everyone who participated had a great race or a great weekend!

Celebratory beer after the race (Hef of course!)

Dash longsleeved t-shirt and medal (aka beads)

Race Results

http://www.stpatsdash.com/index.html

Benefits: Autism & Detlef Schrempf Foundation

First image via Seattle PI

Dark and Stormy

2010-03-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Dont you just love those days where you set out for a 6 mile run and it turns into a 9 miler? Well today was one of those days :)

The run was especially beautiful today. It was sunny and windy, and the horizon to the west was really dark and rainy. I dont think I have said it before, but my favorite weather is when its really warm, yet dark and windy.....dont ask why :) Most of the run was sunny until the end when the clouds finally moved in and it started sprinkling:

Okay, this looks much darker than it was

I was planning on running slowly but I felt great. My 10:00 mile pace quickly moved down to a 9:30/mile pace. This was the first longer run that was well under 10:00 miles! At the end of the run I could have kept going and was averaging 9:27/mile for all of the 9 miles! Here's hoping to a good time for the Mercer Half next week!!

Post run stretching

Have a great weekend! St Pats Dash tomorrow morning!

Awesome Thursday!

2010-03-11T17:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, lots to say and not much time. I was just given FREE (yes, FREE) Sounders tickets to their preseason game tonight against the Portland Timbers. For all of you who are not from the PNW, the Sounders are our new Major League Soccer team, and they did really, really well in their inaugural season last year. We went into the playoffs! If you are not familiar with Seattle sports, well that was really good for one of our new teams! If I would have had the tickets before right now, I would have done a giveaway for all of you local bloggers.....its amazing to see how long these guys can run for. Its all they do during the game. They literally give their full 90 out there!

I'm also headed to the premier of Remember Me afterward. I'm doubting I will get a chance to run between, but you never know! Its going to be an awesome night :) Yesterday I was able to get a quick 4 miler in on the dreadmill. I have to say, its getting a little easier each time! I was able to look at the screen and not panic while watching the seconds go by. I was even able to bump up my speed faster than 9:00/miles during the run! For a few weeks there I was struggling to even get through 9:00 flat consistently!

Not bad, Ill take what I can get on the dreadmill!

Also, as promised, here is a new half marathon that I just found out about:

This half and the Whidbey Half would be 14 days apart, which would qualify for Half Fanatic status. Hmm.....Ill keep you posted!

Happy Running!

And another one......

2010-03-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

I don't think Mondays and Tuesdays are my days of the week. I get so exhausted that I just want to go home and sleep (cue someone saying "guess she has a case of the Mondays....") Yesterday was no different, I got home and wanted to take a nap. It was pretty cold on my way home, and I was chilled. I decided not to take a nap, but force myself to put my gear on and brave the wind and colder weather (45, but I swear it felt like 35 degrees!) I ended up doing 6 miles at LESS than a 9 minute mile pace!

Yet another standard blurred self portrait

Plus, I just registered for another half marathon:

As I mentioned before, the Whidbey Island Marathon and Half is located just north of Seattle in the Puget Sound on April 11, 2010. The race runs along the shores of Whidbey Island as well as through the fields and pastures. The course map does not have elevation, but smaller rolling hills throughout the race. Also noted that the full marathon is a certified Boston Qualifier.

Woo hoo, I cant wait for another medal (Im starting to realize the medals DO mean something to me, haha)! I also heard about another exciting half marathon in April, but more details to come later.

Happy running! (PS I finally got my body font in the post to work correctly, yahoooo!)

All fell into place....

2010-03-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

Well, finally everything went right and fell into place for my long run this weekend. Ill recap and review:

On Friday I wanted to get my mileage up for the week since I was too busy to put a few miles in. I decided to go on an easy 6 mile run at roughly a 9:30/mile pace. It felt great! I actually had to stop myself from continuing on, which is an awesome feeling. Since I was planning a 12 miler the next day, I made sure to eat a Builder's Bar (Peanut Butter) and a salad for dinner to supplement my protein. Somehow I think I run better if I don't carbo load, or at least not through pasta or grains. Protein and veggies work me (or at least at half marathon mileage, Ive never gone for more than that).

Sunny Seattle!

Image from here

On Saturday I woke up to an AMAZING sunny 60 degree day in Seattle. Is it summer yet?? I had another Builder Bar and waited about 2 hours before setting out on my long run. I felt fine for the first 3 miles and was really excited when I didn't want to die at mile 3. At this point I considered the run a success already! At this point I saw 2 interesting things: a Cadillac that was raised higher than a pickup truck and painted bright red and yellow, and a guy on a Segway. These things absolutely crack me up. I tried to get a picture but it was horribly blurry. If any of you have seen Arrested Development, you'll know what I mean!

Other interesting things was a group of guys yelling out the window of their SUV videotaping everyone (still not sure why) and half of a starfish that I almost stepped on THREE TIMES during my run (I passed one part of the run multiple times, and I'll spare you the visual...)

Just passing mile 6 I was still feeling strong, but I decided to try out the Clif Shots Gel in Razz. I cant stand the idea of running with a fuel belt (or fanny pack type thing around my waist) so I held the gel in my hot little hands while running. Aside from the temperature, here is my review:

Pros:

Handy "litter leash" keeps the top part of the package together so you don't rip it off and leave the top on the ground. The litter leash has a perforated part that easily allows you to fold the top part back so you can get at the gel on the run.
Different flavor, but not too bad. Didn't especially taste like raspberry
It didn't make me gag while taking it
Consistency was okay, and easy to slurp while mid-run

Con:

Salty!

Overall, the gel wasn't that bad. The litter leash was a handy feature and kept the packaging together until I ran past a garbage can. Consistency was fine, but it was pretty salty for a berry flavor. Maybe I'm not used to the energy gel, but it was really salty! Not unbearable, and I was able to continue running without feeling sick. I think Ill try another flavor, but I wouldn't write off Clif Gel altogether.

Miles 6-9 were strong and consistent. I had no problem keeping up my 10:00/mile pace, but I didn't feel like I could make my legs move faster. I was hoping to pick it up a bit, but it just wasn't in the cards. I have a feeling my 6 miler from the night before made my pace slower. The good thing was that I kept moving and didn't feel sick from the energy gel! I didn't feel like I had a "burst" of energy, but it did keep me going without feeling depleted.

At mile 9 I took my PowerBar Gel Vanilla:

Pros:

Decent vanilla, but not too bad.
It didn't make me gag while taking it
Consistency was thinner than the Clif Razz, and still easy to slurp while mid-run

Con:

Also salty!
There was no litter leash on this product, so when you rip the top off, you are left with two pieces of packaging to carry while running. Annoying if you don't want to litter (and I didn't!)

This gel really wasn't too bad. I didn't necessarily NEED to take a second one, but I thought I would try it anyways. The vanilla was a bit thinner than the Razz, but it was still easy to take while running. Even though I haven't had GU in years, I remember it having a better vanilla flavor than PowerBar Gel. I still would buy this product again though! I can see why the recommend drinking a few gulps of water after taking the gel though, they are salty!!

The last 3.4 miles were not so bad, but I still felt that I could not pick up the pace. I have to note that I wasn't dragging and I didn't feel sick from the 2 gels. After I finished the run I was able to walk a bit, stretch and not feel like I needed to lay down and pass out. Later that night my legs felt pretty good, and I was not nearly as sore as the Seattle Half (lets just say I couldn't walk normally for DAYS!)

All in all, it was really successful! I will probably follow this regimen for the Mercer Half in 2 weeks (aside from the 6 miler the night before). I cant decide if I will run with the gel during that race, or just take the flavors that are available during the run at water-stops. I will probably take a gel around mile 7 and 10 in the real race, not mile 6 and 9 as I did for this run. I'm pretty excited that this run finally was successful and my longest non-race run to date!!! :)

Happy running :)

TGIF!

2010-03-05T22:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a busy week. Not much to blog about because was only able to run 2 nights this week :( Anxious to get a few miles in, I ran an easy 6 miles. I was pretty exhausted from the week leading up to the run, but the run ended up energizing me. I felt like I could have done a few more! Since my 12 miler is scheduled for tomorrow, I decided to end my run at 6 (9:30/pace).

Since I had a pretty tough 11 miler last weekend, I wanted to prepare and make sure that I could have the best run tomorrow. Since egg whites were not the best to start off my run last time, I went to the store to get something I knew would keep me full, but without that "full" feeling:

I made a quick run to Safeway and luckily the Clif Peanut Butter Builder's Bars were on sale. I have tried MANY protein bars, and this one is my favorite (Cookies & Cream is also yummy, Vanilla Almond is quite sweet and I wouldn't recommend it before a run). Not only is the texture pretty good for a protein bar (the PB one has a nougaty texture covering the rice crispy part, covered in chocolate) but the 20 grams of protein actually keeps you full. At 270 calories and all of that protein, its pretty tasty. Also, I usually forget I'm eating a protein bar when I'm eating it! Nutrition facts found here (PS - it also does not have the hydrogenated oils that some other bars have. The fat is only from the peanut butter and natural oils!)

I'm planning on having half to a full Builder's bar at least an hour before my long run, then try a energy gel (Powerbar or Clif) during the run. Hopefully this will give me the energy I need to have a nice LONG run, and not sucking air and wanting to crawl after 3 miles. I have a feeling this run will be much more successful than the last one!

Details to come....its supposed to be 65 degrees tomorrow in Seattle! Perfect for a run :)

Dreadmills and dogs

2010-03-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

YES! I was finally able to put in a decent treadmill run last night. I might have mentioned this before, but I usually run in my tiny gym within my building. There are exactly one treadmill, elliptical and bike for everyone to use. Its a tight, cramped little room, but it has everything I need. The only thing is that its so small that it feels crowded if there are 2 people in it :( at least its free!!

I was quite annoyed with the fact that I had to wait awhile to actually get on the treadmill, which made the anticipation for the run that much worse. Luckily I had a great 5 mile run at a 9:00/mile pace.

The guy before me said that I could change the TV channel, which I quickly tuned to the E! channel. Fortunately for me, Keeping Up with the Kardashians show was on repeat. He tried to pretend that he didn't want to watch, but I knew he really enjoyed watching it. I'm looking forward to a 5-6 mile run tonight as well. Dreadmill we might meet again......

Also, be sure to check out Dorothy's awesome Saucony shoe giveaway over at Mile Posts!

Finally, I had to mention that my dachshund ~~puppy~~ dog Chloe just turned 2 years old! Not running related, but I had to share :)

Chloe my "rat-cow"

Happy running!

Month Review: February 2010

2010-03-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

Wow, such a busy past few days! I planned on taking 2 days off from running after my 11 miler, but work has been busy and it turned into 3 days. I did have extra time to create a new layout for my blog! I know it doesn't look like much, but I actually changed the CODE and made my own! I am self-taught and basically figured it out line by line and slowly changing each background, font, sidebar, banner, footer, etc. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of my work, and its completely original :) You wont find this template on blogger anywhere else!! Okay, Ill stop now because its that time again.....month review!

February 2010:

       Total Miles: 95.4
       Running Time: 15:01:03
       Average Pace: 9:44/mile
       Yearly Total: 180.7 miles

Yearly Time Total: 28:44:05
Blog Posts in Feb: 17

Seriously, where did February go? February has been a great running month for me, I surpassed my monthly running goal (83.4 miles/month to reach over 1000 miles in 2010) and I am ahead for the year! I am really pleased with this and that I was able to add additional miles without getting injured (knock on wood!!). I also was able to slowly decrease my time per mile on the dreadmill. Now that I am running around 9:00 miles I am closer to my goal for the half marathon! Ill take anything I can get on the dreaded dreadmill...

Sarah 2, Dreadmill 0

The only negative part of February was my awful 11 miler last Saturday. Being completely drained and not having your body respond the way you want is really frusterating. I am glad that I have a 12 miler this weekened and a few more weeks before the Mercer Half to change my pre-long run nutrition and plan. The mileage was accomplished in a decent time, but I want to run and achieve my time goal for the long runs!

First goal in achieving success on long runs is to have some form of fuel on the long runs. I have heard of Shot Bloks and other chewable bites that you take mid-run, but honestly, I would probably choke if I tried to eat while running! Not a good thing. I have had GU in the past (not while running) so I think that can work on my stomach and not make me sick. Luckily, I noticed while at QFC that they carry energy gel products!!

QFC not only carries an excellent selection of protein bars and powder, but they also have energy gels and chewables. I decided to buy the following flavors and brands for my 11 miler this weekend:

Clif Shot Energy Gel in Razz

Powerbar Gel in Vanilla

Like the colorful background? Yeah, I was getting creative on my coffee break today at work :) Im really excited to run this weekend and have a successful long run. Hopefully having more of a base and being well hydrated before the run AND energy gels during the run will do the trick.

What is your favorite mid-run energy booster??

Im off to put a few in on the treadmill. Have a great night!

Font for layout found here

Some page elements found here

11 miler.....WTH??

2010-02-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

My schedule called for the longest run that I have done that wasn't a race....11 miles! I decided to have a few egg whites an hour before running so that I could keep my energy up. I put on my new pink Nike hat and set out to Alki.

In the first mile, I noticed that my legs were pretty tired, and I was low on energy. After the first 3 miles, I was ready to call it quits. I think the combination of too little carbs (even though I usually don't eat to many as is), being dehydrated as usual and a few hefeweizens last night were a bad call. I pushed through and decided that I wouldn't stop until I reached the 6 mile point. After reaching the 6 miles, I kept putting goals of not stopping until I passed the 9 mile point, or passing a certain bench or tree. I was ready to fall over!

Yeah, I was pooped at this point!

I ended up not stopping and had a time of 1 hour 55 minutes for my run (roughly 10:20/mile). It wasnt pretty, but at least I made it through the run! I will be sure to hydrate and eat a different meal before starting off for my 12 miler next weekend. I was pretty proud that I made it without stopping though. I know I can do this distance, but it seemed that everything was trying to work against me today. This just goes to show how much the mental aspect of running plays a part in your long runs. If my head wasn't into it, I would have surely stopped after mile 3. At least my head was in the game even though my body wasn't!!

On a side note, I saw the most random thing on my run: a cat on a leash! WHO PUTS A CAT ON A LEASH?? Has anyone seen this before? I'm NOT a fan of cats (I'm a dog person!!) and I couldn't help by laughing when I saw it. The cat looked extremely ticked off, and pretty rabid! The cat had long hair and looked somewhat like a bobcat. I wouldn't get too near that thing, it looked like it wanted to bite anyone who got near it! I had to take a picture:

On the sidewalk between the white poles!!

So I took the picture while running, and I couldnt get closer without the guy noticing I was taking a picture of his cat and laughing. I think this made my day. Who does that?? Its not the first time I have seen a cat on a leash! Below is picture worth a thousand words from Eastern Washington from 2 summers ago (while camping):

Hahaha, love it! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Bloggy help?

2010-02-26T15:09:00.000-08:00

After being in the blog world for almost 2 months now, I have visited quite a few of your pages. I noticed that my background and layout are seriously lacking. Any suggestions on good websites for free blogger templates? My last green/blue pattern was free and I edited some of the code, but I am SERIOUSLY a beginner. Please send suggestions if you have any! I might even pay to have it done if I cant figure it out (I like the designs from this blog).

While visiting other blogs, I came across a design blog that linked to this page. When I saw this print I immediately thought of running:

I have to say that in the past few months, I have done just that. Im actually doing what I love, and really enjoying myself. Running has gone from a chore to something that I look forward to. I also love this little blogging community I've found online. I never knew this was here a few months ago, and I's so glad I found you guys! **Okay, enough with the sappy stuff!

I read a post from Kerrie over at Mom vs Marathon yesterday where she mentioned that a co-worker called her a runner (congrats!!). Since viewing her post, I had 2 people mention running to me as well. One was while I was walking through work catching up with another employee. I haven't seen him for awhile, and asked me how my running was going. I must have looked a bit confused, because then he mentioned that all he sees me post on Facebook are the many races I have signed up for, and my long runs on the weekends. He called me a "marathoner" but I quickly said I was only a "half marathoner." He said I was crazy for running that much but I just beamed.

The other time was last night. A friend stopped by while I was running on the dreadmill. I haven't seen him in a few months, but he quickly asked what I had been doing BESIDES running lately. He also said that I was running a ton of miles. Honestly, I don't think they know how happy that made me. I was always somewhat athletic growing up, but I was never acknowledged for any sports achievement. I was pretty proud :)

Has anyone called YOU a runner lately??

Last nights workout: 5 miles on the dreadmill @ 8.57/mile pace. Its getting easier!! :) TGIF!!

Reviews (Zella & UA)

2010-02-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I have an addiction. If there are cute workout clothes to buy, I usually end up buying them on the spot. Don't get me wrong, it needs to be the right fit and materials, but if its on sale, you can bet that I will probably be buying it on the spot! I couldn't help myself when I found these two little gems:

Zella Favorite Capri Pants (Black):

Okay, sorry for the grainy picture, but I felt like modeling them :) The Zella pants are amazing and feel like butter against your skin (cliche, but its true!) I know some of you cannot run in longer pants, but these do not ride up and keep your legs warm but not overheated. The capri might seem strange, but it is the perfect weight and coverage for running in 40-60 degree Pacific Northwest weather. The material doesn't bunch, so you can easily wear this on your long runs. Here are the product stats:

Wide waistband tops straight-leg capris cut from a smooth, stretchy knit.

Approx. inseam: 20".
Polyester/spandex; machine wash.
By Zella; imported.
Women's Active.

Also, I think they are pretty flattering on everyone Ive seen them on. You can find them here at Nordstrom for around $48. (Note that I am wearing the Zella Favorite Capris, which I bought on sale of course, for around $15! I think they were mismarked, but the link above is a very similar pair at the regular price.) I heard that these are usually compared to LuluLemon's workout pants, but these are much less expensive. I haven't tried the LuluLemon ones strictly because I like the price of these babies and they work for me and my addiction to workout gear.

Under Armour Reversible Cool/Warm Pullover (True Pink/Rosewood)

I found this Under Armour shirt at Nordstrom on sale as well! It ended up being around $25 instead of the regular $49.99 price! I was looking for something girly and pink for the Love Em or Leave Em Valentine's Dash last week, and this was a perfect find! I have been really impressed with my other Under Armour products, and this is no exception!

The Reversible Cool/Warm Pullover has a snug fit (not a super tight base layer, but somewhat in-between, UA calls it "fitted" so I got a larger size) and is reverisble. Both sides of the shirt have different tech fabrics, one being

Both sides and colors of the Reversible Pullover

(ha, I cant get the photos to go the right way!!)

I have run wearing both sides of the shirt against my skin, and it actually seems to make a difference. While on the Love Em or Leave Em 5k, I ran with the "Stay Warm" side against my skin, and it was almost too warm! Other times I have run with the "Stay Cool" side and it seems to be perfect. I have also been layering this with other shirts to stay warm while outside. The material is nice against your skin, and doesn't ride up too much (the shirt is tighter than others that I wear, which does cause a little bit of riding up in the waist). It really was perfect with a shirt over it! And I really liked the colors.

Here are the stats:

All-season exercise top reverses for effective moisture control and core-temperature maintenance in any weather.

Approx. length from shoulder: 25".
Polyester/elastane; machine wash.
By Under Armour; imported.
Women's Active.

All in all, both were great finds on sale! You really can never have too many clothes. I would recommend both to anyone! Especially the capris. Just for another picture, here are the professional pictures from the Love Em or Leave Em race last week (grainy beacuse I downloaded them from their website...I dont want to pay for them!!)

Not the best pictures, but at least you can see the capris and the new shirt! And hey, the pictures were free!

So, question is: What is your favorite deal you've found??

Happy running...I'm planning on 5-6 miles tonight!

www.nordstrom.com

Back at it!!

2010-02-24T23:03:00.000-08:00

After an awesome week of running, I ended up getting a cold the past few days. Headaches, body aches and feeling dizzy/lightheaded really doesn't set the stage for running. If I tried, I probably would have fallen off the dreadmill!! Not the best idea. In short, I didn't run the past 3 days, so there wasn't much to talk about. Trust me, you wouldn't want to hear me blog about being sick :)

Nope, that isn't me! Image found here

Anyways, I rallied and set out for a long run tonight. Even though I'm still pretty low on energy, I was itching to get back out running. I had a nice 7 miler at about 9:35/mile pace. Not bad for feeling sick. It was a really pretty night with the stars out. I could see a storm front move in from the West, with rain falling in cities across the Puget Sound. Luckily I finished my run before it started to rain! I guess I was literally being chased by the rain!

Scoreboard:

Sarah 1, Rain 0

I also received an email today about a new race that I had not heard of in the Pacific Northwest yet:

The Whidbey Island Marathon and Half is located just north of Seattle in the Puget Sound on April 11, 2010. The race runs along the shores of Whidbey Island as well as through the fields and pastures. The incline seems to be minimal and this will probably be a MUCH smaller race compared to the Seattle Half or the Rock N Roll series.

The race fees for the half marathon are $70 if you sign up by March 31st, and go up to $85 if you sign up at the Expo. Details for the full marathon can be found here. Fee includes tech shirt, running chip, goodie bag and of course, a medal. I'm not going to lie, I am consider signing up just so I can have another medal :) and to run the race of course....

I'm thinking I might just have to sign up for this. Its between the Mercer Half and the Seattle RnR Half, so I should be in shape, right?? And I do want another medal..... :)

Weekend Recap

2010-02-21T22:46:00.000-08:00

Whoa, where did the time go?! I had a fun, busy weekend and had no time to blog! Here is a long recap of the past few days/runs:

Workouts:

2/18: 6 miles, 9:10/mile pace
2/19: 4 miles (dreadmill), 9:31/mile pace
2/20: 9.5 miles, 9:29/mile pace

This weeks total miles: 29 (wahoo!)

Thursday, Feb. 18th:

I wore extra layers for my 6 miler (including my new reversible Under Armour shirt, review to come!). I really didn't need the extra layers, as it was warmer than I expected (around 50 degrees). It was a clear and beautiful night. I ended up running the 6 miles in just over a 9:00 mile pace, and it didn't feel too fast. In fact, I felt like I could have gone a bit faster. I held back running additional miles as I didn't want to injure myself after the 9.5 miler last Monday. Great run though!

I guess I like to do this same pose in every picture!

Friday, Feb. 19th:

Ahh, I feel like I'm starting to come down with a cold! Usually when I am working out on a normal schedule, I don't get sick. Hopefully this will not turn into anything and go away in a day or so. Head colds are just annoying **crosses fingers to make it go away!**

I ran a quick 4 miles at lunch on my treadmill. The first 2 miles went great at a 8:56/mile pace. Then, right after the 2 mile mark I felt dizzy and had to slow down to 10:00/mile pace. I figured this was okay to go slower, but then I was hit with a HORRIBLE sidearm! I don't think I have had one in the past year and a half! I didn't eat anything in the previous few hours leading up to the run, so I had no idea what was going on! I actually had to stop the treadmill and wait it out for a few minutes. Typically, I never EVER stop, so this was really not normal. I was able to continue at a 10:00/mile pace but it wasn't a good run. Ill blame it on the head cold! At least I got a run in....

Saturday, Feb. 20th:

Another beautiful day! I still wasn't feeling well, but I put my running shoes on and headed out for another 9.5 mile run through the city. It was so sunny and nice that I really didn't notice that I didn't have much energy and a raging head cold/headache. I somehow made a 9:31/mile pace for the entire run, which was better than I expected.

Sunny skyline

View from the Seattle Waterfront

There was also a great view of Mt. Rainier and the Olympics today. Us Washingtonians say that the "mountain is out" when it is visible from the city. Unfortunately, my iPhone doesn't really take great pictures of things in the distance, or I would post it here.

On a side note, I went with some friends to the Ride the Ducks tour around Seattle. If you are not familiar with the Ducks, it is a land and water tour of Seattle in a vehicle that drives right into the water and floats around! I always thought it was pretty cheesy, but it was more fun than I expected. Its a great tour to see the sights and for people who are not from the area/I could check out new routes to run on.

On the Duck in Lake Union, with our "quackers"

Sunday, Feb. 21st:

I took the day off today since I had a long run yesterday and already went past my weekly mileage goal (I hit 29 miles this week, yeah!!) I still am not feeling well, but I wanted to get out in the sun - so I took Chloe out for a walk in the park:

Chloe in her dog-bone fleece

I really need a tan...

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Bibs, pictures and stats...oh my!

2010-02-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

After I started running multiple races per month last fall, I noticed a thing growing in my apartment: my huge pile of race bibs, running information packets, running pictures, medals, course maps, etc. I didn't want to throw any of the bibs or pamphlets from the races I had done away, but the large pile was unorganized and driving me crazy. Not knowing about blogging or racing websites at that point, I decided to organize everything into a running binder (cheesy, but whatever!):

With my handy Microsoft Office knowledge, I used a letterhead out of their orange wave pattern. I used the same letterhead with added boxes for the name of the date, name of event, distance, time, age place, gender place and overall stats:

Brew Ha Ha 5k with added coaster and Jingle Bell pamphlets

I then added all the bibs and pamphlets from the races and put them into clear pages to protect each bib. I made tabs to separate the races by year to keep it all organized. In the front of the binder I have added pockets to keep upcoming races I am interested in, running articles and my training schedule:

This seems to work for me, but its probably not the *best* way to keep my stuff. Keeping a blog has helped keep track of websites, stats and pictures, but I still want to do something fun with the bibs :)

I have also seen other options for keeping racing material. One is called a Bib Keeper which is a pre-made scrapbook that holds 10 bibs each. At $29.99 + shipping, I think my little binder works just fine. Here is a picture of the Bib Keeper:

Also there are the standard picture frame and bib holder. I have seen them on specialty sites and also on each race websites photo page. I like these, but they can be really expensive as well (also, I want an AWESOME time before I frame one of these bad-boys):

Tiny picture, but you get my point! This one is $179.95!! Yikes!

This prompts me to ask you: What do you do with your race bibs, stats, race pictures, pamphlets and other materials?? I would love, love, love suggestions!

Also, be sure to check out Zoe's giveaway at Run Zoe Run. She has a bunch of awesome Champion gear!

No running the past 2 nights (Im still paranoid that I will get injured after my long runs!), but I'm planning on a 6 miler tonight, then attempting some speed work. After my performance on the Love Em or Leave Em dash, I could use some extra speed :)