WET!!!

I started my day with my usual Sunday morning butt-kicking spin class at the YMCA today.  Amy was no-holds-barred as always.  I love it!  When I left for spin, it was snowing pretty steadily.  When I came back home almost 2 hours later it was still snowing pretty hard.  The nice thing is that none of it was sticking! 

So while I sat here looking at my Nikeplus.com website and thinking that I should get out and run today.  The problem is...it's so nasty out!  The snow finally let up but now it's raining.  I guess the only plus side to that is it means it's warmer right?!?  I decided it was now or never.  I put on my long running pants, fleece zip up, and Seahawks hat and hit the neighborhood. 

The first straightaway was nice but when I made the corner turn, there was the wind!  Wind + rain = a cold, miserable .25 mile.  At least after I make the next corner the wind is then at my back, phew!  I'm not a fan of rain dripping from my nose as I run.  My gloves were so soaked that I couldn't even wipe off my face with them.  I think I just smeared more water around. 

2 miles in, I wanted to stop but I told myself that I was going to keep going today.  Thankfully, the rain let up at this point.  My power song of the day came on too so that was helpful.  As I came around to mile 2.5 I had to hop up on the sidewalk because of a car.  Well as I came off the sidewalk, I didn't even notice the giant puddle waiting alongside the curb.  SPLASH!  My left shoe was drenched!  So splish splash splish splash went the next .5 mile and that's when I decided my workout was done.  My poor foot was so soaked that I couldn't take it anymore. 

Hopefully, tomorrow I can get a few more miles in too.  At least it was a start today.  I have missed running all week.  My mojo must be back because I got two workouts in today :)  I am a happy runner for sure!

Power Song of the day:  Ordinary - Train

929.5 miles to 1000 for the year. 

Mojo found!

I think I found my mojo baby!  It was at the Gig Harbor YMCA in Al's 6:15pm Friday night spin class!!  I was able to try out one of the new bikes tonight.  It had a really smooth ride, great tension, and even showed my mileage and pace!  The only downside is the new, uncomfortable seats...ouch.  Thank goodness I wear padded capris :)

Tomorrow I am planning on getting a run in.  It may have to be at the YMCA again but I am ready to get out there and run again.  I feel really energized and ready to go!  Anyone else up for running with me?  Let me know!

Has anyone seen my mojo?

I've been looking for it everywhere!  I have ZERO energy this week.  I haven't run since Monday :(  The snow that is coming down is making me not want to go outside (I'm not a cold-weather gal). 

On the plus side, all this indoors time has allowed me to surf the net this week.  In doing so, I have managed to sign up for 2 more 1/2 marathons! 

One is next month which puts me under the 90 day marker so I qualify for the Half Fanatics!!!  It's the Dizzy Daze at Greenlake in Seattle.  The info is at http://dizzydaze.com/  You should join and come run with me!  It sounds like a nice, easy, mellow run around the lake :)  If you register before the end of the month it's only $30 if you don't want a shirt or $50 if you do. 

The other is the See Jane Run in Seattle in July.  I got a great deal through: http://www.zozi.com/deals/430  It saved me over half of the registration fees.  Usually it's $75 but I got it for $27!  Here is the info on the race if you are interested in this one: http://www.seejanerun.com/t-See-Jane-Run-SEATTLE-Half-Marathon-and-5K.aspx

The more the merrier!  =D

Come run with me!!

I quit

Can you believe it...I had to quit my run today!  This runner is not very proud to admit it.  I think I was just having a "bonk" kinda moment. 

I woke up way to early on my day off again and forced myself to fall back to sleep.  I think this was mistake #1.  I should have just got up when my body told me to.  Instead my mind insisted that it was my day off and gosh darn-it I was going to sleep in on one day off.  Ugh...what a terrible idea.  I woke up about an hour later feeling worse than went I woke up the first time. 

I looked out the window and decided it was a good time to sneak in a run before my little guy wakes up (the older kids were home and could watch him while I ran).  With a quick stretch and a drink of water, I was off.  Wait...did I mention I left my water bottle at home too...reason #2 for a bad run.  It was actually not as chilly as I had expected outside but I wish I would have remembered my gloves...reason #3.

Are my list of reasons getting too long already?  I just started my run!  I went to the other Quadrant neighborhood today hoping to complete 5 miles.  I told myself that I would loop that neighborhood twice and come back to my neighborhood and loop it twice.  That should have been 5 miles.  Well when I got into the other Quadrant there was one particular work-truck/van vehicle that circled the loop twice while staying even with me on the other side of the street.  Kinda creepy...reason #4.  I did one loop and booked it out of there!

On my way out of the neighborhood I started feeling some minor shin splint pain and knee pain in my left leg...reason #5.  I headed for home :(  Feeling slightly defeated and super annoyed with myself I entered into my neighborhood chanting to myself, "just finish the last couple of laps here."  As my house got closer and closer my body and mind just said, "You've had enough for today."  I got to my driveway and ended my run. 

I think I had run out of reasons at that point.  Are they really reasons or excuses?  Some days my body just says no...today was that day. 

On the plus side...I got to come home and hang out with the kids today :)  Look I still found a reason to smile!

Power song:  Free--Zac Brown Band  (not a fast one but lyrically was what I needed at the right time)

932.8 miles to go to 1000 miles for the year.

http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/plus/#//dashboard/

New route--Hill work

It was a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest.  The sun was out and I was definitely going to take advantage of it!  I wanted to go on a longer run.  I took the time to actually map out a new course on Nikeplus.com before I left so I knew if my mileage was synced up or not.  It's a combination of my two usual courses.  
Today's course...hill work.

I layered up because even though the sun was out, the wind was also out in full force!  I threw on my sunglasses too and took off.  The wind sure does have it's way with you when you run.  I'm not a fan of head-wind but I know in the long run it will pay off for me big time.  It will help me to get stronger and push through it, but does it have to be so dang cold?

The first mile was actually pretty quick and smooth.  I entered into the new Quadrant Homes neighborhood and was surprised that more people were not out and about on such a beautiful day.  A little past mile 1.5, I made the determination that I don't like to run next to Toyota Priuses.  Those dang cars are way too quiet and it scared me half to death as it quietly purred on by!  I kept running as fast as I could up the big hill and out of the neighborhood.

At mile 2, I entered into McCormick Woods.  By then, I was nice and warm.  I ditched my gloves at the stop sign at the entrance and trekked in.  Running down McCormick Woods Drive was really nice.  Almost no one was on the road: walking, running, or driving for that matter.  The sun was facing directly at me so thank goodness I brought my shades! 

The next 2 1/2 miles were also pretty easy.  Either I'm losing my mind because I think it's getting easier or else I really am getting stronger and faster! :)  40 minutes into my run I made the turn for home onto Hawkstone.  It's a fairly quiet street with a big sidewalk and lots of houses.  The only problem I had was it was really shady on this road today.  So it seemed a lot windier too!  My goal was to maintain my speed and get all the way out of McCormick Woods in less than 20 minutes. 

I made the turn on to MaryMac.  It's a pleasant street with rolling hills.  It was a bit of a struggle towards the end of my run since the shade and wind were making me frozen.  As I crested the final hill I actually almost to cry because I really had wanted to stop and walk before then and I didn't!  One more big hill and I was out of the "Woods"  and in much less time then I had anticipated. 

I got to the entrance and was pleased to see my gloves were still waiting by the stop sign.  They were so needed after the run through the shade.  I put them back on and made the turn for home.  One final hill to climb up Old Clifton and back into The Ridge.  Right as I had entered my neighborhood, I looked at my Nike+GPS...1 hour exactly!  I knew the mileage was off though because as I entered, it said I was only at mile 6.5.  I decided to take the long way home from there just to complete my run.  I ran a little past my house then turned and came back.

Power song of the day:  Florence and the Machine---Dog Days are Over

7.13 miles in 1:05:12 with an average pace of 9'08"/mile!

http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/plus/#//runs/gps/676716880/630573704/
 

Cupids 1/2 Marathon Rochester, WA

Another one in the books!  This one felt great too :) 

Here we go...

Erik and I decided to stay the night in Lacey with my sister-in-law, Andrea so we didn't have to wake up so early and drive the 2 hours to our destination.  By staying at her house the commute was only about 30 minutes away. Phew!  Plus, Andrea kindly volunteered to watch Bryce for us so we could run.  Another bonus :)

This was a late starting race but we still woke up at 7am to get ready.  I had already planned my outfit the night before.  I chose my black Under Armour long sleeved shirt with a pink cotton tee over the top, my usual Nike Dri-fit capris and I was ready.  We went downstairs to stretch and grab something to eat.  As I've told you before...I can't eat a lot before a race because I tend to get a little nauseous...okay, maybe really nauseous.  Today's menu, a half of a cheese bagel.  YUM!

Time to take off.  We stopped off at our usual pre-race stop-off...STARBUCKS!  Drink of choice, tall drip with 1 splenda a little cream and a dash of cinnamon.  DUH-LISH!  Now we were really off.  I have lived in WA all of my life and I can honestly state that Rochester, WA is not a town I have ever spent any amount of time in.  After today, I can still add that I don't think I will be spending any amount of time there again. :) 

We found the start easily.  To our surprise, there were several smokers standing outside.  That should have been a clue as to what was inside.  I was very disappointed by the lack of organization that went on there.  When we went to the check-in area, there was only one girl working the stand and she had a very confused look on her face.  We were able to find my packet however, Erik's was nowhere to be found.  Sadly, his was not the only one.  Many, many other racers did not have packets or shirts.  It's a shame to pay the amount of money we do to run in these races and not have a packet waiting for us before the race...ya know?

Race time!  All I can say is thank you Andrea for having a pair of sunglasses in your car because my-oh-my was the sun out today!  All week leading up to the race they were forecasting a huge storm but the weathermen couldn't have been further from the truth.  It was sunny and almost 45 degrees out at the start of the race.  I was regretting even wearing the layers I had on and I hadn't even ran yet.  Oh well, too late to change now. 

I was sporting my new water belt that I bought at Target for today's race.  I wasn't sure how many water stops there were going to be so I decided to bring my own.  It didn't bother me at the immediate start however I ended up dumping half of my water out about .5 miles into the race because it was too heavy and kept falling down.  I didn't want to be distracted so, bye bye water.  That made a big difference and I was off!

For about the first mile I was running alongside a girl who was my height.  She was stoked because we were running the same pace and the same height.  This was her first 1/2 marathon.  She was super sweet but she was breathing pretty hard and so I wished her luck and left her behind.  I began pacing with a lady who was wearing a Seattle Marathon shirt and a guy who was wearing a white tech shirt.  They had a really great, manageable pace and I felt that I could keep up with them.

Sadly, my pacers detoured for the restroom at about mile 3.5.  I yelled a giant "Thank you" to them and kept going.  By then I was pretty much on my own.  I had passed all of the 5K and 10K crowd so the roads were pretty open.  It was easy sailing.  This was also the point that I started getting a blister on my left foot.  All I could think is that's going to suck for the next 10 miles.  Mile 4 was the worst.  Not because of running, because of the smell!  It was pure manure...YUCK!  I don't know which was worse breathing through my nose and smelling it or risking breathing through my mouth and swallowing a bug.  Either way, blech! 

At mile 4.77 I finally saw Erik :)  He told me I was almost to the turn around.  Really?  Shouldn't the turn around be at 6-6.5 miles?  How far behind him was I?  That's what started running through my head.  It turns out that I was only .5 miles behind him because the turn around was at mile 5.  Wait what?  If the turn around is at mile 5 then how am I going to complete a 1/2 marathon?  Where are they going to add that extra 3.1 miles?

At the turn around I finally saw my friends who were pacing for me towards the start.  They both gave me the thumbs up and "Great job."  It's nice to have these great little relationships on the course.  It gives that little extra boost.  About .5 miles later the lady in the Seattle Marathon shirt passed me and started pacing again.  Thank goodness, I felt like I was losing ground.  As the minutes ticked away, she got further and further away.  In the far distance I could see Erik (he was wearing red, so I could see it without my glasses) but at long last he turn a corner and he was out of my sight.  Oh no!  What now?  My pacers were gone. 

At mile 6, the guy in the white shirt came up behind me on my right side.  He gave me a thumbs up and said, "You are doing great, keep up the good work."  My reply was, "Thank you, I really needed that right now!"  You don't realize how much a few words of encouragement does to your motivation.  I felt like I was able to pick up my pace a little more.  He then stated that he had been trying to catch up to me for awhile and we both had mentioned that we had been pacing back and forth for several miles.  He introduced himself as Robert and said he would run with me for a while if I liked.  I gladly accepted! 

The next several miles were going okay.  It was nice to have a partner to help me through the times that my body was trying to talk me out of running.  By then my blister was screaming at me!  I had asked Robert if he knew the course and he replied "no."  Bummer!  By my calculations and recollection of the scenery, we were getting close to the start of the race.  According to my GPS it said we were only at mile 10!  Where in the world were the last 3.1 miles that I still had to run?  At mile 10, I got my answer...we had to pass the finish line and go another 3.1 miles.  THAT WAS A MIND BLOWER!

I really didn't like passing the finish line to continue running.  It messed with my mind.  I kept chanting "you only have a 5K left, you only have a 5K left" but my body kept saying "you already passed the finish line, your done with your race."  It's not a good feeling.  Robert kept telling me that I was doing great and I could finish strong, I hoped he was right. 

At mile 10.96 I finally gave into my mind and walked.  Damn!  I wanted to finish the whole race without walking but my blister was killing me and my mind was winning.  Robert was kind enough to walk too despite me urging him to keep running.  We walked a very short time (like .05 miles) but it was enough to get my head back into the race.  Then we were off again.

I saw Erik again at mile 11.77.  His phone had died so he didn't have any music or GPS.  I felt terrible for him but I told him to finish strong and we said goodbye to each other.  Robert and I continued on our way.  At the last water stop and final turn around, Robert stopped for water.  I walked for my longest period at this time.  It was nice to get a breather and rest before the last 1.1 miles.  I encouraged Robert to run but his Gatorade wasn't sitting well in his stomach.  I told him I was going to jog and told him to stay strong! 

I thought Robert was right behind me but when I turned around he was a ways back.  I felt terrible that I had left the guy who was kind enough to pace with me for the last 6 miles.  I really didn't realize that he wasn't right behind me.  I continued on my pace and hoped that I could set a new PR.

I decided to walk up the last small hill just for the heck of it.  No real reason, I just did.  I turned the corner and headed for the finish line.  The last .3 miles seemed to go really fast.  Much faster then the first time I ran them.  I could see Erik standing by the finish line!  I couldn't be happier!!!  As I passed him, he yelled, "Great job Baby, you got this!"  Yep, that is EXACTLY what I needed to hear.  I raced to the finish and set a new PR! 

2:09:57!!!  That is 10 minutes off of my last time :)  This runner is definitely smiling =D

Erik also PR'd today despite pulling his calf muscle.  He finished in 1:58:03.  I am a super proud wife!  My new friend Robert finished just behind me and I even managed to be outside as the sweet gal I met in the first mile crossed the finish line. 

I really love my running community and I love how you manage to form these wonderful friendships in such a short time out on these courses.  Being there for one another, cheering each other on, pacing with each other, a smile, a thumbs up....  I love to be part of this amazing group of people!  You have changed my life for the better :)

p.s.  My GPS said the course was actually 13.28 miles.  My official time for that was: 2:11:41

946.19 miles to go for 1000 miles for the year :)

http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/plus/#//runs/gps/676716880/429363011/

Playlist

So I have a very random playlist for tomorrow's run.  This is the current order, however, I may still hit shuffle once I start running:

Ready, set, go - Kevin Aviance
Jesus of Suburbia - Green Day
Jump On It - Sir Mix A-Lot
Someday - Pat Monahan
Silly Love Songs - Glee
Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars
King of Anything - Sara Bareilles
Glitter in the Air - P!nk
Jai Ho - Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack
All Summer Long - Kid Rock
Viva La Vida - Coldplay
I Run For Life - Melissa Etheridge
Dog Days are Over - Florence and the Machine
Valerie - Glee
Hey, Soul Sister - Train
Gypsy - Shakira
Sing - Travis
Alright - Darius Rucker
Stuck Like Glue - Sugarland
The Best Thing About Me is You - Ricky Martin and Joss Stone
F**cking Perfect - P!nk
Freedom 90 - George Michael
Let it Roll - Train
American Idiot - Green Day
Waking Up in Vegas - Katy Perry
Let's See How Far We've Come - Matchbox20
Ordinary - Train
Jesus Walks  - Kanye West
OMG - Usher
Game On (The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Mascot Song) - Pitbull, TKZee & Dario G
Waka Waka (It's Time for Africa) - Shakira
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
The Finish Line  - Train

and a couple more for cool down

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Glee
Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy - Glee

I am a Gleek...what can I say :)

It's a total of 2.5 hours of music.  I hope I don't have to use that much.  I hope to end a lot sooner...we'll see. :D

959.4 to go

I was able to run a decent amount of miles so far this week!  In fact, this is the first week since setting my goal of 1000 miles in 2011 that I am ahead of the pace...for the week anyway.  I am still currently 30.58 miles behind my target but I plan on making up some ground in the next few weeks.  Already this week, I put in 13.01 miles in a matter of 3 runs.  I still have my 1/2 marathon this weekend which means I will have ran a total of 26 miles this week!!!

Sunday's run was AWESOME!  I decided to run a new course through the golf course across the street and it was wonderful.  More hills then I usually run and lots of head-wind...so it was a challenge.  It was nice to change up my usual course though.  Breaking up the monotony for change and I still managed to get home in time to see the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl! 
6.47 miles in 1:03:04 = 9'44'/mile

Wednesday was a cold jaunt around the neighborhood.  I threw on my fleece and flashing runners light and hit the road.  I felt pretty fast last night...maybe because it was so chilly :)  Anyway I look at it, I got another great run in before my big weekend!  A little pain in my knees but nothing too bad.
3.39 miles in 29.38 = 8'44'/mi

Tonight's run was just an easy one at the YMCA.  As we all know, it's not my favorite place to run.  I complain every time I have to dodge kids and tonight is no different...well maybe a little different...I had to dodge adults too.  Ugh!  Please people, don't stop on the track and go the other way!!!  It's so dangerous...for me and for you.  Okay, enough venting.  Overall, another run done.  My last one before the big weekend.  I think I'm ready.  Right?
3.15 miles in 29:51 = 9'28'/mi

There you have it 13.01 miles in 3 runs.  I know I haven't run as long of a run as I have wanted before the 1/2 marathon but I think with enough support I will get through it.  My goal is to beat my last time of 2:19:20 so I will set my goal at 2:15:00.  Do you think I can do it?  I think I can ;)

Runners who smile!

I thought I would a few pictures of some of my favorite runners who love to smile!  This was a picture from the Monster Dash back in October 2010!

Here is another one from the You Go Girl that I ran with some great friends in September 2010.

Ran a few more miles this week.  972.5 miles left of the 1000 I plan to run this year. :)