I AM A RUNNER

I AM A RUNNER because I run. Not because I run fast. Not because I run far. I AM A RUNNER because I say I am. And no one can tell me I'm not.

John Bingham, author and runner

Hot Buttered Run

This past Sunday was Hot Buttered Run day! Our first 12k and a "PR" to work with for next year.

A 12k is just about seven and a half miles and I was a little nervous about this day because I have never done a run over 6.2 miles maybe 7 miles. Once I decided that it's only another mile and a half, I felt better.

It was a nice challenge and I felt sooo much better than when we ran Run Like Hell a month ago. RLH was wet and cold - a not so good combination - there was some wind in the mix too, but I actually ran my goal time, so it was all good. Once I got an idea of where things were going (as far as the route) I was feeling more confident that I might hit my goal time for this run.

A few of the spots that were on the route were the fort...the old apple tree, along the Columbia River and through downtown and back through the park at the Fort Vancouver National Historic site.

When we started I knew that I had started too fast, but that's what happens when you get caught up with the people around you. I tried to slow it down a little and settle into a nice pace so to  have a good strong finish and not stop so many times to walk - we ended up stopping at both water stops and several other spots along the way. Once we reached the park I was determined to continue running because I knew that we were not far from the finish and part of the last half mile was downhill...I do like me a downhill run :)

In the end my unofficial time was 1:35:37, but if you look on the results website it will have 5 minutes more. We ended up having to stop at a railroad crossing :( I missed my goal time by a minute and a half, but it's all good. I was just that close! I'm psyched!!

All in all, I'm enjoying running more all the time and am looking forward to going into maintenance mode until it is time to start ramping up again for the 2013 Shamrock Run.

The START

run, Run, RUN!

Hello?

Tom's Run Bib

Barefoot running?

Aaah...there's Tom...

Bad Runs Happen...

but in my world not that often. Yesterday was completely demoralizing. It was raining off and on and there were slimy, slippery leaves all around and a different route to run.We hadn't been running more than 30 seconds and I knew...it was going to be rough going.

So many things were off yesterday that I don't even know where to begin...let's give a go shall we?

1. Tom wanted coffee first thing...it was a holiday and running in daylight is a TREAT!
2. I skipped the Gatorade Prime - 3 miles is a piece of cake right?
3. There was NO chocolate milk in the house...
4. I wore my pants instead of capris
5. A short sleeve tech tee under my fleece - whew...a little warm!
6. The route we did is usually a route that is the last half of my 4 mile run which has a slight downhill to it. Going in the opposite direction is very noticeable.
7. Rain - we haven't really had a rainy run yet...some wet ones, but none where it was actually raining. Booo.

At the turn around Tom went ahead of me and I quickly realized that I would not be able to keep up a swift enough pace to keep him in my sights. So I just quit trying and just plugged along. Then I got tired of doing that and I started walking.Seriously, I never feel like just walking...when I finally did start up my running again it was time to go down and then up the dip over the creek...booo.

I decided that about a 1/2 mile left I think I can at least kind of do something like running all the way home. That was some slow running and it felt like the second run of a Duathlon. You know - after having a decent first run and then going all out on the bike...yup...the second run just plain ol' sucked!

Yeah, I'm a whiner, but I got out and did it. It hurt, but I made it.

Tomorrow is a 4 mile tempo run. OYE...it better not rain and I better get my capris out...no hat and definitely going to wear the magic running skirt!

9 Training Runs

Tomorrow will be the first of 9 training runs that I have on my schedule before Tom and I do the Hot Buttered Run here in Vancouver. Piece of cake right? Well, sure...but we are doing the 12k distance and that equals to just under 7.5 miles. NONE of the runs on the schedule go longer than 5 miles - Huh?

Well, Tom is convinced that I can do this...I'll just look at it as another training run, but with LOTS of other people running around us, well for a while anyway.

The other day Tom and I went out and ran 3 miles in the early hours of day. It was dark and a little wet and I'm REALLY glad that we have those nifty headlamps. They work well enough to illuminate our route so we aren't tripping up over something - although I did stumble a couple of times on a couple of apples or walnuts on Monday. Later after I had gone off to work, Tom decided that he wanted to run a little more - go for it right? He called me from the Felida end of the Salmon Creek trail to let me know what he was planning. When he was done he called me to tell me just how far he had gone - which I had to map out. He is a crazy man! He ended up running a total of 9.5 miles add that to the 3 miles that we did together...can anyone say ROCK star?So cool! Seems to me that he just might be 99% back to normal, or it could be his brand new shoes.

Last year I did my first 10k slightly unprepared - could this 12k turn out to be the same kind of experience? At least I'll be able to say that I have a new 12k PR :)

run, Run, RUN!