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Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Nancy. I decided to retire early and my last day at the Fire District was December 31, 2020. My dream to do this pigs 'n poultry thing full time started on January 1, 2021. So far so good...

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

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!