I ran a lot over the weekend! My goal for Saturday was to run 9 miles. I did 3.5 miles, but then had to stop. It was way too hot to run. I waited for the day to cool and ran an additional 6 miles. Great run, actually. Even threw in some hills! My goal for Sunday was 14 miles. I ran from Seward Park to Broadmoore along the lake on the boulevard, and then ran up Madison. What a freaking ridiculous hill. I was feeling kind of whiny by the time I reached the top lol. Then I hopped back on the Blvd, passed The Bush School, and ran back the rest of the way along the lake. My friend Jim accompanied me on his bike. Poor guy. It was raining like mad, but he was a good sport. It's nice to have company on the long runs... and someone to carry all my shit! lol The run left good, though. Knees were good. My left ankle did some popping at about mile 12-ish. I had trouble at mile 10 again. I felt like crying... but I pulled myself together, remembered the 'why' in it all. I ended up running 13.58 miles in 2 hrs 18 mins. I took 6 minutes off of my half, even (2:20 to 2:14!)
My left knee doesn't really hurt, persay... but it is huge and fluid-filled. That makes me somewhat concerned... What to do? What to do?
Total mileage last week: 36.35 miles.
"The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears."
~No idea.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
July 9, 2009
I worked on my training schedule last night. Wow. This is going to be hard! LOL I ran home from work yesterday. I ran hard, felt great, and my knees held up splendidly. I ran home the day before yesterday as well, and that run was also great. There were a lot of people on the trail yesterday. Very odd. A cop seemed to follow me for several sections of trail... He passed me at 44th, then again on the road that is between the first and second sections of the trail that come after the Park & Ride, and then again when I crossed 208th! I raised my eyebrow at him. I couldn't decide if he was being a weirdo or monitoring my safety. I may have seen him again on 212th, but I can't be sure. I'd like to think that he was just being proactive in his police protection...
Today I ran to work and then back home again after work. Both runs were great! Had a little incident on the trail this morning, though... So there is this park of the trail behind the P&R where as I have mentioned before, there is a homeless man who lives in the bushes. I have encountered him many times now over the past several months and it has always been without incident. I always keep my peper spray at the ready though. You can never be to safe. So this morning as I was approaching his little area, I see over the little fenced area his head moving, so I knew he was there. As I passed the fence, he comes strolling out onto the trail... wearing nothing but his tightie-whities! I immediately looked away and hauled ass outta there!
After much debate, I decided to call the police this evening. I spoke with a lovely officer who after some questions, knew exactly who I was talking about. He said he is a known transient and they have never had problems with him. He said he is harmless (with a disclaimer, of course) and that he is a bit "slow." He told me that he will have a chat with him, not bring me or the undies thing into it, (to protect my identity) and ask him to move camp. He also mentioned that there has never been an attack on the trail. That's good, but I am no dummy.. I will continue to be cautious. I feel very relieved. I do feel sorry for him though... It makes me think about how blessed my life is. It makes me anxious to start volunteering at the mission again... and soon.
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
~ The Dalai Lama
Today I ran to work and then back home again after work. Both runs were great! Had a little incident on the trail this morning, though... So there is this park of the trail behind the P&R where as I have mentioned before, there is a homeless man who lives in the bushes. I have encountered him many times now over the past several months and it has always been without incident. I always keep my peper spray at the ready though. You can never be to safe. So this morning as I was approaching his little area, I see over the little fenced area his head moving, so I knew he was there. As I passed the fence, he comes strolling out onto the trail... wearing nothing but his tightie-whities! I immediately looked away and hauled ass outta there!
After much debate, I decided to call the police this evening. I spoke with a lovely officer who after some questions, knew exactly who I was talking about. He said he is a known transient and they have never had problems with him. He said he is harmless (with a disclaimer, of course) and that he is a bit "slow." He told me that he will have a chat with him, not bring me or the undies thing into it, (to protect my identity) and ask him to move camp. He also mentioned that there has never been an attack on the trail. That's good, but I am no dummy.. I will continue to be cautious. I feel very relieved. I do feel sorry for him though... It makes me think about how blessed my life is. It makes me anxious to start volunteering at the mission again... and soon.
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
~ The Dalai Lama
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Announcement!
I have made a decision. I have decided to train for a FULL marathon. I have thought about this endlessly, and then finally I realized that this is something that I think I would really like to experience at least once in my life. Now seems as good a time as any, eh? I mean, I'm already trained to at least half it's distance already, and 'tis the season, is it not?! There are two marathons that I am interested in:
http://www.skagitflatsmarathon.com
This one is in Burlington on Sunday, September 13th. It is totally flat, and the course is expected to be beautiful, (not the same course though as my recent half though.) Last year there were 189 participants. Finishers will receive a "medallion." Not that I care, but it is a Boston Qualifier. Runners are given 6 hours to finish.
Cost: $70
Pros: Flat, not too far from home, cheaper, can pick up packet on day of race.
Cons: Same weekend as the Fairhaven Waterfront 15k... and I had really wanted to do this race...
http://www.bellinghambaymarathon.org/
This one is in Bellingham on Sunday, September 27th. It isn't terribly hilly as far as I can tell, but it isn't flat, either. This course is also expected to be beautiful. Some of it is on a gravel road... which can be good or bad. There were 269 finishers last year. Finishers will receive a "finisher's medal." This race is also a Boston Qualifier. Runners are given 6.5 hours to finish.
Cost: $95
Pros: More participants, more time to finish, more time to train for race.
Cons: Farther from home, pricier, must pick up packet the day before, not as flat lol.
I do not need to decide on anything yet. Training for a full marathon is going to be fairly difficult for me time-wise. Finding the time to run all those miles may be, in fact, impossible. I am going to give it my best shot, nonetheless. If kids, work, and life prevent me from being able to be ready for a full in time, then I will commit to running the half at both of these events instead. Sound fair? :)
http://www.skagitflatsmarathon.com
This one is in Burlington on Sunday, September 13th. It is totally flat, and the course is expected to be beautiful, (not the same course though as my recent half though.) Last year there were 189 participants. Finishers will receive a "medallion." Not that I care, but it is a Boston Qualifier. Runners are given 6 hours to finish.
Cost: $70
Pros: Flat, not too far from home, cheaper, can pick up packet on day of race.
Cons: Same weekend as the Fairhaven Waterfront 15k... and I had really wanted to do this race...
http://www.bellinghambaymarathon.org/
This one is in Bellingham on Sunday, September 27th. It isn't terribly hilly as far as I can tell, but it isn't flat, either. This course is also expected to be beautiful. Some of it is on a gravel road... which can be good or bad. There were 269 finishers last year. Finishers will receive a "finisher's medal." This race is also a Boston Qualifier. Runners are given 6.5 hours to finish.
Cost: $95
Pros: More participants, more time to finish, more time to train for race.
Cons: Farther from home, pricier, must pick up packet the day before, not as flat lol.
I do not need to decide on anything yet. Training for a full marathon is going to be fairly difficult for me time-wise. Finding the time to run all those miles may be, in fact, impossible. I am going to give it my best shot, nonetheless. If kids, work, and life prevent me from being able to be ready for a full in time, then I will commit to running the half at both of these events instead. Sound fair? :)
"As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are."
~Joan Benoit SamuelsonSunday, July 5, 2009
Running Journal 7/5/09
Went for a phenomenal trail run today out by Dave's place. I'm not positive on the exact distance, because my Garmin decided to die within 30 seconds of leaving the house. LOL Ah well. I ran for exactly 2 hours. My pace felt like it was between a 9 and 10 minute mile on average. So.. 12 miles...? Shrug. More or less, eh. It was absolutely gorgeous out. The trail I was on goes right by the hatchery, and is called "Whitehorse Trail." The trail is flat, unpaved, but well groomed. (Lot's of horse crap, though.) It is surrounded by forest, but pops out near the Stilliguamish River here and there, and does run along the property line of a few scattered houses (some nice, and some... well.. the word "hillbillie" and the phrase "OMFG!" come to mind! LOL) Dave warned me the night earlier about some "junk yard pitbulls" that live about a mile and a half out... Lovely! That was rather.. concerning! I decided to have Duke (Dave's Lab/Collie/Pit mix) and his neighbor's Rotweiler accompany me! The 2 dogs and my pepper spray made me feel much more at ease! LOL It truely was a great run. I felt great and I simply floated down the trail in pure running bliss.
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