Watching milestones take place

Sunday morning, I had the pleasure of watching my friend Chanda hit a new milestone.  She wanted to run 3 miles without stopping.  Mission accomplished...and then some!  We ended up making it to 3.75 with only short, 1 minute walk breaks at the top of each mile.  Perfect for marathon training.  From there, we ran quarter mile intervals until we hit the 4.26 mile mark.  Go Chanda!

There she goes.  Training for her first full marathon.

Woolly Bears are out in full force!

I've probably taken this same picture of Salmon Creek a hundred times already.  I never get tired of snapping the same shot.  It looks so different each and every time.  Had it been clear out, you would be able to see Mt Hood in the background.  

Heather & Chanda post-run.

Will run for coffee!  In my case, a Venti Soy Latte.  Yum.

{the good} It was amazing watching Chanda hit a new milestone with running.  She is so much stronger than she thinks she is.  Of course, the latte was also a good thing that day.  It was damn cold out!

{the ugly} I ran errands for hours after our run....in stinky, sweaty running gear.  I'm sure the good people of Winco did not appreciate my odor.  Sorry about that.  At least I got to run that day!  No excuses.

Hills & a Santa request

3 miles
10:13 pace (not too shabby for major hill work!)
31 minutes
Plus a 1.19 mile walk once our 3 mile run was complete

{The Good}  This was my first run in cooler weather.  BLISS!  I talked the entire time we ran.  Including up the hills.  Kent was wondering how I was able to talk that much and run huge hills at the same time.  I was breathy and only spitting out two words at a time, but I got my point across.  Clearly, I had a lot to say. lol

{The Ugly}  My pace is slowly, slowly getting zippier.  Especially compared to three and a half years ago when I first started running!  However, it's still disheartening to see hills slow me down so, so much.  I'm certainly a stronger runner than I was in Cincinnati.  The hills here have forced me to adapt to hill work because that's all my area has...hills, hills, hills.  I had a 9:27 pace, with hill intervals included, until that last half mile hit.  We ran up a few major hills for the last mile, but that last half mile just about did me in.  I had to stop and walk at the top of the second to last big climb.  My body held up....but my lungs were BURNING like mad.  I really want hills to stop slowing me down so damn much!

{Dear Santa}  I really need a new running visor.  It doesn't have to be another pink running princess version, but it does need to be Headsweats brand.  White would be nice!

As you can see, Santa, I have gotten every cent worth out of this one.  I'm afraid it will fall apart the next time I wash it.  It is literally being held together by just a few threads.  Not washing it isn't an option.  The older this baby becomes...the funkier it smells.  Even after a trip through the washer.  Anyway, I hope you see this blog post before Christmas rolls around.  Amazon has them for a great price. {Click here to buy one for me, Santa!}  

Thank God for cooler weather!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, I can breathe again!  The air isn't hot and gross and dusty and gross and thick with heat and gross anymore!  I love fall.  I love cool, rainy mornings.  I love running in cooler weather.  There is nothing better than going for a 10-12 mile run....and stopping for coffee on the way home.  Guess what I'm doing Sunday morning?  Just that. I'm running with Chanda for 3 - 5 miles.  From there, I'll run home.  Stopping at Starbucks along the way, of course.

There's something about late summer that stops me dead in my tracks when it comes to running.  This year it hit a bit early, and I think it was due to running a full marathon mid June.  I was injured, tired, and in major need of a break.  So, ever since my "summer running funk" hit, I lowered my mileage.  After a few years of push, push, push, I needed a little break, break, break.  It was a good thing, in retrospect.  All of my nagging ankle and knee issues are now resolved.  I am running stronger and faster since cutting back the miles.  I truly feel as though my body was screaming for rest.  Some weeks, I got in a big, fat zero miles.  Those were the weeks I made SURE to get in at least one extra day of cross training.

During that break from running, I discovered a DVD cycling series I love.  If you have  an exercise bike or bike trainer, you might check into buying the set.  It's the ERock Virtual 100 Mile Ride which is a set of 4 DVDs where you go on a virtual 100 mile ride in Colorado.  The narrator talks about all sorts of things throughout DVD run time, but it's educational for those of us not into cycling.  You could always mute the TV & pop in some ear buds if you'd rather cycle to tunes instead (which is what my husband does).  Anyway, it sounded completely lame to me at first, but I ended up really liking the darn DVDs! Click here to check out the Erock DVDs. :)