pure excitement!!!!!

My mom sent me text last night asking "R u feeling ready for your half?"  I took a brief second to think about it ... truly! a second is all it took and I replied with "I am!"  I've run a half marathon before, 2 in fact, but this is the first race that I actually feel very prepared and very ready for.  I've been training since the end of February with a great group of people (Galloway Training Program) and a few months ago started going to weekly track sessions (RunPortland) at a local high school.  I'm actually very antsy to get the race started, and I'm sure in the middle of it I'll want it to be over and done so I can enjoy some delicious strawberry shortcake, but I also want the day to take it's time.  I want to experience every moment of the day.  From the time I wake up (3 a.m.) to the end of the festivities (probably around 11ish a.m. or so). 

As I've documented in my past posts, I made a 4th of July tutu to wear during the race.  I did a dress rehearsal last night, looked at myself in the mirror and just laughed!  I definitely felt silly and the timid side of me said "take it off! don't wear that! you'll look dumb!"  But I'm going to wear it and wear it happily cause I want to have fun with this race!  I don't care that I'll stand out (even though part of me does cause that's who I am) ... I'm just going to be me and run this half and do my best to make my personal goal of a 3 hour finish time. 

This week I've felt very energized in anticipation for Monday.  Oh and did I mention the strawberry shortcake at the end of the race ... I believe I did!  Well, this will be the first dessert treat I will eat since I don't even remember when!  It's my first prize to myself for completing the race.  That is what I will picture when I get around mile 9 or 10 ... the goodness that is waiting for me at mile 13.1!

To everyone running the Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon .. and those running the full marathon and the 5k ... RUN STRONG and have a great time!!!!

wordless wednesday

Sometimes you have to kick your own butt

Ok self, you and I need to have a little talk. You need to stop slacking and push yourself to the limit with track. You are a runner! Go for it! You are doing so awesome on the weekend runs, and the whole day before getting to track you feel ready and want to go. And then what happens when you get there?! What do you do when the training gets a little more intense?! You start listening to the left side of your brain and you wimp out. C'mon! Stop doing that! Tell Lefty to shut up! To go sit on the bleachers and wait till your done! Actually when it comes to running, tell ol'negative lefty to blow it out of it's own wazzu! You have miles to run and paces to keep!

You can do this! Sure it was hotter today then any of the other days, but you know what...welcome to summer! It's only gonna get hotter. So prepare yourself. Eat better the day of track and drink water throughout the day.

You, my dear friend, are in training for your biggest goal yet and you are going to rock it!

-Love from the right (and positive) side of your brain :-)

Running costumes

So I've ran in a couple races already and have noticed that quite a few people dress up for them or at least wear tutus, and I thought, I wanna do that!  My next race is the Food Traffice Half Marathon on the 4th of July.  I decided to be patriotic and try to wear red, white and blue.  I did some research online and found patterns for no-sew tutus.  I went to the craft store and bought everything I needed.  After my 4 mile run this morning I got to work.

After awhile I kept thinking I didn't have enough material or it wasn't going to work out.  The more I worked on it, the more excited I got as it came together!  Finally I finished with the last of the materials and came up with this ...

I'm still needing to purchase a red leg compression sleeve and then maybe find something to put my hair up with, but other than that, I feel like I've completing my outfit for the run!  I'm super excited to dress up for this as I haven't really in the past.  The only thing I've dressed up is my hair and that's with a tiara during the Disney World Princess Half Marathon. 

I have an idea for the Disneyland Half Marathon, but I'm not wanting to reveal my secret yet.  And if I can pull it off, I'll be even more excited!

run, run, run as fast as you can ...

What a packed weekend!  It has been filled with running and resting.  Yesterday with my training group we ran 13 miles as scheduled.  We started out at the Vera Katz statue on the East side of the Willamette River and made our way over the Hawthorne Bridge and ran the west side of the downtown Portland waterfront.  Thankfully since we started out at 8 a.m. the crowd wasn't too bad as it is currently Portland's Rose Festival and Fleet Week.  After winding our way back to the east side we ran along the Springwater Corridor which had less traffic, but less to see as well.  It's a pretty run out that direction, and thankfully a pretty flat course.  We ended the 13 miles with going back to the Portland waterfront and this time there were quite a bit more people and it was tough to weave our way through the crowd.  We also got stopped on the bridge as it had risen to let the Portland Spirit pass through.  Having a break of about 5 minutes after running about 11 miles makes it quite difficult to start up again.  Finally finished with a final time of 3:06!

Came home after the long run and took a refreshing cold bath and rolled out the tight muscles in my legs and hips on the foam roller ... keep repeating "its a good pain...its a good pain". 

This morning I woke up bright and early to get ready and head on over to NW Portland to complete the Run For The Love Of Dove 5k.  I had gotten my entire office to run with me along with their significant others and pups.  It was a great turnout and great weather to run!

This race benefited the Stray and Wildlife Fund for Dove Lewis.  When the race was completed we were provided with our "medal" of a backpack and a bottle opener on a chain.

We spent some time after the race going around to the booths and got some great shwag from some awesome sponsors: Dave's Killer Bread, PopChips, VitaminWater, PGE, More Ink and a few local dog hotels to name a few.  My work peeps and I then left the area and went and had breakfast at the Laurelwood where they have an outside eating area so that the 2 pups that were with us could hang out. 

It's been a wonderful weekend and I realized that I logged 21 miles from this past Monday through today!  My next race is scheduled for the 4th and I'm excited to begin!

New goal .... run a marathon

I've done one of the most excited and terrifying things I've ever done before.  I just registered for my first full marathon!  Crazy, right?!  I've been talking with my running coach and he thinks I'm ready and able to do this, so I'm transitioning into the marathon training program of our running group and I was trying to figure out which marathon I should run.  My first half marathon was at Disneyland, so I wondered if I should make my first full marathon at Disney World.  The only problem with that is I would have to wait till 2013 to run a marathon with the current race schedule I have right now.  I really don't want to wait that long, so after much thinking and discussing with a few friends and my running coach, I signed up for the Portland Marathon this year which occurs on 10/9/11. 

And I already know my bib number! 8640

This was a huge step for me as I was one of those people who first said "I hate running and don't understand the people that do run", and then turned into "Yeah, running is okay.  I've gotten used it and have enjoyed a few races, but never will do a full marathon", to finally a person saying "I love running and can't imagine my life without the running activity and I really really want to finish a marathon!".  It's amazing how if we just let go and give something a chance, it can change our life forever!

Friar Trot 5k/10k - May 21, 2011

Last month I ran my first 10k.  That's 6.2 miles of running around Sherwood, Oregon for the Friar Trot.  Some people from my running group were there as well, but they did the 5k.  When I signed up I didn't realize we were only supposed to do the 5k, but I'm glad that I didn't change my registration. 

The Friday night before I went to Roadrunner Sports and picked up my goody bag which included a very bright neon yellow t-shirt and my bib number.  I laid out everything that night and double checked that I had things ready for the morning ... charging my Garmin watch, pinning my number to my pant leg, making sure my running clothes were ready ... you get the idea.  I did my best to get to bed at a decent hour as I needed to be at the race site around 7 a.m. and I lived an hour away.  The race didn't start till 8 a.m., but our group was going to meet early so we could get a good warm up done before the race.

I think I set my alarm for 4 a.m. though I didn't actually wake up for another half hour or so.  I got ready to go, tried to settle my nerves (as I tend to get the case of the butterflies before any race...or any activity for that matter).  Finally, I was ready!

I put my number on my leg cause I put on a jacket and if I decided to take off said jacket during the race, I'd still have my number visible.  Oh and the final touch ... putting the timing chip on my shoe ...

I headed out the door and drove west to Sherwood.  I got there quite a bit earlier than I expected to, but I parked my truck in this massive field they were directing us in which make me thankful to have a truck as it was not a smooth surface, if you get what I'm sayin.  I made sure I had everything ... watch, water bottle, visor ... and walked towards the last minute registration/packet pick up table.  I found two of the guys that are in my group and we waited for everyone else to show up.  Overall there was about 10 of us that ran.  Finally it was getting down to the start time and we made our way with the crowd to begin the race. 

At a few minutes after 8, they sounded the horn and off we went! I ran with one lady from my group, Candy, as we are in the same pace group on Saturdays so we stuck together.  After the first mile I realized that she and I were going a bit faster than we were used to and finished the first mile in about 9 minutes ... I think.  That tends to happen though, the rush of the crowd makes you energized to go faster at the beginning.  We slowed our pace and kept at about 12:50 or so minute mile.  And then it happened, we came upon the split off from the 5k route and the 10k route.  I waved over my head and heard her yell "GO HOLLY GO!!!"  But as I turned to go the 10k route, there was a hill....and not a gradual incline.  No, this was a hill.  Have I ever mentioned how much I hate hills?!  Well, I do.  They are a killer for me.  But I kept going and took extra walk breaks to get my breathing back.  I passed a lady who was just out walking and said its easier now that I'm done with that hill.  Yeah, she lied.  There were tons more hills and it was so lonely and quiet I was thankful for my music. 

After quite a bit of running through neighborhoods, I wound my way back into the forest/park area of the race, which meant I was nearing the end of the race.  At one point there was a little black kitty on the trail staring into the trees.  I thought for sure when I got closer it would get spooked and run into hiding.  But I called out to her and she actually came over to me and I bent down (as I was still running) and gave her a pat on the head. 

I passed the Mile 5 marker and was so excited that I was almost done and making really good time!  Good time for me that is.  I was keeping at a steady 12:40 minute mile pace and as I got into the town portion of the run I noticed 3 people and a dog heading for me.  It was my group leader (Aaron), his wife (Ashley, their dog (Auzlo) and my pace group leader (Carol)!  They came back along the trail to find me and run the rest of it with me!  That almost made me start crying.  Aaron checked to see how I was doing as I had mentioned to him previously that I had a calf injury last fall and he's been coaching me at the weekly track sessions I attend.  We finally turned the corner and I could see the finish line!  I took my walk break as I had to run the long drive to the line.  I heard them all talking around me, but my mind was concentrating and getting myself ready to hussle across that line!  When my watched beeped that it was time to run again, I took off with all I had.  Aaron ran up beside me and said "There's that speed!" 

Candy was waiting at the finish line along with a few others and was able to get a picture of the 4 of us running it in.

My final chip time was 1:18 and I was very happy with it.  This was a good race for me and even with the hills, I'm glad I completed the 10k. 

I have a few more races coming up including a 5k, and 3 half marathons!  I'll do my best to post race reports from those as well.

RUN STRONG everyone!!!!!

This is my life ... let me live it!

A friend on FB recently posted a note entitled "Velveeta".  No, she's not talking about the cheese.  It dealt with the fact that she is single and has been asked that question "why are you still single?  You're smart, beautiful...don't you want to get married and have kids?".  Sigh.  This is my response to that whole thing:

"I seriously hate it when people ask me that question of why I'm still single. To me, its very offensive and makes me think there is something wrong with me! Perhaps I chose this path, perhaps I'm meant to live independently and survive on... my own. Whatever the reason, it's nobody's business but mine! My grandfather told me years ago that he wanted me to stay single, become independent, learn how to take care of myself and not get married till I was 40, if ever! Currently, I'm on that path.   Not that I don't want to meet someone and perhaps one day "settle down", but for now, I'm enjoying my "freedom" of being able to do my own thing and be my own person and do things in my time frame. I have friends that are my close family and of course I have cats that are my children. Family members (besides Grandpa) who ask me when I'm going to get married and have kids basically just wanna see me happy, but who says I'm not?! I'm having a grand ol'time meeting new people and going places."

 

I'm sure that if/when I do meet that special someone and decide to develop something permanent, I will most likely change my routine, schedule, whatever, but right now I love that I'm busy with work and running.  And running is quickly overtaking working as that's all I want to do!

 

So to those who continue to throw that dreaded question at me, STOP!  You are not paying me a compliment and if you are so overcome with my beauty and brains, and say that the man who gets me is a lucky guy, then why don't you step up and be "Mr. Lucky man that get's this"!