Cure for the "Just Running" Blues

Often times, when I'm trying to get my friends on the race running 'bandwagon', the response I get is, "So, all you do is run?  That seems kind of boring!"  Well, I have the cure for the "Just Running" Blues...I've found (and run) several races that involve obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, costume contests, and all sorts of other fun activities for those of us that need that little extra incentive to get off the couch and lace up the running shoes.  I'll start with one of my favorites, the Warrior Dash!

This race has it all...it's a 5K (for those of you new to running, that means the course is only 3.1 miles long) race, where people dress up in crazy costumes and run, but along the course, there are such amazingly wonderful obstacles as a chest deep body of water with logs you have to make your way over, a cargo net wall that you must climb and descend, a sea of tires that you have to run through, a pitch dark tunnel to crawl through, an abandoned car yard where you get to climb and run over the vehicles, towers of fire to jump over...

...(that's me and my friend Nate getting ready to clear the second set of fire piles), and finally, a huge pond of mud you get to crawl through as you make your way to the finish line!

Adam, myself, Nate, and Steven good and dirty after our adventures at the Warrior Dash in Oregon!

After getting the mud washed out of my eyes at the First Aid Station, I got to start enjoying the yummy snacks at the end of the race (which include the usual post race fare of fruit, bread, and energy drinks, but also there are turkey legs and beer...AWESOME!)  And yes sickos, I am wearing pants...you just can't tell because of all the mud!!!!  Such a fun race, and with locations all over the country, you are sure to be able to find a WD near you.

Another obstacle race (one that coincidentally I'm currently trying to get a team together to run) is the Winter Pineapple Classic 5K.

This is another 3.1 mile course where people dress up and run the obstacle course, many of them dressed up in crazy costumes, but maybe the best thing about this particular race is that you run with a team, and you must help each other through the obstacles, you start as a team, and you finish as a team.  You can run the race individually, but if you have the option of running with friends, why wouldn't you?

The next race I found out about through competing in the Warrior Dash because it is a sister race (put on by the same company)...the Great Urban Race.

This race is part run/part scavenger hunt through the city as you and your teammate(s) compete against other teams to solve 12 clues and get to the finish line first.  Again, people dress up in crazy costumes, teams get to stretch both their mental and physical muscles, and you get to see your city in a whole new way.  And just like the Warrior Dash, there are races all across the country, meaning you shouldn't have to look too far for this fun time (there are ones in Seattle and Portland, just to name a few PNWers).  I personally can't wait to try my hand at the one in Seattle next year, and I might even do the one in Portland as well, just to get to know that city a little better...it's such a fun place, I can only imagine how fun of a scavenger hunt it will bring on!

My New Year's Resolution back in 2010 was to run a race for every major holiday (New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July, etc) and I quickly found out one of the best things about holiday inspired races...TONS OF COSTUMES!!!  Do not underestimate the ability of lots of people running around you in hilarious outfits to make running a race that much easier and that much more fun!  If you go to this AMAZING website, www.runningintheusa.com, you can click on any state, and it will show you the races coming up in your area, including all of the fun holiday races with costumes (this site is coincidentally how I found most of my races for my resolution that year, which I completed by the way...11 races for the 11 major holidays in 12 months!).

My totally green outfit for the Shamrock Run I did for St. Patrick's Day down in Portland.

My friend Amy and I dressed as clowns (although, we ended up looking more like 80's back up dancers if you removed the red noses) for the Starlight Run in Portland which I ran for my Father's Day race in June.  Funny thing about this race, I swore up and down that it was a costume run and that year it was Clown Themed, so Amy and I searched for 'clowny' type outfits.  When we parked near the race and got out, the first 20 or so people we saw as we were walking to the starting line were in regular running clothes, not in costumes, prompting our friend Jessica to ask, "Umm, are you sure this is a costume run?!?!?!"  Thankfully, just as I was starting to panic, we saw a guy dressed as a human port-a-potty with a race number taped to his front, so we no longer looked like the silliest ones there.  Race ended up being super fun!

Have you ever dressed up in costume to run a race?

Training Plan for Beginners

Recently, a very dear friend of mine asked me to help her get back into running after saying that she had been inspired by my blog.  Well, what can I say but...virtual running buddy to the rescue!!!

After writing it up I thought...hey, maybe there are other people that need a little boost to get them started, and probably some people that have the motivation, but just don't know where to begin.  Now, I'm not claiming to be an expert, but in my opinion, their is nothing wrong with starting out slow, and building up your mileage gradually.  I'll basically try to outline what I would recommend for the first month or two, and then, at that point, it can be up to your discretion, and what your plans for your future running endeavors entail.

  

Week 1: Run three days, 1 mile each time, with off days used as either rest days or cross training days (biking, swimming, aerobics class, yoga, etc).

Week 2: Run four days, 1 mile each time, with off days used as either rest days or cross training days.

Week 3: Run four days, 1 mile for three of the days, 2 miles on the fourth day, with off days used as either rest days or cross training days.

Weeks 4 and 5: Run four days, 1 mile for the first and third day, 2 miles for the second and fourth day, with off days used as either rest days or cross training days.

Weeks 6 and 7: Run four days, 2 miles for the first, second, and fourth day, 1 mile for the third day, with off days used as either rest days or cross training days.

Week 8: Run four days, 2 miles each time, with off days used as either rest days or cross training days.

At this point, you can start adding in interval training (6x 15 second sprints up a hill with 30 second breaks in between; short run afterward, only a mile or so) and weight lifting if you want to increase your speed or your muscle tone.  And then, depending on whether or not you want to train for a certain race (5K, 10K, half or full marathon) you gradually start increasing the mileage in your weekly runs, adding in a long run on the weekend.

Well, I hope this helps...as I said before, I'm no expert, so you can try this, or look up a training program on your own.  I do know that I did something similar to this when I began running myself, and it ended up working out pretty well for me.  If you are looking for the added motivation to help you along your runs, you can run with an iPod, or even convince a buddy to start training with you.  Happy running!

What triggered your initial desire to start running?

I'm Going to Host a Race!!!!

As I've become more and more, for lack of a better word, obsessed with running, I've started to do things that my former non-running self would never have contemplated doing.  Something as simple as subscribing to Runner's World magazine...

...would have seemed silly to me even a couple of years ago, but now, all I want to do is learn more about how to become a better runner.  The other day, I received the very first issue of my very own subscription to this mecca of running knowledge.  I started to devour the magazine from cover to cover, and came upon a story about a race called the Tunnel to Towers Run.

The article was about Stephen Siller, a FDNY firefighter who lost his life saving others from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  The story told about how he was stuck in traffic as he was about to enter the 1.7 mile long tunnel from Brooklyn to Manhatten, and so got out of his car and ran through the tunnel and straight to the South Tower.  Sadly, he was still in the South Tower when it collapsed.  His siblings decided to honor his life with a race following his path of heroism that day, and thus an amazingly wonderful event came out of a tragic day.

The most amazing part about the race is that right before the finish line, 343 firefighters stand on either side of the course, each wearing a picture of one of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives saving others on 9/11.

They are also lined up with 343 flags, commemorating the lives of those same firefighters.

I immediately went to the website to find out more about the race, and saw that the proceeds go to such amazing programs as the Wounded Warrior Program and funding for scholarships for children of military members, among others.  Another great thing that I discovered is that they host races all across the country.  Unfortunately, when I clicked to see where there was a "Race Near You", I found that there was only one that was remotely close, and it is held all the way up in Ferndale, WA.  It shocked me that there wasn't one held a little closer to Tacoma.  As I continued to browse the website, I came across an option to "Host a Race".  I started to think about the idea of bringing a wonderful race like this to the area.  I love to run races, so how much more fulfilling could hosting a race be, especially a race like this?!  So...

...I emailed the race organizers that I was interested in being a host for a future Tunnel to Towers Run in the Tacoma area, and they emailed me back today saying that they would love to have me host the race!!!!  So this weekend, once I get home from our Cross Country meet, I get to read through all of the materials they sent me about how to go about starting this process.  I'm a little nervous, but mainly, I'm excited.  The one thing I do know is that this is going to be a lot of work (rewarding for sure, but still, a lofty goal), so anyone who would like to help me get this awesome event up and running in time for Sunday, September 9th, 2012, please let me know!!!

So, anyone want to help me get the Tacoma Tunnel to Towers Run going?????

First Two Days Down, Only 178 More to Go...

It's not too early to start counting down to summer vacation 2012 is it?!?!?  I didn't think so either...come on June 20th!!!!

Sorry I've been missing in action, but the week leading up to the start of the school year was extremely busy.  I didn't have a spare moment to breathe, let alone blog.  Between the 4 full day meetings about everything we were expected to do this year as teachers, getting my classroom set up (pictures coming up shortly), cross country practices, and my administrators switching up my schedule and adding a brand new class that I've never taught at this school 5 days before the school year started, I had my hands full!  But the school year was going to start whether I was ready or not...

                                                     (In my classroom!)
I'm always excited to get new students.  In fact, the night before the first day of school, I'm so giddy/nervous that I don't get a whole lot of sleep.  Yes, I'm dorky like that.  At least when I got to school Wednesday morning, my classroom was all set up and ready to go!

Yup, that's my name up there on the white board.  The chicken up to the right is Shirley, she's the classroom mascot.  A student gave her to me my first year teaching because I call Wednesdays 'Chicken Fried Chicken' days (something my master teacher during student teaching used to do) and I just think she's awesome.  The glare is kind of bad, but if you look really hard, you can see her bikini tan lines! :)

This is the view into my classroom from the door...

...and this is the view from the front back to the door.  Yes, my classroom is THAT SMALL, and yes, they continue to put over 30 kids in each of my classes.  Today, we had to borrow 4 extra chairs from a neighboring classroom because there weren't enough seats for all my students.

My wall devoted to all the sports teams I love...the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the Boise State Broncos, and the Pittsburgh Steelers...

...and a close-up on the posters from the last two Bloomsday races that I've run!

And what math classroom would be complete without a Pi Chart (get it...eye chart, pi chart, LOL!!!)?

And of course, my pride and joy, all the pictures that my students have drawn for me over the past 6 years of teaching.  I LOVE MY STUDENTS!!!!!

This Saturday is the kids' very first Cross Country meet of the season down in Olympia.  I'm excited to see them race, and promise to report back on how they did.  And on a final happy note, I have officially completed my Master's degree.  I ended up acing the final exam I thought I did so horribly on, and got a 4.0 in the class...which brings my final cumulative GPA for my Master's program to 3.96!!  Extremely proud of myself, and extremely happy to finally be done.

So, what was your favorite thing about the first day of school?