velo

A few months ago, when Eric's parents relocated to Granite Falls they gave us their stationary bike. Their new exercise room wasn't big enough for it and I thought it would be nice to be able to get in some cardio at home for those days when I just don't want to hit the gym. At first I was kind of wishing they had given us their elliptical or treadmill...like we have room for either of those! But instead, the bike. The bike sat for a few weeks, un-touched. I've never been a big fan of riding a bike...something about the seat and the ass pain. Well, one day a few weeks ago I decided to give it a shot. And I am so glad I did!! I love the bike!! It's great for my days off of running and it's awesome cardio. I have gone from 30 minutes of riding to an hour of riding to, just yesterday, an hour and 30 minutes. I've gone from 10 miles to 25 miles!

a good read

I just finished reading a great book! Running For Mortals: A Commsense Plan For Changing Your Life With Running by Jenny Hadfield and John Bingham. It was a great read and not only did I learn a lot, but I was also entertained. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone thinking about getting started with running. John Bingham didn't start running until he was 43! Crazy! And now, he's run over 40 marathons!!

Next on my nightstand is My Life On The Run by Bart Yasso and The Courage To Start: A Guide To Running For Your Life by John Bingham.

I am really enjoying all that I'm learning about running, and living an active life. It's overwhelming the feelings I have towards fitness and running. I'm loving it. Now if I can just tweak the food a little more...I'll be set!

new game plan

Now that Eric is running as well...and interested in duathalons, we've re-evaluated our game plan. Because money is, well, ALWAYS an issue we have to pick and choose the races and events that we do. Eric wants to do his first duathalon in April. It's in Portland and that means a weekend away! I also have a girls weekend away planned for May to do the Bloomsday 10k in Spokane. Cha-ching! So, I've decided to forgo the Whidbey Island Half Marathon this year. I'll do the Rock N Roll in June that I've already signed up for. However, I'll be doing the half instead of the full, which I'm very excited about. In May I'll also do the Monkey Run 5k, which is being organized by my awesome mom's group!! In September I will do the Iron Girl 10k, which I did last year, the 5k that is. Movin' on up....

And coming up I have the Valentine's Day Love 'em or Leave 'em 5k and the Henry Weinhard's St. Patty's Day Dash 5k. I'm really excited about all these upcoming events!

Maybe next year I'll tackle the Full Marathon....Whidbey Island maybe? We'll see!! Whether I do it next year or the year after, I absolutely plan on running the bloody 26.2 at some point.

pesky little incline

On Sunday morning I headed out to Issaquah to meet up with Olivia for a run. Per my training schedule I was to do just 3 miles. Of hills.

THREE.

MILES.

OF.

HILLS.

I was scared. Sure, running 5 miles is hard, but it's nothing compared to a hill. My friend Olivia has run two half marathon's and compared to me, she's fast...and well, pretty much just a whole lot of awesome. Hills to Olivia, piece of cake. Olivia lives just off of Cougar Mountain, therefore I knew what I was getting myself into. But I was still scared. We started out with a warm up until we got to the base of the hill. I looked up at it, my eyes as big as saucers. And I went for it. Olivia told me we'd take it one lamp post at a time. I can't tell you how far apart these lamp posts were because it was all a blur, but imagine your typical street with lamp posts on it....you get the picture. I ran 10 lamp posts....walked three and ran another 10 until we got to the top of the hill. Olivia told me I was an animal....of course I had to know what kind...she replied "a puma." I am a damn puma! That hill kicked my ass but it was amazing! I conquered my first hill and I can't wait to do it again.

Pardon the dust...

Holy crap, it's dusty around here! Sorry for the, like, 5 months of neglect. I've made a lot of progress with my running, both physically and mentally- and somewhat emotionally.

Since I last posted:

I ran the Iron Girl 5k in 37:25. My first 3 miles EVER of continuous running, no walking! That was a big accomplishment and there was even some light tears at the finish line.

I was fitted for orthotics through a great podiatrist at the Sports Medicine Clinic. Cha Ching!! $400 dollars later...

I ran the Husky Dawg Dash with two very good friends, Olivia and Tracy. It wasn't the best run, but it was the first with the orthotics. Basically it felt like my feet were having a power struggle with the orthotics in my shoes. It was a little painful, but the pain didn't last. Just took some getting used to.

I took a break from running from October to December. Partly because of the holidays and also to adjust to just walking with the orthotics. They were a big change! In late December I started gradually running again, hitting Greenlake a couple times a week, taking it slow. And on January 2nd I ran my first 4 miles, ever, in 55 minutes. It felt amazing and I was on a cloud the rest of the weekend. There is a euphoria that comes with completely something that you never thought possible. It's amazing. Running is starting to become something I actually want to do, something I get excited about. I used to dread it. But now, I think I actually love it! I love running!

Well I'm really glad I started this blog, considering I never update it! Sorry for being MIA lately! We've had such a busy summer and thankfully we'll be winding down soon.

As far as training goes, I've been training, but the running part (the most important part!) is somewhat non-existent right now! I had just gotten back into the running when I was sidelined, yet again, with tendonitis so back to the physical therapist I went! I told her all about my plans for the marathon and instead of laughing in my face (which has happened, more on that later) she expressed excitement and encouragement for me. She let me know that there was a lot of work ahead, with regards to my shins, but that it was definitely doable. For the last month or so we've been working on strengthening exercises with weights and resistance bands. All seems to be going well so far and luckily (for my schedule anyways) I'm down to one visit per week from two. I'm so grateful for such an awesome PT, Petra is so wonderful and has really helped. She is so sweet and motivating, I feel lucky to be in her care.

Coming up in September I'll have a gate assessment to determine whether or not I need custom orthotics, which I'm both dreading and looking forward to. The gate assessment requires being filmed while running on a treadmill in shorty shorts and a sports bra! Ahhhh!! Not thrilled about that! But it will be nice to have someone watch my running and can critique and adjust if need be. I am keeping my fingers crossed though that I don't need orthotics because from what I understand they can be quite pricey!

I was able to go out for a quick 3 miles last week after about a month of no running at all. It was great and so nice to run without battling both pain and being winded! I did have a little bit of pain the day following the run so I'll continue with my strengthening exercises another few weeks and then run again. I may be healing but I'm not quite there yet!

On June 29th I signed up for my first marathon, 

the Seattle Rock N Roll Marathon, which will take place on Saturday June 26, 2010.  

26.2 miles of ass kicking ground to cover.  

This blog will document my training- the good and the bad.  The awesome and the ugly.

A few things about me:

1 I'm a whiner. I will try my best to get through marathon training with as little whining as possible, but let's face it, this is going to be hard and there will be some whining.  There will be whining and crying and most likely a few temper tantrums as well. 

2 I quit running last summer because of tendonitis, but am determined to not let it get the best of me this time around.

3 I'm really excited to be able to eat carbs without wanting to kill myself. I love the phrase "carbo loading".

4 I have two awesome women to train with.  Two awesome women who also had a moment of insanity and signed up for the marathon. I feel very lucky to be able to call them friends, and even luckier to call them running buddies.

5 I have a 3 year old who sits in her stroller and yells at me to run faster.  She is awesome!