Salmon Creek New Year's Eve Half Marathon makes for 1,000 miles run in 2011!

What can I say about the 2011 Salmon Creek New Year's Eve Half Marathon in Vancouver, Washington?  This inaugural (totally made up by me) event was sponsored by Shot Bloks & Gatorade.  It featured personalized handmade race bibs.  Only 1 medal was given out at the end.  All (two) runners received a complementary latte at Starbucks after crossing the finish line. I was the top ranking female runner for the first time ever. Kent was the top ranking male.  How flippin' cool is THAT?

It was the most difficult half marathon I've ever participated in, by far.  Not only did this route feature several "monster hills" that would slow down even the most seasoned runner, but I ran 11 miles the day before this race took place.  My legs were already spent.  However, I wanted to make it to my goal of 1,000 miles in 2011....so I did it. I did take several short walk breaks, but not as many as I thought I would require considering A) I'm still sick & B) tired from the 11 mile run 36 hours ago.

I didn't fall asleep until nearly 5am the night before.  Uggggg.  So not only am I sick & tired from a previous run, but I only slept 2 hours last night.  And those two hours of sleep were total crap.  I bet I woke up every 10 minutes during that time frame.  So with alllllll of this in mind, please join me on a photo tour of today's race to my year end goal....

#1 because it's his first half marathon & the longest distance he has ever tackled!

#1,000.  Because I'll hit mile 1,000 as I cross the finish line of today's homegrown race.

The start line.  Brrrrrr.  It was super cold out with a little black ice.

Kent looks ready for his first half marathon.  We'll see if he's still smiling at the finish line.  :)

Hard to see, but Mt. Hood can be seen from WSU's campus by our house (on a clear day).  

Signs of spring.  Can you see the tiny shoots popping up?

What's a half marathon without including Monster Hill?  Can you see it up the road?  Trust me, it looks WAY worse in person.  

I cannot seem to run up this hill without getting stuck behind the mail truck.  That's Kent way up ahead of the truck.

A part of Salmon Creek that isn't normally under water.

After all the rain we've had, the streams & creeks are rather high.

I see the finish line.  The end is in sight, and I was sucking back tears.

First half marathon completed.  Check out that smile!

1,000 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Awwww, he still holds the door open for me after almost 18 years of marriage.

I ordered a full fat, full sugar LARGE vanilla latte.

Dinner at Fire On The Mountain in Portland.  Going there wouldn't be the same without a frisbee full of Cajun tots....and a frisbee full of fries.  With banana sauce & ranch dressing for dippin'.  YUM!

Grilled chicken salad with blue cheese & cilantro lime FOTM wing sauce.

Showered, extremely full of Cajun tots, and riding the high of 2011's accomplishments.

The bling!  Yes, it's the Gatorade cap from today's bottle we split.  :)

The inaugural Salmon Creek New Year's Eve Half Marathon was a success!  It was the longest distance my sweet husband has ever run, and I am so proud of him. I was also glad he was there by my side as I met my mileage goal.

There were many, many times I thought I would not make it to the finish line (which was the Starbucks by Albertson's in Salmon Creek).  Even though I have many, many half marathons under my (fuel) belt, this one really kicked my ass.  I chose to not use my ipod until mile 8.  At that point, I was done.  I needed a distraction.  Several songs sent me into a teary eyed daze.  The more I thought about the goal I was about to reach & complete, the more emotional & overwhelmed I became.  I sucked back those tears & ran my ass off.

1,000 mile goal met.  Race #13 of the year complete.  Mission accomplished.   I am beyond impressed with my stamina, determination, and strength this year!  1,000 miles of running.  Not flat, treadmill miles like I used to log when we lived in snowy, cold Ohio.  Hilly, hilly, hilly terrain here in wet, rainy Washington...over & over each time I ran.  I did it!  Wow, I'm so much stronger than I used to be.  I wish I would have kept better track of the cycling, walking, elliptical'ing, and other cross training stuff I did.  I bet those numbers would have been impressive, too!

Anyway, I bet you can't wait to hear what my 2012 goals will be...

{Side Note: Yes, we really wore the homemade bibs the ENTIRE 13.1+ miles.  Yes, people did stop to read them.  Yes, someone did actually ask about the race like it was a real thing, and then went on to say we should do it again next year so others can join us.  lol}

Only 13.1 to my 1,000 mile goal!

I've been missing in action the past few weeks.  Why?  Because it's the Holiday Season Of Fun, that's why.  We kick started our Christmas break by taking the kids on a surprise trip to Disney World, where I earned a few "mouse miles".  Running in Florida reminded me of one thing....Florida is damn humid!

Then, Christmas rolled around.  I ended up with a raging head cold.  Which turned into a raging sinus infection.  I've had a few not-so-fun runs during this illness phase...including an 11 miler just yesterday. Blahhhh!  Thank goodness for antibiotics.

Anyway, tomorrow marks the end of 2011.  It also marks the end of my two big running goals for the year:

Goal #1....to run 11 races for the year.  I ran 12. Go me! 

Goal #2....to run 1,000 miles.  I didn't plan it this way, but I have exactly 13.1 miles to go.  Yes, the exact amount of a half marathon!  My favorite race distance.  So tomorrow, December 31st, 2011, I will run my last half marathon and reach my 1,000 mile goal for the year.  All in one fell swoop.

Goal #1 (again).... so make that 13 races in 2011!

Tomorrow's half marathon is the inaugural Salmon Creek New Years Eve Half Marathon. Complete with a race bib, Garmin timing, a complimentary post race latte, and a medal! Since it's the inaugural race and all, there will only be two runners. I have a fabulous chance to be the top ranking female! Especially since the other runner is my husband. lol

I'll be sure to  post all of the details of  tomorrow's milestone of my 13th race & reaching my goal of 1,000 miles this year.  Happy new year!

5 post half marathon miles [Training Day #348 Wed. 12/14/11]

5 miles
time?
pace ?

I didn't clock this one.  I simply needed the miles in for my yearly goal.  Only 50.95 miles to go!  Plus, I needed to start running again.  I've stretched and worked out since Sunday, but hadn't run until this morning.  Everything felt good.  Tender, but good.  I still swear by the shoe tying trick I told you about last week.  I have one tender toe tip, but not blisters or black nails.  Amazing considering my feel are typically a mess after a half marathon.  This is half marathon #2 that the trick has saved my piggies.  :)

You won't hear from me for a few days.  Don't be sad.  I certainly won't be.  As a matter of fact,  being sad will be impossible for me since I'm headed to the happiest place on earth to log a few "Mouse Miles".  What a great way to end a yearly running goal, eh?  I'll blog all about the Mouse Miles I ran when I get back.

Run For Randy Ehrhard 5k

So, Thanksgiving morning, my family set out to run the Clark County Turkey Trot 5k.  So did Randy Ehrhard.  Everyone in my family made it home that day.  Randy's family wasn't as lucky.  From what I understand, he had a heart issue.  We saw him getting CPR on the course.  We heard the siren.  We saw the flashing lights.  The sight of Randy that morning was overwhelming, to say the least.  That could have been any one of us out there!  Our loyal husband, loving father, star employee, devoted church member, very best friend.  No day is a good day to lose someone you love, but Thanksgiving?  I can only imagine what his wife and children must be going through.  


It took a lot of digging around Facebook to figure out he passed away a couple of days after that. I never found out a lot, but enough to let my husband know that he didn't make it.  Late last week, I received  an email from someone who stumbled upon my blog post about the Turkey Trot.  Totally out of the blue.  From a random stranger.  Anyway, the gal sending the email, Melissa, let me know Randy's church is hosting a 5k run in honor of him on 1/1/12!  I jumped on that idea, and blasted the information to everyone on my Facebook friends list, local running clubs, running stores, etc.  I even let the Turkey Trot folks know about the event.  Here's what I wrote....  

For those interested in a new years day 5k in Vancouver, please check out the memorial run for Randy Ehrhard. Randy is the gentleman in need of medical assistance at the Clark County Turkey Trot in Salmon Creek Thanksgiving morning.  He later passed away, and leaves behind a wife & two children. The race is free, but donations are being taken in the form of purchasing a race shirt. I bought mine already & will wear it in honor of Randy at the race on 1/1/12!!! Here's a link to the race's web page: 

www.seekreallife.com/rl5k_2012.html

I cannot wait for this event.  Even though I said I'm taking the first couple of weeks in January off from running, I'll be running this event anyway.  Even though I will have just done an 11 mile long run the day before. I'm not in it for a PR.  I'm in it to honor Randy.  I feel as though I ran past him as his life slipped away.  The least I can do is run a race in his honor.

If you're local, I hope you choose to participate.  Local, but not a runner?  It doesn't matter.  Walk, crawl, roll, or skip your way across the finish line.  Not local?  Buy a shirt to help support Dixie & the kids.  Let me know you bought one, and I will figure out where to pick it up & mail it to you.

Portland's Holiday Half Marathon (race recap)

Holiday Half Marathon
13.1 miles

2:22:30 time
10:52 pace

I loved this race.  It was well planned, not the same route as all of the other Portland races, and there were lots of people wearing costumes.  Including me!  It was my first time to race in a costume.  Mine wasn't nearly as groovy as the guy dressed like Buddy (Elf) or Ralphie wearing his pink bunny costume Aunt Clara made especially for him  (A Christmas Story), but it was festive.  You'll have to read the entire post to see me decked out in my holiday running gear.  :)

The first mile was crazy packed.  I think that's mainly because the race started in a residential area.  There just wasn't enough room for that many runners.  So we got off to a SLOW start.  Anyway, instead of blabbing on and on about it in paragraph form...I will do so with a list.  Because I love making lists.  I'm a list maker.  A chronic list maker.  CLM for short.  I'll start us off with a mile by mile break down.  Well, as much as I can recall, anyway.

Mile 1: As I said above, slow.  Despite the slow speed, this mile flew by pretty fast.  

Miles 2 - 5:  A blur.  About the only think I remember is running through an unfamiliar neighborhood...wondering if all of the homeowners were ticked off that 2,000 runners were clogging the streets. I do recall stressing out about our slow start that first mile, and wondering if I would be able to make it up a few miles down the road. 

Miles 6 - 7.5:  I think I spent all of the 6 through 7.5 mile time frame worrying about where the turn around is located.  Why?  I have no idea.  It's not important at all.  It really didn't matter.  However, once I'm that far into a run, rational thinking is out the window.   

Miles 8 &9: Still truckin' along.  I remember a hill that started at the 9 mile mark.  Nothing monumental.

Mile 10:  This is when the suck fest started.  I hit the wall, and I hit it hard.  I was doing so well up until the 10.25 mile mark.   I wanted to walk so bad, the thought consumed me.  So I stopped to walk.  And then I beat myself up for it.  How does one run nonstop for 10.25 miles.....only to stop & walk?  UGGGGHHHHH!  I was furious with myself.  The walk break only lasted a few seconds, but it took a toll on my pace & mental state.  It was also a huge hit to my pace.  I had been cutting it close with a 10:37 pace for miles & miles.  The hill at mile 9 made me lose a couple of seconds.  This little walk break put me at 10:43.  Sigh.

 Mile 11:  Pure mental misery.  My right IT band, which has not bothered me for months & months & months, started to "sting".  That's never a good sign.  I took two  more short walk breaks, but kept pushing myself to run as hard as I could.

Mile 12 - 13.1:  I forced myself to run the entire last mile.  No matter how much I wanted to stop & walk....my focus was to keep running.  I knew I was on pace to PR, even it was only by a few seconds.  I knew I could do it.  I think I prayed the ENTIRE way through that mile.  I thought of several people along the way, even one I never had the opportunity to meet.  (I'll talk about Randy Ehrhard in another blog post very soon.)

I wanted to finish in 2:20 or less.  2:15 would have been totally fabulous & a miracle.  I ended up with 2:22:30 as my official finish time.  Though it's not at all what I wanted, I'm proud that I beat my old record by 8 seconds.    

  

So I want to give you my top 10 reasons I thought Portland's Holiday Half Marathon was so cool.

1.  For $3.00 extra, you get a bus ride to the start line.  We parked about 4 miles from the race start because there's such a shortage of parking around the ADIDAS campus.  Just a few miles away, there's ample parking.  So they arranged for bus pick up & drop off in front of the ADIDAS's headquarters.  It was totally worth the $3!

The front of ADIDAS headquarters (check out the giant old school shoes!)

The start line was in front of headquarters.

The parking garage across the street...where all the pre & post race action was held.

  2.  It didn't get as cold overnight as we thought it would.  Always a plus!  Especially considering it was misting the night before.  And foggy.  And already cold enough.  I checked The Weather Channel at 4:45am, and they claimed it was 36, cloudy, & dry out.  YAHOO!  Perfect running weather.  

3.  They held last minute packet pickup, bag drop off, and hosted sponsors in the upper level of a parking garage directly across the street from the start line.  So we were out of the open air for the most part....AND THEY HAD FIRE PITS BURNING TO KEEP US WARM!  More winter races need to adopt this way of keeping runners as warm as can be before a race.  It was such a festive environment with all of the runners dressed in some sort of costume, and the decorations, and overall vibe.  

Everyone standing around various fire pits staying warm.

Level 1 of the parking garage had decked their halls for us!

This fire pit was too crowded....

This fire pit was juuuuust right.  :)

4.  I found my fellow "running chicks" in the parking garage.  It was so nice to see familiar faces!!!

I had to stand on my tip toes to be seen! lol

5.  This was a new route for me, and MAN am I thankful.  So many of the Portland races are along the same route over and over and over again.  It was nice to pay for something different this time around.

6.  There were plenty of porta potties & water stations throughout the route.  I didn't stop to use the restroom, drink the water, or eat the nasty peppermint GU being offered, but it was nice to have them there had I needed any of them.  I did make a point to slow down through the water stations & eat a Shot Blok / sip some water.  

7.  My shins held up just fine.  Not a lick of shin pain!  My ankle was a little stiff that first mile or so, but then it was fine.  Didn't notice it at all, as a matter of fact.  AMAZING!  I noticed during a short 4 mile run last week that my right IT band was burning/stinging.  Thank God it waited until mile 11 or so to kick in during the race.  (My legs cannot wait for January to roll around. I'll be taking a week or two off from running to rest up for marathon training.)  

8.  Ooooooooo, we received a big bell at the end of the race instead of a medal!  It's really cool.  It's actually a real bell.  It has a dingy thingy inside.  Needless to say, I've hidden it from the kids who spent the afternoon dinging it every chance they got.  Ding, ding, ding, ding.

9.  I ran the entire race with fur trimmed socks & a Santa hat!  I also had red knit gloves, but they were shed & tossed around mile 3.    

10.  This was the last race of the year for me.  Number 12 for 2011.  My goal was to participate in 11.  I made it to 12.  I'm so proud of myself...I literally have tears welling up in my eyes as I type this.  Also, the finish time is a new personal record for me!!!!  I shaved 8 seconds off my old PR time!  Plus, I'm 13.18 (that's how far I ran even though it was a 13.1 mile race) miles closer to my 2011 goal of running 1,000 miles. 

Runners toenail saving shoe tying tip (say that 5 times fast!)

Ouch...and they actually got worse!

Like most runners logging a lot of miles, my toes take a beating.  During the summer, I had multiple black nails.  I've lost a few since then.  One was severely festered for months (see picture to your right).  Not only did I have the whole black nail thing going on, but I has massive blisters to boot.  I had them on the tips of my toes, they were between my toes & under the nails (pushing my toenails up to the sky).  No, Glide between my toes did not help.  Neither did any of the other brands of gooey crap you can smear on your body to prevent blisters.  Mole skin & tape caused more problems than they helped.  Oh.  My.  God.  It was a painful summer, to say the least. So much for military style push ups or planks!  

Anyway, it was time for new shoes, but I was hesitant to go through the whole "trying on process" because my toes hurt so much.  I ended up with horrific shin splints that sort of forced me to go get new shoes...icky toes and all.  That trip to Fit Right NW here in Vancouver was a blessing for my toes.  Since very early on in my running obsession, I've been purchasing shoes at running stores vs. big box chains.  The specialized help from experienced runners is priceless!  Not to mention, they fit you with a shoe that works with your feet.  [Side Note: I cheaped out in the spring, and purchased a new pair of what I thought was the same model of Saucony Grids I had been wearing for a while.....on Amazon.  I know.  I know.  Shame on me.  Come to find out, Saucony had changed that model of shoe I had been wearing a bit.  They made it a tad more narrow.  I could tell immediately that the shoe didn't feel right when I got them, but thought they simply needed to be "broken in" a little. Sigh.  That's when all of the massive toenail & shin splint issues began for me.  I paid more in physical therapy than I ever would have on a pair of shoes from my local running store.  Another sigh.  Lesson learned!]  Not only did I end up switching brands of shoes, but also size & width!  For me, I went up another half size compared to what I normally buy.  In a wide shoe.  I don't have wide feet, but the wider shoe provides more room in the toe box area, which drastically cuts down on your toes rubbing together.  In a Mizuno Wave Inspire 7...which also tend to run wider in the toe box.  So this is kind of like having a double wide shoe! lol  Feet swell during the running process.  Especially during long runs. Most people benefit from buying at least a half size bigger when it comes to running shoes.  In my case, I'm now an entire size larger, plus wider, than my street shoes.

Anyway, the sales guy had been a cross country runner since high school, and his coach always had the team lace their shoes this toenail saving way before a long run.  It prevents your foot from slipping down into the shoe.  Very important for those of us running longer distances.  It's miserable enough to run 3 miles with your toes rubbing the end of your shoe.  Imagine 11, 13, 26, 50 miles with that action taking place.  Misery.  Since I started lacing my shoes this way in August, I've totally eliminated the black toe nail / blistered tips of the toes thing.  I do still get blisters between my toes from time to time during runs that are over 9 miles in damp conditions, but they are NOTHING like that once were.  As a matter of fact, I've noticed that issue is slowly going away as well.  The blisters I see now are just old blisters that seem to "rehydrate" with sweat during my long runs.  Nice, eh?

I'm giving you this tutorial as if I were doing this to a show on my own Right foot.  Hope that helps ease any confusion regarding left & right....which hole on what side...etc.  :)

1.  Untie your right shoe so that the laces are poking out through the 3rd hole from the top (ankle area) of the shoe.  For this tutorial, we're calling this hole "hole #1".  You'll only use holes 1 & 3.  [I so very badly want to make a dirty "hole" joke right now!]

2.  Take your Left lace & push it through hole #3 on the Left hand side of the shoe.  In other words, keep left lace on left side (on the exterior side of the shoe).  Do it again with the Right lace on the Right side. 

3.  At this point, there should be a "loop" on each side of your shoe, like this....

4.  Now, take the Left lace & string it through the Right loop.  Then, take the Right lace & string it through the Left loop.

Here's what your shoe should look like now....

5.  Tighten everything from your toe to mid-foot so that's is just the right kind of comfy you're used to.  You don't want your shoes laced any tighter than normal. (I normally do this using both hands, but I can't take pictures & tie my shoes at the same time.  I'm lame.)

6.  To tighten at the ankle, pull the Left lace left....and the Right lace right.  Parallel to the ground.  Please note, you do not want your shoe laces tightened too much. Your ankle will hurt during your run (or even after) if you over tighten.  You want the lacing to feel "normal".  If it hurts at all....loosen the laces.

7.  Lock the lace in place by pulling both the Left and Right side up to the sky/your face.

8.  Make the typical bow.  I like to double knot for my own safety.  Lather, rinse, repeat on the other foot!

25 days until 2012

Yesssssss!

We're only 25 short days away from January 1, 2012.  Wow.  Where has this year run off to?  {Running pun fully intended!}  With just 25 days left in 2011, I feel the need to state 25 positive things about all of the miles I have logged this year.  Things I've learned.  Things that have happened.  Milestones.  It's kind of a letting go of 2011...planning ahead for 2012 thing for me.  I know.  You're rolling your eyes at me for already planning for the new year.  Here's a secret.  I've been planning for 2012 since January of 2011.   Sick & twisted, aren't I?  Let's do this....

1. New injuries popped up (as usual).  Though injuries are not positive, they did lead me to cross train more.  I branched out & tried multiple group exercise classes.  Some of them, I’ve kept on the schedule weekly since discovering their awesomeness.  In a strange way, shin splints were a blessing.
2. I finally made it to my half marathon time goal of 2:30.  As a matter of fact, I totally smoked it by cruising over the finish line in 2:23:35!  Woohoo!  This was the finish time I wanted for my very first half marathon back in March of 2010, but instead finished in 2:47:59.  Who knew it would take a year and a half to finally get to my goal?  Good thing I stuck with it, eh?
3. Setting not only one new 5k PR, but TWO!  I know.  It’s so fabulous!  The first was in February at the Heart Breaker 5k.  The next,Portland’s Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure.  Man, I raced my heart out that day.  Since my very first 5k in August of 2009, I’ve shaved 4 minutes 21 seconds off my 5k finish time.  Amazing.  Simply amazing.
4. The toenails I lost during all of my 15 mile long runs in the summer have finally grown back!  I’m able to paint my nails again.  It’s the little things in life….
5. My husband is running with me more.  He’s logged more miles in the past 3 months than he has since high school.  It’s time we get to spend together without the interruption of our cherubs.  We love the kids dearly, but it’s nice to have something that’s just for us.
6. I’ve watched several friends jump on the running bandwagon this year!  I love it!  One of these days, we will all get to run a race together.  How amazing will that be?
7. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.  Physically stronger.  Mentally stronger.  Emotionally stronger.  Spiritually stronger.  I can thank running for this strength. 
8. I’ve learned a lot about Vancouver this year.  I run all over town (literally).  Funny how you find stores & learn roads as you’re running past them. 
9. I’ve found a running connection with a few of my new neighbors.  We never actually run together, but it’s fun to see them at races now & then.
10. Throughout the year, I’ve found myself running for myself vs. having to for a training plan or calorie burn.  My husband says I’m turning into a “zen runner”.  I disagree. 
11. Being alone in my own little head is pretty important.  It took me a while to figure that out about myself, but running provides that time for me.  I worked a lot of things out this year during those weekly 11 to 15 mile long runs.
12. I’ve discovered I don’t really have anything in common with people who aren’t active.  It’s becoming more of a struggle to keep in touch with these individuals.  Hmmmm.
13. People who are constantly trying to compete with me are idiots.  Trying to beat MY race finish times, making a point to log more miles than I have for the year, etc..  Have you seriously not figured out I don’t give a shit what YOUR goals are?  I’m all about ME.  Get over yourself.
14. I had the best race picture taken of me at the finish line of the Vancouver USA Half Marathon this summer.  It’s one of the only race pictures I’ve ever liked.  Actually, it is the only race picture I've ever liked.  How fabulous is that? (See picture above.)
15. I discovered my love for running capri tights.  Specifically, Skirt Sports Under Skirt Capris.  I know…silly to even mention it.  However, I love them so much they had to make the list.  In Ohio, it was either really cold or really hot out.  So there wasn’t much need for mid season tights.  Here in Washington, however, totally different ball of twine.  I wear them most of the year here.  (Modeled in the picture at the top of this blog post.) 
16. I had to buy new shoes, and the sales guy at Fit Right NW took one look at my bloody, blistered, festered toes & taught me a cool new way to lace my shoes so my toes won’t scoot down to the end of my shoe (causing toe blisters) while I run.  This lacing method, along with a size larger shoe with a bigger toe box, has saved my poor little toes.  No more toe blisters or black nails!  I should blog about that lacing method in more detail sometime.
17. I set a few goals for the year, and I stuck with them.  I’ve participated in 12 races for the year.  My goal was 11…so I beat my own goal.  Very cool.  I also set the goal to run 1,000 miles.  I’m *this* close to getting there.  As of today, only 73 to go.  I can do that.  And if I don’t, I came really close.  I’ve logged 648 MORE miles than I did last year.  To me, that’s really saying something about my dedication.  Not dedication to the sport, but to my health.
18. I finally ran a distance longer than a half marathon.  15 miles.  The first time I did it, I literally cried when I looked down at my Garmin to see the mileage milestone.  There was a time when 1.5 seemed out of reach.  Wow.
19. I consumed 37 packs of Strawberry Shot Bloks (give or take a few).
20. I made some really great new friends thanks to my running blog.  Some far away.  Some local.  I feel very blessed to have them in my life.  Especially since I’ve decided to ditch a few of the old ones!
21. I ran a 12k for the first time.  We don’t have a lot of 12k races around here.  That makes the one I ran a PR for me! lol
22. I discovered most of the Portland area races are the same route over and over again.  I’m turning into a “run my own damn race” kind of gal because of that.  Thank goodness Vancouver is stepping up to the plate & hosting more events for us.
23. I actually finished a 5k faster than my husband!  However, he has made a point to kick my ass with stellar finish times ever since. Lol
24. I’ve learned how to push through pain.  I think this was an important lesson for me.  So many times, I would give up on something because I was uncomfortable.  I’m not talking strictly about running.  With life in general, I would give up.  I mean, who wants to hurt?  Running has helped me see that there is an end to the pain.  It will eventually stop.  I simply have to plow through it.
25. I made up my mind to run a full marathon in 2012.  Yes, I’m finally going to go all the way!  I am strong enough.  I am dedicated to training for such an event.  I can and will do this.  Please keep reading in 2012 as I train for the summer event.

Why must some runs be this way? [Training Day #338 Sun 12/4/11]

6.2 miles
1:05 time
10:29 pace

It was cold.  Super cold.  We busted out the winter running gear {have I mentioned how much I looooooove my CW-X winter compression tights?}, and headed over to the Salmon Creek Trail.

I seriously have no idea how I worked my way to a 10:29 pace during this one.  I sat well over the 11:00 mark for at least 4 miles.  It took me that long to step into the run & find the love.  I hate when this happens. Though the past few months haven't been stellar, I haven't really had to deal with "not finding the love" thing.  I wonder if it's a cold out/winter time issue for me?  Perhaps the cold weather making me feel stiff?  Who knows.

A couple of weeks ago, during our weekly long run, my right hip started to feel really, really stiff around mile 9.  By the time we were done running, I could barely swing my leg in front of me.  That hip has bothered me ever since.  Including during this 6.2 miler.  Hmmmm.  And my achilles is still feeling stiff.  No matter what stretches or exercises I do to help it...it's still feeling/acting funky.  By the time this run was over, I was fine & could have kept going.  What the hell?  It's like my body can't decide what it's doing.  It hurts...it magically doesn't hurt.  For the rest of the cold weather months, I'll spend more time warming up first to see if that solves the problem.

Anyway, we chose to taper it down a bit this week with the long run mileage.  6 instead of 11.  Even though my 1,000 mile goal could use the extra miles, I'm glad I cut back for the week.  73 miles to go....

{the good} I logged 6.2 miles.  I wouldn't have logged those sitting on my ass in the recliner.  So I'm glad to have the motivation to keep on truckin'!

{the ugly} Finding the love so late into this run.  That always blows.

Hot Buttered RUN 12k (race recap)

12k (7.54 miles according to  my Garmin)
1:17:39 (official finish time according to timing chip)
10:25 (pace according to the chip)

This race was pretty fun even though it sort of stunk.  The stunk part was not due to event error.  It was alllll about me.  I question why I chose to run 11 miles just 30 hours prior to the race.  Think that through for a sec. [This is the part where you think it through.]  Exactly!  Not a wise move on my part.  My legs were tired, sore, and blown out.  Blown out legs = sucky finish time.  However, that sucky finish time is actually pretty much my regular 11 - 15 mile long run pace. I typically run a little faster during a race.  Especially a shorter distance race, but couldn't do it this time around.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not whining or feeling horrible about the event.  I had fun.  I worked as hard as I could that day.  I simply wish I had planned my weekly long run a bit better.  It's my own fault.

• Miles 1 & 2 went well.  I kept a 9:27 pace until the end of mile 2.  That's when I realized I could not keep that up for much longer, so I kicked back.  
• Miles 3 & 4 dragged on forever.  I assume because there were so many people around me, and I'm not used to running elbow to elbow like that?  Who knows.
• By mile 5, I was taking frequent walk breaks.  My hip was bothering me again like it did during my 11 mile run, and I figured there was really no need to push it.  I was there to have fun running my first ever 12k!  
• Mile 6 involved a LOT of walking.  I mean a LOT.  This is where my pace took a direct hit. lol It was kind of sad, really.  I was just so tired.  I no longer wanted to run.  I wanted to be home.  Where were my ruby slippers when I needed them?  "There's no place like home!"
• Before I knew it, I had only 1/2 a mile to go.  Just like that.  It was over.

Me crossing the 12k finish line (with all of the 5k walkers lol).  I had a SPIbelt around my waist under my shirt....not a good look!

Kent, sporting his "sexy shorts", finished in a record 1:10! A new PR.

PS...I did not stick around for my hot buttered rum.  I know!  What the hell?  I'm not sure what got into me, really.  To be honest, a hot buttered rum sounded pretty nasty after I ran for an hour and seventeen minutes.  All I wanted was water, and lots of it.  Plus, the line seemed to be 10 miles long.  It wasn't worth it.  I was smelly, tired and wanted to take a hot shower.  So I handed my drink ticket to a fellow (21+ in age) runner & went home to my warm house, hot shower, and favorite coffee mug.  :)

PSS...On a brighter note, this was race #10 of 11 for the year.  I'm almost to my goal of 11 races in 2011!  Woohoo!  Thanks to the folks at Energy Events for putting together such a fun run here in The Couve.  It's fabulous to not make the drive into Portland...where it seems as though we run the same route over and over for each event.  Different, fun, and local.  This was pure homegrown bliss.