3 More Runs

I like all of those colored lines!

Yeah, so I have gotten a little too accustomed to sleeping in and little and running later in the day.  So we have been running after I get home from work. Although, I might try to get out early tomorrow since we'll be going to a gathering at a friend's house for New Years. Not gonna lie, I'm a little weary, which has made it hard for me to get overly excited about "suiting" up for a run.

A quick calculation says that with the 2 mile runs that we will do today, tomorrow and on New Year's Day, we will end the challenge with 90 miles logged over 37 days. This is keeping the distances mostly at the 2 mile minimum that we set for ourselves rather than the 1 mile minimum. I would have liked to have done longer runs, but I think that doing 2 and 3 miles was about right. In all honesty, the challenge was fun for the first couple of weeks, then vacation happened and I realized how I liked hanging out more than getting out early in the morning. Then because I let myself get a little complacent, my enthusiasm started to go by the wayside. I am looking forward to a few days off and resting a bit.

Oh well, we can happily say that we did it and starting thinking about the events that we are going to challenge ourselves with in 2016. I am pretty sure that the Runner's World Half is on the menu again. Tom is pretty confident that he can get a better time with better training in the months leading up to the event. Me, well, I know that I can PR my half time there - I could have done it this year if my back wasn't messed up at the end. There is always next time!

If you totally missed out on this running streak check out the article HERE. Apply the same idea for another period of time and just have fun with it!

Feeling accomplished that we didn't quit and we continue to move forward.

Are We There Yet?

Man oh man, I am ready to be done with this challenge. I think I have reached my saturation point. Don't get me wrong, running is still fun, but 27 days in a row and a total of 32 days is a lot. There was the one day I did not run, but we were back out on the road the day after. I hardly can say that was a break.

It has been getting easier to  postpone running thiss past week. I am getting tired. With 5 days to go and running our minimum of 2 miles...I'm pretty sure that we will finish up this challenge. I'll be ready for a break, but it will be a well earned break.

If you ask me if this is something that I will do again,  I would have to think for a moment before saying "Yes." However, I can't guarantee that my yes would be very enthusiastic.

How Many Days Left??

8 more days until New Years!

We are 29 (or 30) days into this challenge and I am starting to lose my enthusiasm, little by little. A few things come into play here...

• Last week was a vacation week for me and going from a nice leisurely pace and back into the "grind" is not going well. If I weren't doing this running streak I think I would have been just fine. 
• My sleep cycle is messed up. Recently I have been waking up between 1 and 1:30 am. Not cool. The good thing is that I do go back to sleep, but some days it takes longer than other days.
• There was a death within my fire district family - one of our retired members - that has been on my mind - giving me a bit of a heavy heart.
• We have run 24 days in a row.

All I know is that once I get something in my head and start a challenge of some sort I'm GONNA finish. By the time we get to New Year's we will have logged over 70 miles. How many miles over 70 is an unknown right now. I have had a couple of days that we logged less than 2 miles and I hope to do 3 tomorrow morning and possible 4 or 5 on Saturday. We'll see. All I know is that we have 8 more days to go and then I can say that we did the Runner's World Running Streak challenge. 

BUT...

The positive in the midst of all this running - I have noticed that I'm getting into my rhythm much quicker than before this run streak started and I am feeling more comfortable while running. When I finally replace my shoes - in a few weeks my it will be AWESOME! Despite feeling like not running so early in the morning, I'm feeling VERY positive about how things are going.

Did I mention that we are almost done with this challenge? 

8 days baby!

Shortest Day

It's WINTER! Shortest day today and I'm excited that the days will gradually become lighter over the next few weeks/months.

So this morning I had some mental motivations (I was angry) to get me going and I got me this...

This was actually a negative split morning - yes, I was that unhappy this morning...

First mile was 12:01 and then a difference of  -1.04" WHAAAAT?!

10:57 mile...I'll take it!

Run Streak is Still Alive

I just noticed that one of the red marks doesn't belong!

So I took some time off of work, but not running.

The streak is alive and well and we are 12 runs away from being DONE! We got out everyday though except for this morning. I think I was making my peace with having to go back to work and that is a little bit of a process for me! We'll get out as soon as I arrive home from work before we head over to our friend's house for a little Christmas celebration with our favorite people. We will run the minimum 1 mile distance. That way we won't be terribly late and get to eat a little bit of pizza without too much guilt. Just a little guilt...or NONE AT ALL...Hahaha!!!!

EASY - PEASY!

12 runs left as of this very moment...soon to be 11 left to go!

Daily Double-ish

So, as I reported yesterday Run #15 was postponed until after I arrived home from work. The conditions were mostly perfect with no rain and very little wind. The main difference would be that at 5 or 5:30 in the morning there is very little traffic - 12 hours later there is ALL SORTS of traffic. All over the place!

We don't get out for runs in the evening that often. When we were meeting with Mary that would be around 6 and usually during the spring and summer when it's nice and light out. Last night felt an awful lot like the morning only with more cars. I was feeling not as motivated and we only did one time around the track and just because it would feel wrong not to do 2 miles, we did a trip through Chinook Springs. This time we did the whole loop instead of taking the shortcut out to the main road.

Looks like I went off course!

As you can see from my map, it says I did 1.78 miles, which is not accurate. When we came out of Chinook Springs and made our way up to where we could cross 21st Avenue - there were many cars...just getting in the way. I stopped my watch because I didn't want to let the timer go while we were just standing and waiting to cross the road. Once we did get going again I forgot to restart it and only remembered when we were getting very close to home. So I started it and we were done shortly after. Neat map huh. If I had restarted my watch it would have shown that we ran just over two miles as we do most days. That's the second time in a week that I have forgotten to restart my watch!

I didn't want to run in the evening again so the plan was to go back to running in the morning. Well, that also meant that we are running again after 12 hours and for some reason I was feeling yesterday's run and felt a little tired. I'm glad that we are back into our routine. We'll do a longer run tomorrow morning - hope, hope.

This looks right!

As we were finishing up last night I was thinking about doing daily doubles, I may have thought or said something this morning. I just don't know anymore. This daily running thing is starting to mess with me!

If we really are heading back to PA for the RWHalf I am thinking that I'll attempt the Hat Trick. It's a big thing to take on, but I want to give it a try! Daily Doubles will help out in getting the adequate training in and we wouldn't be running every single day like we are now, but at least I'll get used to running when I'm not necessarily ready to run again. We'll see, anything can happen!

Tomorrow is Day 17 and we are not quite half way through this challenge. It's starting to feel really long. I wonder if that feeling will go away and I start enjoy the running. Hmmmm....

21 more days!

Don't Know Why...There's No Sun Up in the Sky...

Stormy Weather...

Woke up to a lot of wind and rain this morning and not running seemed like the sane choice at the time. The majority of the day has been very windy and very rainy with a report of a tornado touching down in Battle Ground. Don't know if that is what they are calling it officially, but the photos that I have seen suggests that something significant happened right before lunch. Not only was there a tornado like event, there was a lot of thunder...

A LOT!

So, now we are set to run after I arrive home from work which will get us out on the road around 5:30 or 5:45 at the latest. I'll be ready to get out and brave what's left of the rain storms that have been blowing through the Pacific NW.

Check back later for an update - might even be tomorrow.

How Much Longer?

Daily Grind :)

With the rain as crazy as it has been this week, I decided that doing 2 mile runs would be adequate. I don't like to be out in the rain any longer than I need to. This morning's run started out fine - no rain, but about 3/4 mile into the run it started to rain...and then REALLY started to rain. 

The rain coming down caused me to realize that today is ONLY Day 14. Maybe it feels like we have been this for a long time because it has been raining a lot recently. I don't know...but it feels a lot longer and the thing that gets me - we have 23 more days to go. That seems like a lot for some reason. It's probably the rain. I am starting to really not like the rain and this is our weather for the next few months. 

Tomorrow is another day - hopefully a 3 mile day. The two mile route is getting old....ALL of the two mile routes are getting old - haha!

Okay enough of this already. All this running is making me more than a mediocre runner! 

23 more days!

There Was a Lull

I wanted to get to 3 miles, but I was happy to be back home regardless.

In the rain this morning and oh man was it somewhat tropical at around 60 degrees! I was out in capris and a long sleeve top, no jacket or gloves.

We got lucky though - the first part of our run, to the traffic light at the high school was mostly rain free. That in itself was refreshing. As we were making our way back to Pinecrest and then down into Shorecrest the rain started to pick up a little.

Our morning routine has changed slightly and we are able to actually get out a little later if desired. We got out around 5:40 or so. I don't know why I didn't think about how many cars would be out, traffic is a little more alive 40 minutes later than our usual start time. I'm not sure how much I like that. We'll try a later start time again tomorrow and then make a final determination.

Day 13 is done, 24 to go.

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!

Day 12 - Monday Morning Again?!

As I get older it seems that the weekends just zip by very quickly. OR I could be doing a lot of stuff and I only have a couple of days to accomplish that stuff.

While we didn't do a lot of stuff, the stuff that we did took time. Running a race and hunting for a tree on Saturday and me baking a cake. Mmmmm....CAAAKE...

Sunday was worship in the morning and then back home to watch the last quarter of the Seahawks game again the Vikings. Sorry Minnesota - that was not nice of the Hawks...hahaha. The afternoon was spent getting the tree all set up with lights and stuff.

Anyway, stuff was happening and then the day is done just like that - POOF!

This morning came way too quick and I was not well rested so we got out for a two miler this morning. Since I am making two miles the minimum distance to run the route we do normally is getting very old.

This morning I switched it up a little...

Made our way behind the school and then through one of the nearby subdivisions.

There was just enough different to make this a little less boring. However, with all the rain we both had opportunities to make a splash and end up with squishy shoes! Not pleasant, but hey, it happens! I wasn't trying terribly hard to do anything special. What I wanted to do is be done...so, so, WET!

The particular thing about our run today is that I got up and ran. Mostly because we are doing the run streak thing. I am usually one to not want to go out on Monday because we both get a little hyped up during our Small Group time Sunday night. My usual M.O. is to say "Let's run tomorrow..." And we do. Now that we are running everyday, a day off is reserved for illness only and not whineyness.

Still - my running is feeling good and I'm excited about getting to the end of this with at least 74 miles, probably more.

Look at all those lines!

Sunday, Day 11

After my BIG 2nd place finish in my age division yesterday,  today was an easy day...hehe. It would have been easy day anyway. As we were heading toward the track I was really aware of how my running seems to be improving. I think that running everyday has helped.

When we got started I noticed the wind. The wind is not my friend. Actually when it is at our backs I LOVE it. Running into the wind - grrrrr! I am trying not to whine - out loud or to myself. I have to endure it, because the wind will happen no matter how I feel. And we are doing a run streak...unless I'm dying we don't skip a day (or another one).

I like being in double digits. I'm feeling somewhat accomplished.

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!

Friday - Day 9 & Last Running Event of 2015

Whew, made it to the weekend! This week has been a little weird. Probably because I was home sick on Monday, but that was only one day. I did have a lot going on at work - and I spent a couple of days still in a fog. All good now though!

We did our Run Streak #9 this morning - 3 miles! It was so good too!! Running has become a lot more enjoyable over the past few weeks. I don't feel awful - maybe once in a while. The amazing thing is that I have enough confidence in my ability now, that I'm not constantly beating myself up when I can't seem to do a specific route. Usually I beat myself up and start thinking I'm a loser which I am - no I'm not...wait..I am...

So, this morning we did the route that has a short-ish steep hill that probably happens in the middle of mile 3. The cool thing is that the route is a slight downhill from where we come out of Brook Run which makes for a very swift jaunt to where we go down to the foot bridge and back up to the corner of 149th Street & 21st Ave. There has only been one time that I actually ran the entire route, but haven't done it since. Well, maybe once, but I don't recall. Anyway, I like this route, but I usually have to walk a little bit after we get to the corner and start heading toward home.

This year was a good year for events. We didn't do too many, but the ones that we did do were quality events. My goal was 3 Halfs, the Independence Run which is the event that we are "streaking" and a couple of other events just for fun. My favorite overall would have to be the Runner's World Half. There aren't enough ways to say how utterly amazing that experience was. It was very, very inspiring!

Tomorrow we will be doing the Ugly Sweater run in Ridgefield. I really like the hometown feel of the Independence Run I can imagine that this will be just as homey. It's close to home and we are good to go with our ugly attire!

We'll see how things go in the morning - this will be a fun way to kick off our Christmas activities as we'll be tree hunting with some friends in the afternoon.

Christmas will be here before we know it! Glad that I am running my way through the month!

Rainy Morning Running

I know, so boring...same old thing, different day! I'm working on being consistent. With running and with my posting here in this space. 

When I get busy, I don't sit down to post. However, I have a little down time right now, so I'm going to get this posted all quick like.

Today's split was 12:12 per mile!

Yesterday I was all about feeling better and getting out for our minimum of two miles and then wanting to do three this morning. within the first couple hundred feet I was feeling SO cold! The temperature was a little more than yesterday, but it was also raining and there was just a little bit of wind. I felt chilled right away and it lasted for a good long while! Can't complain too much as the temps were in the 20s last week, dry and cold - I like it!

One reason for only doing two was the fact that I was cold. The other was that I wanted to make sure that I could do our two mile route without taking a walk break. As always, I'm the queen of stopping no matter what the reason. I know that walking isn't a bad thing, but my mind says that I'm a runner and I need to keep running! Sure I talk big now...we'll see what happens tomorrow. One of these days I'm not going to have these unattainable standards for myself. I'll have to be the more than mediocre runner that I am and be cool with that. Actually, I think I do okay, but...I could always do better.

Now that my brief illness is mostly gone, I'm excited about this running streak. I think I was before too, but the one day off made me realize that I really wanted to run. In fact, I thought that if I didn't feel horrible at the end of the day on Monday - we should get out and do at least one mile. I may have fallen asleep for a little while before Tom came home. Maybe that was a silly idea.

The reality of this running streak is that even if we run two miles every single day through new year's day I'll be quite happy about it. I just don't want to go through the holidays feeling like a slug. Eating too much food and then feeling like I need to make an extra effort with running. Especially if we were to keep running 3-4 days a week.

I would hope that running everyday would result in being active more than 3x this week

Day 7 - Almost 100%

Today was an easy 2 miles which was what I was hoping for. It appears that this route is getting easier these days. Even with a brief walk break there was a negative split at the end of it all.

Tomorrow we'll do three and then I will propose 4 on Friday. Saturday is the Ugly Sweater Run in Ridgefield.

I think I would have been more bummed out if my stomach bug were to hit a couple of weeks into this streak. Instead, having done less than a week it didn't seem like a big deal. Not to me anyway. Things like this will help keep this goal in perspective. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we weren't able to make it happen. There is always next time.

#RWRunStreak baby!

Got a Little Sick...

This was my slowest average in a while - not gonna beat myself up.

For the first time in a very long time, I called in sick to work. It was finally my turn to get sick. Stomach flu bug finally landed on me and caused all sorts of not so fun stuff. Which really resulted in me becoming very dehydrated and not really interested in eating or drinking anything for fear that it might not want to stay in my body. I am better now, but not 100%

This morning we did get out and do the minimum of 1 mile though. However, since I didn't feel like drinking or eating much yesterday it was the worst mile I have run in a long time. Today I'm working at hydrating better and actually ate today. My hope is that my average will be better than what I ran this morning. Not bad, but also not in keeping with the times that I have been posting this past week.

Tomorrow is another day and I am planning on our minimum of 2 miles. I don't think that I'll push it, but who knows. I've been known to do that. Especially if I am feeling good; so I guess I hope that I don't feel THAT good. Just enough to be satisfied with my minimum standards for this running streak.

And the Running Streak continues!