Still Running

I am still training for The Seattle Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I just haven't taken the time to blog diligently.

This season is tough for me. There have been a ton of changes and the big team is hard to get to know. I do like the intimacy of the small team. There is a lack of closeness that is noticeable to me. There is also more room for personality conflicts which has been tough for me to deal with.

I am getting faster! Woo. I have been doing Yasso 880's on Sundays and Tuesdays and it is making a difference - finally.

Spring is finally showing up. I can run in less layers, and the daylight hours are longer. In another week or so, it should be light enough in the early mornings that I can start morning running again. I really don't like running at night. Running first thing sets the tone for the day. When I run at night, it looms before me all day and feels more like a chore than something I enjoy.

And I do enjoy running. Maybe not the first mile, but once I am done with that, then I get in my groove and I feel like I can go forever.

So yes, I am still here, still running.

New Season

We had our first group run today. What a huge group! It is so fantastic. I love it. There is a certain intimacy when the group is really small, that I might miss. But I think that being involved in such a huge diverse group is going to be a wonderful change. We had a short short run today followed by a breakfast. I had so much fun and spent most of breakfast laughing.

I am feeling the run in my quads tonite. They are hinting at having had to run today. What a lovely lovely feeling. I think I will train at least until the 15 mile point with the full marathon group, then scale back. It feels very strange to be training for a half marathon. It is going to be difficult to train for a half marathon and not work toward another full. I am already at war inside my head over it.

New Season Begins

Sunday night was a get together for Team In Training Alum. It was great fun. Saturday is the official kick off for the summer marathon season. I will run the first ever Seattle Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I feel like I am cheating by running only the half. Sort of like I am being a total slacker.

My Dr. says NO MORE full marathons for at least a year. So, half it is. Because of my illness the recovery is a little tougher with the healing of my feet.

We did find out at our meeting that the London Marathon is on the books for our area in 2010. Wouldn't that be something.

I have run only a couple times since WDW. I hate to admit it, but I am having a Lupus flare, so running is extra painful in my feet and hands in this cold weather. It won't stop me, but it does slow me down.

The best part about this season is I have no fundraising requirement. Such a relief.

Race Report

I quickly settled in to being back home. Although I am still a little jet lagged. We are socked in with fog. They keep saying sunshine, but I have yet to see the sun. The thick fog makes me feel rather claustrophobic.

The marathon was tough and I was not ready for it. Not after the lack of running due to weather and the devil flu that hit me. Also, running all over Disney World for 2 solid days prior to the marathon didnt' help either. My body was more than fatigued. I am glad I ran it. I will run another. For now though, I will train and do a half marathon in June - The Seattle Rock N Roll Half Marathon on the 28th. I am ready to run again. However my toes are not ready to run again. I am going to lose 3 toenails. I need to check in to swimming for the next month. I will also get some Bikram Yoga in this month.


The first half of the race was great. It was so fun and exciting. Disney did it up big through the theme parks and for the start. The 2nd half was brutal. It was on Interstae 4 in the blazing sun, no characters, no mile sponsors and very few specators. It was a huge mental challenge from about mile 14 through mile 22. I was ill from just before mile 19 to mile 22. I finally managed to shake it and get moving at a quicker pace when I hit the less than 5 miles to go point. I was disapointed in the marathon. I expected more, based on what I have heard about the marathon. I thought it would be bigger, better, more exciting. I think I was spoiled by running the Nike Women's Marathon for a first marathon. I am glad I ran, I love my Mickey Mouse Finisher's medal. I have no desire to run Disneyworld again, and quite frankly I don't have any desire to visit WDW again. I prefer Disneyland. It is so much better.


I finally worked on some of the pictures - the official race pictures were posted this week.




Waiting for the bus to take us to the start line at 2:30 AM.
My training partner, me, our coach, his wife:


Me at the starting line:


Runing through Cinderella's Castle:


Character Shot:


My team mates and I pretending to be all buff and stuff:


Coming across the finish line:


Much Deserved after race beer with my training partner:


My team at the Victory Party:


I waited in line for this, because Eyeore is my very most favorite of all:

Just when I thought we had enough snow

We are still getting snow. It is trying to rain, but it is mostly sleet. What a mess it will be when it does rain. The snow level in the yard is up past the deck. The deck rails and BBQ are about the only indication we have a deck.

I bring you more pictures:

Green Chairs today:


The table today:


A Cedar tree in the back yard:


Snow Laden:


Our back yard:


Bob The Cat:

White Christmas and all that jazz

After our 20 miler, the snows and frigid temps arrived. I have gotten a couple runs in, a couple walks and a whole lot of extra tapering. The snow is extreme. It is enough that I am posting pictures of my world as it was this morning when I was out.

Running has been a bit of an issue. I have gotten out a couple times since the snow hit, but not like I should be. I went for a long walk today and shovelled snow. The marathon is in2 1/2 weeks and I am getting a little worried at this point. I don't own a treadmill, nor do I belong to a gym. I rely on being able to get outside and get my runs in.

We are snowed in - really. I didn't make it in to work today. It's crazy out here. I measured snow around our yard. The deepest pocket was 34 inches and the lowest amount I found was 19 inches. It's still snowing. It has been snowing most of the day. They say it is going to rain by Friday, but I won't believe it until I see it.

This morning I cooked a huge breakfast for the family. The boys dined on bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, toast and D had a German Pancake. Days like this I just cook and cook and cook. It keeps me sane.


I am going to leave you with a crap ton of pictures. On my walk this morning I got pictures of the Bald Eagles that here. They were really noisy today.

My House:



Front Walk:


Youngest Son's Bike he left out:


Nigel the cat:


Green Chairs on the Deck - the beginning of our snow and today:



The neighbor couldn't get out this morning:


Pasture down the way:


Youngest son had cleared this table of snow of 4 days ago:


Down our street:


Eagles:

And so the taper begins

Today was our big 20 miler. The last 2 long runs have been done in pouring rain. I discovered that I rather enjoyed running in the rain. The temps had been mild enough that I didn't feel too chilled. I found a fantastic running coat that is a water/wind resistant shell lined with fleece. It has been perfect. The last couple of weeks I have managed to get all my weekly short runs in as well. This has been significant and I am feeling better prepared now.

Today, we ran in a Nor'easter. Today was the big 20 miler and it was pretty brutal. We are experiencing some of the coldest temps for December since 1990. The run out wasn't too bad, the wind was behind us and we were partially sheltered on the trail. Coming back however was a much different story. By the time we were unsheltered the wind was fierce and it was one of the most difficult runs I have done since I started running. Running in a strong bitter cold head wind is no easy task. I am thankful the snow held off. There were a couple of moments I considered giving my inlaws a call to come pick me up. I didn't, I kept going. I have running partners and they really helped keep my motivation up. I love having partners. I trained almost completely solo for my first marathon. Even though I was part of Team In Training, all but 2 long runs were completed completely on my own.

Now we taper. I have been so looking forward to the taper. It means we are so close! Tapering isn't easy. It is tough to stop running at a shorter distance when you feel like you could just keep on going for another couple miles.


To give you an idea of the weather during our run: