Bare Your Sole Run

Thank you, to everyone who made this possible today!!!


Bare Your Soles Run

We raised 72 pairs of shoes! I am so, so proud of everyone and feel so honored to be part of a group that cares so much and will do so much to give back to others. Share the love. Serve your community! 

20th Beer and Bagel Run Recap

My husband and I recently had a date morning at a local trail run. We had a fantastic time together, we crossed a creek three times, covered a little over 4 miles and enjoyed refreshing adult beverages after our trail jaunt. Overall, it was a great event and date!

I had never run 'off road' before but I knew it was something my husband would love. Well, I also knew he would be partial to the promise of chili, bagels and beer post-run. I even liked the creek crossings, I also liked that runners who were not interested in forging the creek could cross makeshift bridges. The course was challenging in that there were quite a few decent hills, but it was not insane. After all, there were some nice down hills too!

This was my first time doing this race but it was the 20th annual time this race was held. It probably doesn't need to be said, but this race was really, really well done. I heard that the course was different this year to alleviate congestion. Email communication was fantastic and everything went as it was described. The price was good too ($35), the shirts are long-sleeved and bright (they ran big size-wise, but the race organizer is offering a limited exchange) and the volunteers and staff were fantastic.

David and I had a very modest goal of finishing in under an hour. I knew that I would want to walk the uphills. Also, David is not a runner so I didn't expect him to be interested in running 4 miles (followed by working a full 12 hours at work that night). We set off at a leisurely pace and enjoyed the atmosphere and the scenery. We beat our time goal and it must be said that I beat David. Well, by a second and I kind of took off for the finish line at a rapid pace without warning him. Truthfully, I thought he was further behind me when someone from the crowd shouted out at me, "he is gaining on you!". I checked over my shoulder and sure enough he was tying to beat me! It made for a fun finish and David was delighted to learn the meaning of the expression 'getting chick'd'.

There are many aspects of races/runs that I really enjoy. One is the overall atmosphere, people watching is fantastic. You never know what you will see or hear. I also like how encouraging spectators and other runners are. It is such a fun experience, even for someone like me who never really pushes for speed. I have come to the realization that if I finish strong, I feel like my whole run was strong. It works for me. Maybe one day I will want to leave it all out on the pavement, but for now it is enough to be out there running more than racing!

Post-race photo of the faster and slower runner in my marriage. ;)

Double Half Mary

I have had the dates of October 13 and 14th on my calendar for awhile.  I signed up many months ago to do something I even thought was crazy.  The price was going to increase the next day and every time I saw a post about this race I felt this little pull inside of me that wanted to do it.  I also had a very encouraging sole sister tell me she thought I should do it with her.  I was not sure I was ready for such a task.  My fellow sole sister had run a full marathon and I had not.  I had run two half marathons and was signing up for something that would double that to 4 not to mention they were back to back.  My husband thought I was crazy he was pretty sure I was going to hurt myself.  I still decided to sign up and train for it.  My plan was to run long runs back to back that did not really happen like I planned.  I did follow my 1/2 marathon training plan pretty well and felt like I was prepared to run a good 1/2 marathon----BUT  I had to run two 1/2 marathons!

before day one

 Saturday morning I picked up my sole sister and two of her running friends and we headed to a small town North of us.  I felt really good, I had gotten a good night sleep, I had drank lots of water all week, I was ready.  I ran and felt great, I felt like it was an easy peasy run and I enjoyed it.  I felt like I could have run faster and that is what I wanted.  I keep saying don't push too hard you have to do this tomorrow. I was shocked when I saw my time was 2:18:26 my PR from the Lincoln Half in May was 2:18:04 so for me that was amazing! I went home and tried an ice bath but quickly got out.  Those are so hard for me to do.  I sit in my swimming suit and have the girls dump cups of ice on me, they love it but I could not stand it.  I needed a warm shower.   I even went to a friend's daughter birthday party Saturday night and felt good.  I was a little stiff but went to bed early and woke up ready to do it all again.  OK not really, I was stiff and sore.  Sunday I started running slower to stretch out and then felt really good until mile 11.  In my head I was so excited only 2 more miles but my body was not as excited.  My body was like what are you doing?  You ran 13 miles yesterday wasn't that enough.  My legs felt heavy and I got really stiff.  I still ran, I did not walk.  I am sure I looked like I was running in slow motion but I was running.

running to the finish

I got close enough that I could see the last street before the finish line and I felt really emotional, I took a deep breath and said I am going to do this thing.  I almost burst into tears of joy but I quickly turned that off and told myself to finish first.  I even had a good kick at the end.  Crazy running 26.2 miles and still able to turn in on at the end, I always wonder were that comes from.  Most likely joy at seeing the finish. I was 6 minutes slower on Sunday but I did it!  I ran two half marathons back to back.  I did something that when I signed up for it, I was not sure I could do.  I was pretty sore on Sunday but was feeling better Monday and today, Wednesday, I feel great and like I could go for a run.  I don't think I will though, I think I will rest, I deserve it, I earned it and my body will thank me. This run gave me the courage to maybe, just maybe, attempt the FULL in May in my hometown.  We shall see but for now I am resting and enjoy looking at my cool medal that stands for so much more than what I did on those two days.

WE DID IT!  two half marathons in two days and we are sill smiling and standing upright!

Pumpkin Run

As I have transformed into a runner and "running advocate", what has become exciting for me, is watching my children become excited about running and fitness! They want to run with me and are super stoked when I sign them up for races just for them! One mile seems so huge to them, an enormous goal and challenge to overcome and I am totally inspired by their will and determination to cross the finish line.

My second son asked that I run with him this past weekend for our town's annual Pumpkin Run and what he said to me at the starting line melted me. He looked at me with sweet eyes, grabbed my hand tightly and said "Mom, I"m a little scared, but I"m going to run anyways." Ah, bless you, my child.

My oldest ran his little heart out, but he also stopped when a classmate of his became tired and needed  to walked. He walked with her and even encouraged her across the finish line. My second son ran 3/4 of a mile gripping my hand with all of his might. When his sister spotted us, she dashed under the course flags to join us. I let go and told him to run on his own and that kid sprinted the last 1/4 mile while I jogged/ran with my oldest daughter who was so proud!

It was a fantastic run and such a fun experience for all of us! I'm so proud of them! I made my boys pumpkin medals when we got home and they wore them proudly the rest of the day!

First Graders

K anticipates the starting gun

Crossing the finish line

E and I take off

Moments before little sister runs to us

Look at that form!

Running with H

We did it!

Medals for the finishers

Binge Running

Yes, that's what I did this past weekend. I flew out to visit my dear friend Rebecca in Vancourver, WA and we binged. We binged on running.

Our mutual friend, Jessy, drove in from Cali and she binged with us. I think by the end of the weekend, we were all hurting.

Here's a rundown of our weekend:

Fly into Portland LATE Friday night. Stay up chit chatting.

Wake up EARLY Saturday morning and head out for the Portland Color Run. Run a 5k, get colorful, jump, dance, sweat, sing and take a gazillion photos.

Our new friend

Clean

Colorful

The must  have action shot

Lunch, relax outside while Rebecca's boys nap, and decide we should run again.

We drive out to Saint Lucia Falls (seriously, I should live here) and run 2 miles on trails... not pretty inner-city trails, but trip over roots and barely muster up rocky hills, trails. We get lost. We get turned around again. We take silly Yoga photos at the falls post-run.

We made it to the falls

Stay up late chit chatting, drinking wine and eating guacamole!

Up early, again... this time for a long run. We planned for 6 but ran a total of 7.3! I was on cloud nine. A personal PR for distance and I was amazed... amazed!!.. at how well we ran together. Steady, perfectly paced, pushing one another... best run I have ever had.

Under the draw bridge that connects WA and OR

That's right! SEVEN miles!

Post-run scenic lookout over the Columbia River

After showers, we snag lunch in the car and head to Multnomah Falls where we hike 1/2 mile up steady inclines, a crazy small bridge and plenty of switchbacks... so worth it for the gorgeous view.

It was amazing to see how the three of us could come together after 18 months apart and have our paces match up... not just in running, but in life. I  have admired these ladies for their abilities to mother (and mother so well!) and run, to boot. I never, ever  thought I'd be a runner, let alone on several runs with them! I continue to be amazed by their awesomeness, and just wish I could have shared a plate of pancakes with their cute faces. Love ya, my West Coast Sole Sisters!

Now, I think it's time for a running detox... my shins will thank me in a week or so!

Slow, Can't Breathe and Lost my Key

You have a choice. You can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off of your face. Gatorade ad

My fellow Sole Sisters and I before the race, little did we know what adventure would await us

             Friday night I was excited to run a 10K race, It was called the Harvest Moon Hustle and the line they used was Fast, Flat and in the Dark.  Well it was not really any of those things for me.  It was a awesome race and beautiful scenery it was just not my night.  The start time had to be moved back so it would not really be dark for safety reasons and regulations, and that was fine.  I did not have to wear the head lamp that I bought and I was fine with that.  My goal time for this race was under one hour.  I was really hoping to get a PR in this race.  I have not run too many 10Ks but my best time was last year and it was 59:36 and I was pretty sure I could beat that.  That one was in the rain with hills and this was suppose to be flat and the weather was BEAUTIFUL!  My fellow Sole Sisters and I talked about using our Ipods as it was not recommended but we all decided that we NEEDED them.  I know elite runners do not use them and if it would have been a shorter race no problem but 6.2 miles---- I needed music.  We started the race and my Ipod did not work, it did not work the whole time.  I spent so much effort messing around with it I just had to let it go and run without music.  The hard part of this was when the negative voices came in my head, there was not a song playing to drown them out.  The negative voices were telling me not to push myself because who really cared about my time, then I would say yes YOU care come on push it.  I also could not breath very well.  I have horrible allergies and should have taken extra medication before I ran around a field and on a dusty gravel road.  I was able to manage a super sprint at the end up a hill and that felt great.  I then looked over at the c lock and it was after an hour but I started towards the back and did not see what it said when I crossed the line so I thought it might be close.  Now on to the after party, food and a beer and it will all be forgotten. 

                  

                 Just grab my key out of the key pocket in my pants ( which I assured my friends I use all the time and my key always stays), oh my where is it, it is not in my pockets, it is not in the pants,  it is not in my underwear, WHERE IS MY KEY!?!?  I yelled to my friends and they looked at me with wide eyes.  We searched where I had been stretching I went and talked to the race volunteers, who were by the way the nicest people I have ever met, they were just amazing wonderful people!  We realized finding a key on a gravel road at night as it was pretty dark by now was going to be impossible and I had run the 10K not the shorter 5K!  The volunteers drove us over to the after party and made sure we got beer and food and anything we needed.  My wonderful loving and awesome husband had to pack up the kids in the car at bedtime and one was already asleep and bring me the spare key.  I was a good 30+ minutes from home and he got the whole story through three different phone calls with three different numbers because our stuff was--- locked in my car!

with the key after my husband dropped it off, all is good now, well my husband may not have thought so  :)

All in all I had a fun time with my Sole Sisters, the Volunteers made a huge fuss over us and we got free food and beer. My friends are laid back and just went with the flow, no worries over my lost key. My husband laughed about it after I got back home even if he was less that thrilled that one of our four year -olds was throwing a major fit about having to get in the car.  Oh and in case you are wondering about my time did I make my under an hour goal. NOPE my time was 1 hour 1 minute, as if that one minute was laughing at me and my misfortune that day.  BUT  it may have not been my day that day but I ended  the night with a smile on my face, lots of laughs and good times with friends and I very important lesson learned that my key pocket in my shorts is not a good place to store my key!

Run, Mama, Run!

I am so excited to be able to post about my first 10K! I truly enjoyed running the race, it was such a great feeling to accomplish this goal. My time was right in line with what I expected from my training, 1 hour, 8 minutes and 46 seconds. RunKeeper had the distance at over .2 miles farther, which is still confusing to me. (I know my phone updated the app recently, has anyone else seen a change in the accuracy?)

My family came to cheer me on and lend their support. Well, that is what they claimed, but I think my girls had an eye out for the swag more than for their mom. ;) Addy jumped out and joined me for the last few strides across the finish line. She really kept up too! She said that was her favorite part of the day and I have to agree with her!

 

 

My two goals for this race were to run the whole 6.2 miles and to beat my training times. I accomplished both of those goals so I feel incredibly blessed. My next goal is to work on increasing my strength through actually cross training and to increase my comfort on longer runs. My big goal for my 35th year is to complete at least 2 half-marathons. I better get running!! :)