Bouldering in Bellevue

I went to the new Bellevue gym last night with 1.0. It is ridiculous huge, and it has some really awesome bouldering/climbing! The bouldering problems are fun, and there are so many to choose from!

Something rather weird happened to me though..a lot of the bouldering is really high off the ground, and I experienced a little acrophobia! The whole ground was a mat, but it was a LONG way to drop!

My only complaint about the place was that it is more of an "activity center" for Bellevue families than it is a gym for actual climbers. There were kids everywhere, and tons of parents and grandparents just standing around...watching. Watching?! Why weren't they climbing?? Weird. The kids were distracting and the parents were annoying. The climbing culture has definitely been lost at this place. :/ I will go back, but it will be on a weekday, when kids should be in school, and their parents should be on some boring conference call at work or something.

My right shoulder has been hurting after my bouldering sessions I have noticed...not so much after climbing on the ropes though. It makes the drive home with my stick-shift roller skate car fairly uncomfortable. The pain is always gone by morning though. I try to be conservative, and call it a night when I start to feel it come on. Last night though, both shoulders really ached. This morning they feel much better, but I am a little sore all over as I did get a dang good workout! ;) I am going to have to be very careful of this so that I don't injury myself and inhibit my ability to swim!

Loving my bike!

February 19, 2011
Had a nice easy 25 mile ride with Kristie and Renee on the Centennial Trail. Loving my bike. I don't think I have ever been more cold in my life....

February 20, 2011
Kristie and I kicked major ass on the Centennial Trail! I freakin' fly on my carbon fiber awesomeness. We were doing at least 17 mph for a good amount of our 35 mile ride, but did drop to 15 mph for the last few miles. Kristie was having some tummy pains. :(

February 21, 2011
I hit the trail again. I was a little wiped out, so I did 22 miles at a 15.3 mph average pace.

February 22, 2011
I fell down the stairs and did a number on my ass. OMG... I was banned from exercise. Doctor's orders. :(

February 28, 2011
I bought a trainer! Woohoo! Rode my bike in the living room for an hour. I loved it. Man is it hot when you don't have wind blowing in your face! lol

March 1, 2011
Jeff from work is my new exercise buddy! I was so proud of him. He did 30 minutes on the Elipical and another 30 mins on the treadmill! I did a vigorous hour on the bike trainer. It felt great!

March 2, 2011
Another great workout with Jeff T! We repeated March 1st's workouts.

March 3, 2011 (Today)
Jeff T is kicking ass! He did the Eliptical for 20 minutes or so, and then he hopped on the treadmill and did a run/walk combo for another 40 minutes! I ran a slow mile, but it was hurting my still painful rear end. I finished my hour on the bike trainer. I loved it! Yay!

Several months of Suckage

Do you know what's not fun? Pneumothorax.

It is time that I let go of what happened to me and stop feeling so defeated. Yes, having my lung collapse was total bullshit and I was screwed in more ways than one, but so what? It didn't kill me! I have allowed myself to use it as an excuse to feel sorry for myself and most of all, to be lazy. I have lost 10 pounds of muscle and gained it all and more in fat. I am barely fitting in my jeans! This must stop.

Last week I really did well. I ran between 5.25 - 5.5 miles each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I was pleased with my progress, and proud of my distance even after hardly running at all since before Thanksgiving. Now if I can just keep up the momentum this week... Yesterday I had to cancel on Ron (I'm working out with him again) because I had a sick kid. He canceled on me tonight because he had a date. This is not the start to the week I had hoped for.

I am going to make myself run tonight.

By the way, here are a few things I am looking at for the year ahead:

Mt Si Relay: April 10th

Beat the Bridge: May 15

Berry Dairy Half Marathon: June/TBA

Mercer Island Half: March 20

Lake Sammamish Half Marathon: March 26

Wenatchee Half: Apr 16

Mountains to Sound: June 26 (Super cool, but I'm not sure I could find a team...)

Skagit Flats Half or Full Marathon: Sept/TBA (This would be a good full....)

http://www.mountainstosound.com/
http://www.wenatcheemarathon.com/index.htm
http://www.evergreentrailruns.com/mar-26th-lake-sammamish-run
http://www.mtsirelay.com/
http://www.beatthebridge.org/site/PageServer

STP baby!!! I'm going to do it this year! Check out my beautiful new baby!
2010 Specialized Ruby Elite
Shimano 105 components
54 cm carbon frame

Skagit Flats Half Marathon 9-12-10

I had an amazing time running with Jeff and Stephen, in their first half marathon! Even though I was sick, I am very pleased with how I ran my race. I sure wanted to drop out of it that morning, but I knew that wouldn't be acceptable to me. Perseverance paid off! Perseverance FTW!!!

Certainly not my best time ever, but I am pleased with it, given the circumstances. The race was an out and back, and the entire 2nd half had a wicked head wind! Brutal!! I loved the rain though. It was refreshing.

Time: 2:20:59
Better next time, eh?

Good Running Reads

I really urge you to read his book, "Ultramarathon Man - Confessions of an all night runner." It is a fun read and truly inspirational. Dean Karnazes is my running hero!
http://www.ultramarathonman.com/flash/

Another good running memoir: "My Life on the Run," by Bart Yasso.

My goodness, I've been neglectful!

Running has been going very well this summer! But perhaps before I get into the present, I should fill in the highlights...and sometimes lowlights of the past several missing months. :-)

March 25, 2010 - I had an accident on my bike. A jerk in a SUV thought he'd run me over so he wouldn't miss the light. I went down hard, landed on my elbows, & slid 15ft on my right thigh. The guy drove off, leaving me in the street, unable to get up, because at the time, I thought that both of my arms were broken. Luckily, I must have awesome bone density, because I had no fractures! It was a humbling experience to not be able to use either of my arms for a few days...I couldn't feed myself, dress myself...(Thanks again Jeff for all of your love and support.) In total, I had terrible whiplash, road rash (OMG that sucked!), and had swollen and badly bruised elbows. By March 31st, I was running again. I did 9 miles. It hurt like hell. Looking back, I think I must have hit my head in the accident, because I must have been nuts!

April 11, 2010 - I put together an awesome relay team called the "Twisted Blisters" and did the Mt Si Relay! www.mtsirelay.com We did awesome! Steve, Joe, Brenna, Julia and I, finished this 59 mile relay race in 8:37:04!! My 2 legs added up to an approx. 10 miles. Because of my recent bike accident, I was slower than usual, and I hurt like hell afterward, but I was proud of my effort and my awesome teammates!

May 16, 2010 - I ran the Beat the Bridge 8k for juvenile diabetes. www.beatthebridge.org I ran it with my friend Dana, which was so much fun. We chatted as we ran along and the miles just flew by! Another highlight was that Jeff ran it as well! This was his very first running race! He did so well! He beat the bridge (and me! lol)

May 30, 2010 - I got an iPhone!! Ok, this has nothing to do with running, but It is so rad it needed to be blogged.

June 19, 2010 - I ran the Berry Dairy Days Half Marathon! 13.1 miles and I had a blast! Renee and her sister also ran the race, and it really was a fun time. I don't actually remember my time...I know it was a couple minutes slower than last year when I ran it, but I was still really suffering from residual whiplash aches and pains from my accident. Lame, but won't hold this girl back! Jeff ran to 10k while I was doing my race, and that was really cool. It was becoming clear at that point that a runner was being born!

July 19, 2010 - Mt St Helens bi-otch! I wrote this on my FB: " This year's trip up the mountain was about a month earlier in the year than last year's, and that made a pretty big difference. There was SO much snow!! I was glad I wore Gaiters! There was also a brutal headwind while were going up. It nearly knocked me off my feet a few times! At the top, there was a huge cornice, so ever though we had an amazing view of Rainier, Adams, Hood, and Jackson, we could not look down into the crater (like I did last year.) That was a bummer, but it gives me an excuse to drag Jeff up again with me next year! ;-) Woot! I can't wait!! Oh, and my new sock system worked very well! I wore special running socks with toes, and a thick pair of Smartwool running socks over them. I didn't get any blisters or lose any toenails! AAHHH....the simple pleasures."

July 25, 2010 - I ran 13.1 miles...for fun!

July 30, 2010 - I cut my hair. This is also not about running, but it was a huge thing in my life. I regret it still... :-( (14.5 inches...)

August 14, 2010 - Jeff and I hiked to the Kendall Katwalk, and beyond, to Gravel Lake and Ridge Lake. 15 total miles. I charged up like a maniac of course and did a good amount of it running. It was a fabulous workout!

August 21, 2010 - Ran the Covey Run 10k for Seattle Children's Hospital with Jeff. My time was 59:20, pace per mile: 9:32. I was very pleased with my performance and my time. It was a great race! Jeff's time was 59:18, so he did awesome as well! I am so proud of him!

I helped save a life!!!

Man Collapses at mercer Island's Rotary Run half-marathon finish

By Elizabeth Celms, Mercer Island Reporter City Reporter
Today, 2:09 PM · UPDATED

Emergency medical attention was required when a male runner collapsed of a heart attack within feet of the Rotary Half-Marathon finish line on Sunday. According to Sam Sullivan, director of the Mercer Island Rotary Run, as of March 22, the man was still hospitalized in an induced coma but breathing on his own. Doctors are optimistic for a good recovery.

"The fact that an ER nurse was right there [at the finish line] and started CPR immediately was very fortuitous," Sullivan said. "There was also a spectator, a woman, who jumped the barricade and administered mouth to mouth." (Me!!!)

The director added that there were five other medical emergencies during the race.

"At the time the man collapsed the EMT's, who were stationed at the event all day, were working on another man who was not in as bad condition so we got them down to him as soon as we found out how serious his condition was," he said.

None of the other emergencies, however, were as severe as the man who collapsed.

"All of the others are doing fine as far as we know," Sullivan said.

In all of the emergency chaos, Sullivan said that nobody identified the ER nurse, a race participant, who resuscitated the man. His family is asking anyone who might know the nurse's name to report it, so they can thank him personally.

I must say, I am so happy that this poor man is going to be ok. It is a day in my life that I will never forget. On a less serious note,... Man! Those chest compressions sure get the glory! LOL Well, I am proud of me at least. :)