Sound 2 Narrows Recap

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!  1:17 and change for my first 12K.

 

 

That's me in the yellow shirt and Michelle in the blue right next to me.  Wow is all I can say.  It's a hard course, some say the hardest road 12K in the state, and we did it!!!  I'm still so proud of us that I can hardly stand it.

 

Before I get to Michelle and I though I have to give a shout out to El.  She has had a goal time for this race, and over the last several years she has gotten faster and faster and closer and closer to her goal.  This was kind of it for her, she either hits her goal or accepts it's just not going to happen.  Guess what...she totally knocked her goal out of the park!!!!!  I'm so proud of her and all the hard work she put in to surpassing her goal!   

 

While El was crossing the finish line Michelle and I were busy hill climbing.  Let me just say that yes it is a hard course, it's all up or down hill, very little (if any) flat to give your legs a break either way.  Having said that I was so pleased with how strong I felt during the race and at the finish.    Based on all the gloom and doom I have heard about the end of the race I figured we would be clawing and crawling our way up the last hill(s) wishing we had never registered for the race.  

 

Again, it's not easy, but it was easier than I thought it would be.  I don't know if it was because we ran a warm up mile before the race, or if it's because we run 5 Mile Drive for fun even when we aren't training for anything.  Maybe it's because I'm training so much better this time around thanks to hard lessons learned (and shared with Michelle) from last year, or because we hydrated at every station.  I suppose it could be because I had my Fleet Feet Run Club Shirt on, or my new shoes are magic, or because I had my BFF running with me.  All of the above maybe? 

 

I'm still on a runners high from Saturday!  Not only because it went well and we felt strong, but because I feel great today!  I remember last year everything from 8 miles up I felt miserable later that day and for a day or two after.  Could hardly walk and lot's and lot's of pain in my legs and feet.  This time around while my legs feel tired there is zero pain.  Nothing hurts in a bad way, it's all just good old fashioned I ran hills for over an hour fatigue. 

 

While this was a race it was also a training run for our 1/2 and I learned a few things.  What not to eat the  night before!!!  That's all I'm going to say about that.  And, I'm back to the drawing board with what skirt I'm going to wear race day.  The new skirt is super cute but after mile 4 it started rubbing in places that should not be rubbed.  All my other skirts are a little too big, or once I cross the 6 - 7 mile mark they start rubbing or the shorts underneath ride up too much.  So, now I either need to find a new one, or figure out which one is going to cause the least amount of discomfort/irritation during See Jane.  Big picture though, I'm injury free and would rather have to deal with adjusting my skirt every mile than deal with pain from oh lets say tendinitis in my foot (like last year).  It's all a matter of perspective. 

 

Sky had a good weekend too...

 

 

Love her eyes peaking over the swing.  Girl loves to swing!

 



 

Sound 2 Narrows 12K Tomorrow!

I'm excited for tomorrow.  Mostly because a new distance = an automatic PR not matter what.  Well, as long as I finish that is, which I don't see why I wouldn't.

Never mind that I am desperately regretting the P90X Yoga workout I did Thursday.  I even skipped lot's and lot's of stuff and took out all the pushups (too many pushups make my upper body so stiff when running) and hard leg stuff, and my hamstrings are still so sore I could cry.  The worst part is I'm not totally sure it's I worked my muscles hard sore, or it's I over stretched my hamstrings sore.  When they were doing hard stuff on the DVD I stretched my legs and really got deep into the stretches.  I just wanted a little bit of a workout with making myself too sore for race day.  :( 

And, never mind that I put too much chili sauce on my noodle bowl tonight and am pretty sure I will regret that at some point during the race tomorrow.  At least the bathrooms along 5 Mile Drive are open this time of year! 

Other than that I'm excited for tomorrow!  I was registered to do this race last year, but  missed it.  Since it was a death in the family the organizer was kind enough to comp my registration this year!  So, Michelle and I are using the 12K race as part of our 10 mile training run tomorrow. 

My mindset for training runs, especially longer ones that are new mileage for Michelle, is totally different than my mindset for a race.  I'm really going to have to remind myself that ultimately this is a straining run for our 1/2, and I need to pace like I plan on pacing for the 1/2.

I'm just glad Michelle decided to register for the race.  There are some nasty hills and it's way easier to run hills when your best friend is right there with you!

So you don't miss the From The Kitchen post I usually do on Friday's here you go...

 

 

It really does work...after using the green part of green onions put the white part with roots still attached in water, let it catch some sun and soon you have new green onion growth.  I'm going to get a whole batch of these going and never buy green onions again! 

 

And, so you don't miss your Sky pic fix....

 

Helping Daddy while he worked under the utility trailer.  She handed him tools and sorted all the bolts and stuff. 

 

 

Of course she had to get under there with him.  Thankfully Mark is extra careful and I was confident it was safe for both of them to be under there.

 

 

 From her play date today...her favorite thing is being chased behind the couch!  Selah (Elya's youngest) was happy to oblige.   

 

 

Note that sharing her chair is NOT her favorite thing!  Sky - "Get her out of my chair right now!"  Selah - "Fat chance, I'm comfy and I'm not moving!"

 

They worked it out and had fun playing together.  Thank you Elya for letting Selah hang out with us! 

 

Enjoy your weekend and run fast if your racing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Thankful Thursday

Things I'm thankful for today:

-I'm thankful that I have such awesome friends to run with, especially because I'm not a pretty runner. 

El, Elya, and Michelle in particular get the joy of running with me at my best, and at my worst! 

From little things like my face turning a scary shade of red and sounding like I'm taking my last breath when I try to talk while running.  To having to spit a lot (thank you chronic sinus issues), GI issues, randomly blurting out lyrics from whatever song is playing in my ear, to flailing shaking my arms out periodically.  It's not always pretty, ok it's never pretty, but we have fun, or at least I do.  They are probably counting the miles until every run is done! 

Thank you guys for putting up with me! 

-That Sky is a foodie!  She eats anything and everything we give her.  There are only two things I know she doesn't like - cilantro and mushrooms.  Other than that she will eat anything from fish eyeballs to spicy salsa and curries, to...

...chicken bones.  She loves chicken and steak bones and will get every last little bit of meat off them.  She actually ended up cracking the bone open and trying to eat pieces of bone.  Our little cave girl! 

-The SUN!  We just don't have this nice of weather this early around here.  So, we are making the most of it and spending as much time outside as possible! 

-This picture of Sky and Gentry...

 

...just hanging out having something cold to drink.  Playing in the yard it hard work!

 

-Sky and I have a day at home today.  No errands to run, and no running to be done.  I will sneak in some yoga during nap time, but we get to spend time in the sun playing and I get to get a few things around the house taken care of! 

 

-Oh, and I'm always thankful for Thursday morning breakfast!  Since I don't run on Thursday's I get to eat whatever I want for breakfast without worrying about having the runs while running.  Yep, I went there!  Bacon, eggs, and some strawberry honey Greek yogurt, kind of perfect!

 

Happy Thursday!  What are you thankful for? 

Play Time, Running Time, SUN Time!

It's National Running Day!!!  What are your running plans? 

Sky and I have a new 3 mile route to lead the Stroller Group on this morning, it has one killer hill right at the end...not sure how that is going to go over, but we will see.  I always figure we can just stop and walk it, let's not kill ourselves while pushing strollers!

It was a hot run last night...I'm not complaining though...bring on the sun, I would rather have sunny (play outside = happy Sky) days and hot runs than rain! 

Our 5 miles felt harder than I was expecting.  My legs were still pretty tired from the weekend.  All the walking around and chasing Sky at Relay on top of the 8 miles.  But, I'm still injury free and thankful for that.

I could tell my legs were not having it though because I was landing different on my right side, and have a sore spot that feels like a blister, but is more of an impact/pressure sore spot on my big toe.  It's really hard in my new shoes to even land on my big toes, so I was really doing something wrong/different.  I tried to adjust but just couldn't get my legs to do what I wanted them to.  But, we got it done. 

Next week is our last 5 mile Tuesday night run, we bump up to 6 and all our other runs during the week take a jump up as well.  I'm looking forward to it! 

In non-running news we have been busy playing around here. 

Sky and Reagan had missed play dates for a couple weeks so this Monday was a belated birthday gift exchange and long overdue play time! 

The girls have a lot of freedom at Jodi's house because it's all kiddo proof, so they get to roam around upstairs, downstairs etc.  Sky especially likes the stairs, because we don't have any in our house so it's a fun new thing for her.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon outside in the sun! 

No we don't make her wear her bike helmet to slide.  She was riding her bike earlier and didn't want to take the helmet off. 

She is getting good at the balance beam!!!  She was standing in the above picture waving her hand around saying balance, balance, balance. 

I'm looking forward to some time in the sun this afternoon reading my book with a glass of wine while she visit's the grandparents!  LOVE the sun!

Weekend Update

Busy, busy weekend!  It started Friday night at Lakewood Relay For Life.  I guess I don't have much to say about Relay, other than it was Relay.  We raised money, we walked, ran, and had fun.  I will admit I sort of felt out of the Relay spirit this year.  And, I think going home and missing some of the ceremonies leads to a bit of a disconnect.  I'm not complaining, it just felt different this year.

We did have lovely weather though, and Sky had a blast.  One of the things I love about the Lakewood Relay is that it's small enough for the kids to run around and you don't lose track of them.   

Bob & Kiera and Mark and Sky.  The girls wanted to hold hands around the track.

 

Hanging out at Relay.

 

 

I needed 8 miles this weekend for training and was able to get 3 of those miles in Saturday morning at Relay.  Track running is so boring, SO BORING!!!  But, the upside is it gives your body a break from pavement and it's pretty mindless.  Don't have to worry about cars, cracked sidewalks etc. 

 

After Relay was over I was able to meet Elya at her checkpoint for her last leg of Rainier to Ruston, a relay of a different sort!  It was a little over 5 miles so was perfect to help me round out my 8 miles for the day.

 

It started a little rough with knee deep mud puddles.  I will admit I was a little irritated about that because I was in my nice, less than a 100 miles on them, pretty road shoes.  Had I had my trail shoes on I wouldn't have cared in the least.  I tried tiptoeing around them, but they took up the whole trail and I almost fell in completely because of the mud.  I knew the first little part was on a trail, but also knew the rest was pounding pavement, so went with the road shoes.  

 

Elya told me to climb the bank and go around on the road up above if I wanted, but there was no way I was going to let the pregnant runner forge ahead on her own when I'm supposed to be her run support.  So, I got over it, plunged in and had a blast!  I was a little worried about blisters with wet socks and shoes for the rest of the run, but Tuf-Skin did it's job not even a hint of a blister!   

 

I had a blast running with Elya, no thanks to that leg of the race though.  It was hot with no shade, ugly industrial part of Fife and Tacoma, and I totally understand why Elya wanted company.  Even though that leg is an ugly one and not much fun to run, I love running with Elya and feel like the two of us can conquer any running challenge we take on together! 

 

It's a different perspective too running in a support capacity for someone else.  I was paying so much attention to her and how she was breathing, did she need water or gel, and how hot/hilly it was that I didn't have any time at all to think about any pain, discomfort, distain for the rout that I was having.  Easily the fastest 5 miles I have done, not pace wise, we walked the hills and kept her heart rate down since she is running for two, but in terms of it just seemed to go by really fast. 

 

I'm glad I had the opportunity to run with Elya, and hope I provided good support for her.  I'm excited for Rainier to Ruston next year!!!  I have been wanting to do a relay event and next year is the year, and R2R is the race!  The nice thing is I was sore after 8 miles, but not in pain!  I feel so much better this year in my training cycle than I did last year at this point in the training cycle!     

 

 

Today we got stuff done around the house and then hit Bob and the girls up for a BBQ this afternoon.  Yummy steak and play time in the yard and at the park with the Beckham girls = Sky not putting up a bedtime fight! 

 





Just Had To Post This

Sky at Relay...I will post more tomorrow when I'm less tired and sore from my running adventure today!