2016 VUM

Yesterday was the big day! All the training - which wasn't that much...wasn't all  for nothing. We finished and I was able to finish fairly strong too.

My running mojo finally kicked in during May. Most of our training runs felt pretty good, but we didn't have enough time to log decent long runs like we should, but we did log more miles in May than in April and definitely more than March. So I'm  okay about that. I know that we'll have to get the longer runs on the weekends in, but fortunately we'll have lots of time to do that for Runner's World in the mean time.

For our first real big race of the year - one that we both are running I was pretty excited. Since this was the first one since the Hop Hop at the end of March I wasn't feeling terribly confident. I know that I should have a better attitude about my abilities, but sometimes I fall back into the old routine of feeling not so good about my running. In the end, I think I did alright - I paced myself quite a bit which in the end made for my slowest half marathon yet at 3:20:01. Now I know what to shoot for at See Jane Run. If I can take 10 minutes off this time I'll be happy. Then I can really focus on making RW my PR!

Runner's World

I am a big fan of Runner's World magazine and the website and on twitter and facebook...

While I was exploring twitter this week, I clicked on this link and after watching part of it thought it would be a good workout. Well, boy howdy, is it ever! It focuses mainly on your legs...quads and hammies as well as balance. We'll have to do planks and other exercises to make our core stronger. It's a start!

We are at a month and a half until the Fort Vancouver Run! Go here and check that out. I think I have said here again and again how much I love Energy Events! They do such a great job that I won't mind that it's raining on race day!

Anyway, go HERE and give the workout a try. It's only 20 minutes!

It's Official!

This is  proof that I am the first place loser...oh hey...I win!

Nothing says loser better than placing 2nd - hahaha

Not sure, but this just might be uglier than my sweater!

Ugly, ugly...

Post Race Warm Up at Starbucks

This sweatshirt has seen some action!

Today is Day 10 of the STREAK...and we did the Ugly Sweater Run in Ridgefield. The forecast from earlier in the week came true and there was RAIN! The route is the same as the 4th of July run, so there were no surprises. There were a couple of people that I  know there, so that was fun.

The only thing different about today was that Tom ran this one with me. I tried to run as much as possible as I tend to walk a lot on this route. However, since it was raining and not overly warm I thought running more would be best.

In looking at the results...just now...this is surprising for me - 2nd place in my age group!!!! Whaaat...asthma girl with the shorty legs...SECOND place?! Wahoooo!!

I think I need to do the smaller races to place. New goal for 2016 - enter races that don't have many people registered. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Runner's World Half & Festival

I have been a subscriber to Runner's World Magazine for quite awhile. I don't exactly remember how long I have been getting this magazine, but I know it has been a while. I love everything about the magazine and with the more recent changes to the format of the mag I think I might love it even more. There are so many inspiring stories and tips on how to improve running, strength...nutrition etc.

Every month when the latest issue arrives the first thing that I read would be the Letter from the Editor and the next thing would be the last page which is where the "I'm a Runner" is usually found. The editor David Willey has such great insight of all things running and it is plain to see when you read his letter. I like that the I'm a Runner section is usually someone who has some celebrity, but is not an "elite." These people usually are made up of actors, politicians and other known people who happen to run. Always a good read.

So last Christmas when Tom and I were thinking up something that we would like to do as a destination run the Runner's World Half came to mind, it took a couple of days, but it finally popped into my head. I wasn't sure that Tom would actually go for it - it IS somewhat extravagant and would require some planning. I was a little surprised that he said, "Yeah, we could do that" that I almost couldn't hardly believe it. 

After a couple of months of wondering if this would actually happen and after a few dropped hint here and there, Tom registered the both of us for the event. Me for the half and he for the Hat Trick. WoW!

Okay, so we ARE going to do this! 

Since then I just went along and did my thing and trained for the events that we had already committed to and others that just kind of "showed" up because they were cool. This year's events were basically the same as the previous year(s) and the idea that we would travel someplace distant felt a little exotic.

Fast forward a few months to October...

Now it's travel time! So my training kind of went sideways leading up to when we would be traveling. I didn't let that bother me as I had enough confidence within me to say that I could do it. Also, I think back to when we did the North Country Wine Run - a half - which was THE hardest thing that I had done up until that point. Even the triathlons and duathlons seemed easy by comparison! Want to relive that race go HERE. We left Vancouver the Wednesday before the event to give ourselves a couple of days to acclimate and get into a little bit of a groove before race day. Tom's races would start on Saturday while I could slum until Sunday. 

Our travel to the event was a little messed up and it was good that we arrived a few days early as we definitely needed Thursday to rest up after a very long day of traveling and I do mean long, but that's a different story altogether. 

Since the event would be held at the Bethlehem Steel campus we had to make a trip to check it out before the weekend. Mind you, I am in no way interested in industrial stuff, but this was pretty cool - again, a different story.

Bethlehem Steel

Saturday, Race Day #1

Tom's first race started at 8am. We arrived around 6:30 to do packet pick-up and to get Tom ready to race. According to the schedule there was to be a warm up session somewhere, but we either missed it or it didn't happen. Tom ended up doing his own warm up which also included standing in the sun. It was COLD on Saturday! 

The national anthem was sung by the Lehigh University choral group and then the race was started. As it was a 5k I waited for Tom at the finish.

Kinda got a shot of Tom at the start

Finishing Strong

Race #1 DONE

 10k Race was up next at 9:30a which was an hour wait time for this one - just enough time for runners to cool down and then have to start running again. This course was a little more hilly (I think) than the 5k, therefore making it slightly more challenging.

Done for the day! 

We spent the whole day on Saturday at the Festival - races for Tom and seminars in the afternoon. We did take a walk to look for some food, which took us a few blocks away from the venue, but it was kind of nice to be away from the crowds.

The seminars were free and since I wanted to go to these, I signed us up for My Life on the Run with Bart Yasso and the Half Marathon Strategy session. That Bart Yasso is an interesting character - so if you happen to do the Vancouver USA Marathon - make the effort to meet him...he's awesome! Here is me 'n Bart...

Yup, I'm a goober!

The last thing for the evening was the dinner with the editors - Tom picked a table that was being occupied by 4 other women, thus making himself the only guy. These ladies were seriously funny about running and the event and just life in general - runners, yeah...kinda fun people. We all joked about wanting more food to show up at our table and when the RW editor at our table said don't be shy get more food we ALL got up, nearly at the same time - hahaha.

Our day was long and we were both pretty tired so we decided to start making our way out of there after David Willey, Deena Kastor and Bart Yasso were done with their "welcome" presentation. BUT - before we left, I saw that the editor, David Willey was not yet seated, so I made a bee-line over to him to meet him and chat with him for a minute or so. Such a nice guy! So humble and personable. I don't know why I tend to think that people whose letters or articles you read on a monthly basis would be unapproachable...well, this guy was seriously cool. Glad that I got brave and got to meet him!

Yup, still a goober!

Yeah, so a pretty great day overall! Which helped me get excited for the next day - even with all of my mediocre training I was ready to hit the road and do what we traveled all the way to Pennsylvania for. Half Marathon #6.

Sunday, Race Day #2

We were up early to get ready for the day. Made it to Bethlehem Steel by 6:30a and started to WAIT. We arrived early to park in the lot that was free and fairly close to the ArtsQuest Center. The only trick to this was that we would not be allowed to leave the lot until after 11:30a. Which is when the roads would be reopened to traffic.Which was no problem because someone is pretty slow...hehehe.

I decided to try to stick with a pace group and did alright for more than a couple of miles, then the hills happened and my confidence plummeted (I need to work on hills - I know not a new thing). Once we got to the first significant hill, I decided that the pace group would be too much for me to hang with. He would be continually running...I would not. 

Plan B - keep moving as swiftly as possible. Which I was able to, lots of walking, but plenty of running too. That in itself is improvement, so I'm happy about that. The flat as a pancake (but Bart likes blueberries) route was not as horrible as I thought it would be...ahh, more improvement! However, about half way through, the wind started up and I was getting annoyed. I have not made friends with the wind, it would be easier for me to like hills first! 

As I kept moving along I started to think that I would be able to PR at this event - a sub-3 hour half would be cool! My body had other ideas and between mile 10 and 11 - I landed wrong or something and my lower back just got angry. Every time I tried to run, the pain was VERY evident and I was really annoyed. Once I had made the turn to go across the bridge that leads back to where we started, I was walking. Very briskly and very disappointed. No PR this time - waaah. After another mile or so I made my peace with having to walk the last part and just kept chugging along. I held it together long enough to start running again by the time the pavement turned to brick and I ran through the finish. We do not walk through the finish arch - EVER. 

In the end I'm still pretty happy with my time - 3:08:25. If I were able to run a PR would have happened. Oh well, there is always Vancouver USA Half next June! That helps and so does a nice shiny medal at the end. 

#6

The day ended with us returning to the house we were staying at and getting cleaned up and resting during the afternoon. I don't even remember what was on the dinner menu - I was that tired and out of it. Being old and traveling to a different time zone will do that! Okay, well I'm not old...just the time zone thing is goofy.

Anyone who is a runner needs to experience this event. Everything about it is so fantastic! The whole weekend was very inspiring and makes me want to continue working on becoming a better runner.

Oh and just in case anyone is wondering Tom's combined time for all three events was: 

Placed 300 - Time 4:14:48 

9044   Thomas Bennett  M 55 TO 59  00:29:57 5K 

29044 Thomas Bennett  M 55 TO 59  01:05:56 10K 

39044 Thomas Bennett  M 55 TO 59  02:38:55 Half

Independence Run 2015

Another Independence run is DONE...I feel like that is all I can say each year post race day.

After getting my official time I was feeling like I was REALLY slow. Today, I decided to look back on my times and this one wasn't my slowest - YAY. Then I looked back on the website at my past times...and this one is wasn't nearly as bad as I first thought. This is the "fastest" of my slowest times...hehe. 

With that, I can say that this year I felt pretty good on the hills, even though I still walked some of the course - I can also say, with confidence, that I actually did run up some of the first big ol' honkin' hill at around mile one...and part way up the hill leading up to the finish. The BEST part is coming from  the turn around where it is down hill for quite a distance and I have been kind of working on continuing running downhill without stopping. 

We looked for a old friend of ours from Federal Hwys, but I ended up seeing one of the guys from work along with his wife and son. It was fun to see him there! I'm hoping that Suzy & Jim will be able to join the fun next year...she's a good match for Tom ;)

Ridgefield's Independence Run #7 is in the books! Next year will be about at least getting closer to last year's time. Something to work toward!

Wahine is up next ~ time to get out on my bike!

another month down

Wow...another month has just whizzed by like nobody's business!

This month was all about getting the miles in each week and things were going well until just last weekend and I just couldn't get the 8 miler out as I did the previous week. I thought, okay, we'll take it easy and go out before church the next day. NOPE not gonna happen. After 3 miles I asked if we could be done and go home.

SO, because I'm a little on the crazy side - I thought we should take the miles for this week of training and divide them out over 5 days and do that this week. Yep, just a little crazy, but harmless....

We ran every single day...the weekly total was 18 miles which worked out to be 3.6 miles per day. Yeah, so things were okay...until Tuesday and we fell short. So Wednesday we ran 4 to kind of make up for it. By Thursday I was tired and so today we needed to run 4 again. The good thing is that we only missed the weekly total by .3 miles, but I'm not going to quibble over that because NOW the Fort Vancouver Run on Sunday will be a bonus!

Tomorrow I will cherish not getting up at 4:15 and not heading out the door at 5 and feeling oh so tired... the other thing we need to do tomorrow is go to packet pick up and get our stuff for Sunday. Dang, a trip to Fit Right!

Until then...we REST.

January

January isn't quite over yet, but this is what I have so far for mileage RunningAHEAD says that I have done 40.9 miles, not too bad if you ask me. By the time we get to Saturday I will have added another 6 miles. We have actually upped our training just a little bit...I wasn't sure how much I would like it, but it isn't too bad. So far I have missed one training run and cut one short. Overall, I have only missed 6 miles...not too bad.

Tom and I are already registered to participate in 4 events so far this year. I have all 3 of my Half Marathons on the calendar so I'm good to go with any other event/distance pops up in between those dates. My fave is always the Independence Run in Ridgefield which we have been doing for several years now - this year will be six for me. Tom did sit out on the year that he was recuperating after his surgery earlier in the year. Also, I like the Energy Events races, they do such a great job at putting together events - I LOVE IT!!

We'll see what all this year brings. I am excited to add multisport in the form of a duathlon and hoping to do the Girlfriends and Dudes Tri - not holding my breath though. If I get the duathlon done I'll be happy!

So as January comes to an end, I look forward to running my way through the month of February and gearing up for the Fort Vancouver Run the first Sunday of March and then the Shamrock a couple of weeks later.

Oh yeah...this year is going to be Epic!

What Is TOO Early?

Today is December 3 and as of this very moment as I sit here and type this, Tom and I are already registered for 3 events and planning to register for one HUUUUGE event. I'm pretty sure that the other events that we have run will make it onto the calendar, but this girl just can't pass up a good deal!

That's right people...a DEAL.

Well, two were a good deal, one was just making sure that we got a spot in a certain race held in March.

Not long after the Vancouver USA Marathon weekend was over, registration opened up again for the following year and was offering a super early bird starting in August (I think) and I couldn't pass up the $49 half marathon fee - I really liked this event that much! This might be the event that I try to PR in next year. This year I got a PR for the Half Marathon distance as I posted a time 10 minutes faster than the Holiday Half last December. Woo Hoo!

The next race we signed up for was the Shamrock Run Half Marathon - with a field limit of 2,500. Since we weren't sure how popular this particular distance would be, we decided to go ahead and register on October 1 to secure a couple of spots for ourselves. This one was $70, but it's the Shamrock and Doernbecher's is the charity so really, it's a good thing.

Until this year I didn't know that there were Black Friday specials for races. An email popped up in my inbox from Energy Events for 3 different deals that they would have for a couple of days....whaaat?! $20 Fort Vancouver Run?! Sign. Me. Up. The distances for this race have changed and they now will feature a 12k and 5k instead of 15k and 6k (the 6k is a weird distance anyway). Hoping that the day isn't TOO cold and wet. Sometimes we forget how cold we were when a low price is dangling in front of our noses...haha.

As a crazy bonus for ourselves we are seriously considering registering for the Runner's World Half Marathon & Festival that is held in Bethlehem, PA. Now THAT is a destination run! The race registration will be the least expensive that we will pay out of the whole trip, but it will be worth it. Tom is pretty excited about this as it will be smack dab in the middle of a steel mill...the Bethlehem Steel Mill! To me this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. There are so many events to try I would want to go somewhere else next time.

I'm pretty sure that the other races that have become regular events on our calendar will make it on the calendar in addition to these that we are registered for already.

It's never too early to plan, plan....PLAN!

2014 Running Events are DONE

Wow...look at what we did this year!

March 2nd - Fort Vancouver Run 10k, Vancouver, WA

This event was just plain cold and miserable. I'm glad that we did it, but still...SO, SO COLD! It felt good to stop, but it felt even better to get a cup of coffee at Thatcher's afterwards.

Hot Buttered Run - cold and rainy, yeah that's a good combo!

March 16th - Shamrock Run 15k, Portland, OR

This year's Shamrock was supposed to be my last Shamrock....I had declared that over and over. We had a great group of people sign up to run and I finally bumped up to the 15k instead of settling for what I know and stick with the 8k. It was a grind, but I can say that I did it!

Good looking crew - we had a few new faces this year!

June 15th - Vancouver Half Marathon, Vancouver, WA 

This race was Tom's first half and my second. I really liked this route a lot and we both felt pretty good all the way to the finish!

before the event

At home all blinged out!

Oh yeah..I like me a half marathon

June 21 - MarriageTeam, Saving Marriages 5k, Vancouver, WA

This was a fun run to help promote MarriageTeam here in Clark County - I was able to round up some of my church peeps for this one. I really liked that this race was close to home and it was also free. We did make a donation to the organization, but even so...we could have just done the run and called it good. It was the first event that Mary did with us and I think she enjoyed it. 

Hanging out afterwards with Kristen and Bobbi

Tom and Cam are gettingready to race!

July 4th, - Independence Run 5k, Ridgefield, WA

We hadn't planned on getting anyone together for this one, but Suzy and the Trujillos ran so we go to hang out afterwards.  Everyone (except for me) placed in their age divisions. I guess I'm just gonna have to run until there is no one else in my age division to take home a ribbon!

Me, Tom, Judy, Norm and Suzy

August 2nd - Wahine 5k, Fairview, OR

I really wanted to do a duathlon, but the training for that just wasn't going to happen. So I was able to get a couple of other of my girl peeps interested and I did the 5k "with" Mary and Julie (friend of Mary) and Kristen did the Duathlon.

Mary, me,  Julie and another runner whose name I don't remember.

September 13th - Fairhaven 15k, Bellingham, WA

For something a little different we decided to try a "destination" event. So off to Bellingham for a quick weekend get away. I really like Bellingham! It's laid back there, perfect weather not overly hot or anything. Boy howdy we didn't realize how much of a running community they have there! Not just the young college kids, even the "seasoned" runners are FAST! We were both a little dismayed at just how fast the race was there! It was a lot of fun and I'm glad that we made the trip to experience the running community in B-ham.

Runner Man!

I tried really hard to look decent for this picture

Sure I'm ready to go...why not?

September 27th - North County Wine Run Half Marathon, Battle Ground, WA

I had a little bit of an idea of what run might be, but you just never know until you get out there. I declare here and now that hills are not my friend. I've got some serious work to do! This is a race that I will likely not do again. It is nice and close to home, but the course is very much open to traffic and there are lots of big pick-up truck owners in North Clark County! I didn't feel 100% safe during this event.

The coolest race bling - wine bottle stopper that actually works!

Before the race, still happy, happy!

November - Hot Buttered Run 5k, Vancouver, WA

It has been a couple of years since we did this run last - and this year I opted to put together a team. Team members receive a $5 discount if there are at least 4 team members. Score! Tom and I and just two more, not a problem! In the beginning we signed up for the 12k race which is what we did the first time we did HBR, but we switched to the 5k since Tom had a fractured rib. The good thing is that he was able to get through the race without too much discomfort. Also, it seemed wrong to pay for a race, get a shirt, but not run it. He felt that he needed to "earn" the right to wear the shirt.

The obligatory selfie

This isn't even a professional photo - those usually stink anyway. Tom will be my pro photog from now on!

Now that I see what all we have done this year it makes sense that I feel tired, both physically and mentally. We were either training or running in events. Pretty much all year long. There were some down weeks for silly things like illness and physical aches and pains, but really, we were on the move all year long! 

Besides the running events I did add to my running gear...

Brooks Ghost 7

Okay, so I didn't spontaneously add shoes to my running gear, but I did change the type of shoe - I was running in Stability shoes for a  few years. This summer I switched (per the suggestion of the FitRight dude) to a neutral shoe. I LOVE THESE SHOES! Very comfortable, lightweight and cool looking!

Nathan Hydration Belt

It occurred to me after the Holiday Half last year that carrying water or other beverage wouldn't be a bad idea. So the first hydration belt I got Tom had used so much and got used to carrying that he thought he would like to use it for his first half...excellent choice! So I went out and got this baby right before the Vancouver USA Half Marathon. I LOVE IT!

Nike+ Sport Watch

At some point earlier this year I decided that it was time to upgrade from a watch that just tracks time and choose something that would do SO MUCH MORE. This was presented to me just a couple of days before the Vancouver Half an early birthday gift from my awesome hubby!


So, now that this year is nearly over and we have all of these races behind us, it's time to take time to reflect on those races and see what we can do to improve - pretty much everything! We will start preparing for the first race of the year: Even though the Fort Vancouver Run was miserable...there was a Black Friday deal and I just couldn't pass it up! $20 registrations! Well start training for that in the next few weeks - maybe start in January, but for now I am in rest mode, probably for another couple of days. Then back to an easy running schedule for a couple of weeks and then maybe ramp up again. We will see.

WEEEEEEE................

 run, Run, RUN!

Gazelles

Man, I'm slacking here lately!

The last couple of weeks have been a little busy. I did have a week off, but even then I was going the whole time!

So, to end my week off Tom and I traveled to Bellingham for a 15k race, the Fairhaven Waterfront 15k. Saturday is normally our long run day, and we had 8 on the schedule...so 9 would do! Goodness those people in Bellingham must run ALL. THE. TIME! They are fast, fast, FAST! Thus the post title of GAZELLES!

I started my race out too fast and didn't necessarily run out early, but I was tired when I got to the last couple of miles. The temperature was good, but the sun was out and the one thing that I do not enjoy is having the sun beating down on me while I run. So, I was feeling the heat, except when we were along the water. I love running along the water, it was a little cooler and very pleasant. My next favorite part of the route was in the last couple of miles it was a very steady climb - BUT in the shade. Running in the shade felt soooo good...I was able to run the majority of the trail - which was packed gravel - and made it through the park with what little umph I had left. Within a quarter mile of the finish there was more gravel path and I just couldn't get it together to run anymore...so I walked the rest of the gravel and ran through the finish. Hot and tired, but I did it AND actually posted a decent time for my second 15k - about 3 minutes faster than the Shamrock 15k.

The reality of the whole matter is that Bellingham has a pretty significant running thing going on there. Not just because there's a college there or anything, EVERYONE was posting pretty fast times with the averages being in the 6-8 minute per mile range. Tom was happy to have hit his goal of a 9 minute pace...I was happy to finish, even though it doesn't look like it. My official time was 2:01:44. I'm happy with that it was about 3 minutes faster than the Shamrock - tired legs, not enough sleep and not enough time to fuel up before heading from our room to the venue - which was only across the street :)

The other thing that I liked about this particular race is that the photos were available pretty quick AND free to download. That's how it should be! I'm not looking to frame any of these shots, so why would I want to pay for these? I have purchased a digital copy just for posting here though. I made an effort to look a little happy in the first photo, not bad!

In the end it was a fun race to do and it was pretty cool to be in the midst of some pretty athletic people. I am thrilled that I wasn't last in my age division or the race over all. Overall I was #552 out of 599 runners. If we do this again I know what to look forward to, nothing will be a surprise. Although the route could change and that would mess me up!

We were only in B-ham one full day, but it was fun! Maybe we'll go back for another race...who knows.

Next up - the North County Wine Run, Half Marathon!

WinningMarriages 5k/10k Event

Tom and I started our day with the WinningMarriages 5k/10 walk or run event at Klineline. This was a  benefit for Marriage Team and this was their 2nd year. I worked to get a team put together - and was able to recruit a few families with the youngest team member being 1 1/2 years old.

I had decided a couple of weeks ago that I would stick with Mary and walk/run the course with her, which happened to be the Salmon Creek Trail. The morning was quite pleasant and there was probably a couple hundred people and Morgan from the Fish (104.1 Portland)

The morning was perfect and we all had a good time together before and after the event. Looking forward to getting a team together next year and maybe running more of the course with Mary.