Resolution 2010: Race 1--New Year's Day

In the last several years, I've been obsessed with making New Year's Resolutions...

...and if I do say so myself, I've been pretty fantastic about keeping them.  Back in 2007, my N.Y.R. was to run a marathon, so I found a training plan, and on October 7, 2007, I ran the Portland Marathon (my very first 'long distance' race) in around 5 and a half hours.

In 2008, I hit the heaviest weight I had ever been in my life (bad eating habits mainly, as I was still exercising on a fairly consistent basis), so my 2009 N.Y.R. was to get serious about my health and lose weight the healthy way.  So I joined Weight Watchers, and over the course of the year I dropped 40 pounds.  The program really worked for me, and I'm happy to say that, thanks to the amazing lessons in portion control, I'm still in my "skinny clothes" and snuggled happily in my healthy weight range!

At the end of 2009, once I had lost all my weight, I decided to devote myself to running again.  Therefore, my 2010 N.Y.R. was to run a race for every major holiday that year.  No easy feat considering that if I was going to truly stick to the plan, I needed to do my very first run on New Year's Day, after celebrating the night before.  But I figured, if I could get myself up at 8am on January 1st to go run 3.1 miles, the rest of the holiday runs that year would be a snap!  I was in Boise that year for the Christmas holiday visiting my family, so on New Year's Day, I got up bright and early, drove to downtown Boise, and in the parking lot of the Ram Restaurant and Brewery toed the start line with hundreds of other avid runners for the New Year's Day 5K.

It was cold and raining that morning, which would have bothered some people, but I was just so excited that I had started my 2010 resolution off the right way, there could have been a blizzard out and I wouldn't have cared one bit.  I don't quite remember what my actual time was, but I know that it was just over 30 minutes.  And the best part of the whole experience was that I started my 2010 N.Y.R. Racing T-Shirt Collection with this little beauty...

So that was Race #1...I promise to keep the N.Y.R. race stories coming in the next several posts until you get to see all of my awesome 2010 running shirts.

What's the most memorable N.Y.R. (New Year's Resolution) you've ever kept?

Making Progress...

It's almost the end of October, and with the end of the month comes the end of my first season coaching cross country.  I have to say that it has been a whirlwind season...it feels like it just started, and now it's coming to a close.  While I knew that helping out with cross country, and thereby being given the opportunity to run every day of the week, could have the added benefit of improving my running, I still spent most of the time feeling like this...

The biggest problem I faced in overcoming my mentality about improving as a runner was that, while I was getting better, so were all of the cross country kids!  Logically, I knew that I had to be improving, at least slightly, because of the amount I was running, not to mention the fact that I was being forced to keep up with kids who were much faster than me.  Somehow, the math teacher in me overlooked the fact that because the kids and I were doing the same workouts, we were improving at the same rate.  That meant that as the weeks went on, I was keeping up...but I was still f-ing winded and tired as hell after every single workout, even though my runners didn't look nearly as tired and winded as I did. What the heck is up with that?!?!?!  So because of this, it really never occurred to me how much better I have actually gotten over the past two months...that is, until our workout on Monday afternoon.

The coach wanted the kids to run 3 one-mile repeats on the track at just under race pace for a good speed workout that day.  He was going to run with the boys at 6:30/mile pace, and he wanted me to run with the girls to make sure they stayed at 8:00/mile pace.  In my mind, I was thinking 'Are you freaking kidding me?! I haven't run an 8 minute mile since I was in high school!  How on Earth am I supposed to run that fast over 10 years later?!?!?!' (No wise cracks about how old I am please!)  But I decided to suck it up and run, and at least try to keep up with them through the first mile, then let them complete the other 2 mile repeats on their own.  We started the first mile, and I was keeping the time to make sure that we were completing each lap in two minutes.  The first lap went by nice and easy, but I thought for sure that the next couple laps would be my downfall...but as we kept going, I noticed that I was feeling, dare I say it...GREAT!  I finished the first mile with the girls in 8 minutes, and honestly felt like I could have run faster.  After our 2 minute break, we did our second mile repeat, and again, I ran it in 8 minutes without any trouble.  And after another 2 minute break, the girls and I finished our third 8 minute mile successfully, and all at once it hit me...I just finished three miles at 8:00 pace knowing that I could have run them faster!  I experienced such an extreme feeling of accomplishment in that moment, I might as well have won a marathon...

...So it's official, I've gotten much faster since the beginning of cross country season without even realizing it.  If you had told me back in August that by the end of October, I'd be able to run a sub-8 minute mile, I would have laughed in your face.  But it just goes to show you what you can accomplish as long as you are willing to work hard.  Now the question becomes, can I keep up this hard work, and keep myself in this great of shape, without my cross country kids there to push me?  Only time will tell.

What's your greatest running accomplishment?

Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Half Here I Come!!!!

It's official folks, on June 23rd, 2012, one of these bad boys is going to be mine...

...because I signed up today for the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon!!! I can't believe how excited I am about this.  It's not like I've never run a race before, but for whatever reason, I'm feeling like a giddy little kid...strange!  And in a couple weeks, once I get my next paycheck, I'll be signing up for the Portland Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon as well.  If I'm feeling like this now, I can only imagine how excited and ecstatic I'm going to feel after I sign up for the Portland race as well. :)

And apparently, everyone who enters and completes both the Seattle and Portland races receives a special prize for "Rockin' the Pac Northwest".  And as I've mentioned before, my main motivation for racing is the swag you get at the end, so getting an extra prize is enough to make me almost piddle with excitement!  Seattle and Portland Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathons, HERE I COME!!!!

Anyone out there running either of these races?

Five Days and Counting...

In a previous blog, I mentioned my desire to run three of the half marathons in the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series this coming year. Recently, they set a date for the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon...June 23rd, 2012.

I'm super excited because this is set for the weekend after school gets out, so it will be my "Hooray and Celebrate the School Year is OVER!" Run.  I've been getting a bit frustrated, however, because for a while, it seemed like the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon people were never going to open up the registration for the race.  Well my friends, the wait is finally over...I got my confirmation e-mail informing me that registration opens this coming Monday, October 17th, and for the first two days, the sign-up fee is going to be discounted for all the early-bird entrants! So, if anyone feels like running this particular half marathon with me, you now know when registration opens, and more importantly, when signing up will be the cheapest.  And the best part is that the race isn't until the end of June, so you have plenty of time to train!!!

I love having running buddies for these races, so I only have one question to ask...Who's with me????

Point Wilson Lighthouse Visit

This Saturday, I was enjoying staying snuggled up under the warmth of my blankets and down comforter in bed until an absolutely appallingly late hour, just being lazy and relaxed...and then we hit a bump in the road and I was jolted out of my day dream only to realize that I was in a school van at an appallingly early hour on my way to a cross country invite.  The meet was a 2 and a half hour drive from school at Fort Worden all the way out in Port Townsend, which is at the tip of the Quimper Peninsula on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The kids did great, the weather ended up being gorgeous and sunny, one of my runner's moms made us a bunch of wonderful goodies (wontons and individual meatloaves...yum yum!), but I have to say that the best part of the day came after all the racing and eating was done, and we headed out to Point Wilson on the very tip of the peninsula to see the lighthouse!

With the sun shining and the Puget Sound in the background, we couldn't have asked for a prettier setting to view this beautiful structure.

The lighthouse was originally built in 1859, and then in 1913 it was restructured into the wonderful old building it is today.  I just love lighthouses, something about them is just so magical and almost peaceful.  Plus, they remind me of the movie Pete's Dragon, which was one of my favorites growing up!

I mean, come on, who didn't want a pet like Elliott when they were growing up?!?!?!? An adorable cartoon dragon, sign me up!  After all, like the song says, "A dragon is just one more stranger in search of a friend"!


Anyway, this lighthouse was amazing up close.  You couldn't actually go in, but you could walk right up to it.  The house is even still standing where the lighthouse watcher and his family used to live back in the day when someone manned it on a daily basis.

And if you look really close at the next picture, you can see the plaque on the front that reads '1913'...very cool!

This last picture is my favorite, with the Puget Sound in the background and the clear blue sky...absolutely beautiful!

Such an amazing experience, I don't think I would have traded seeing this wonderful old building for anything, even the chance to sleep in on a Saturday morning!

Cross Country Continues...

Well, cross country season has been going strong for about a month now, and my runners are doing...GREAT!!!!  They're becoming amazingly stronger runners, and at every single meet we've had so far this season (4 total, 2 dual meets and 2 invites) almost every single runner has PRed (gotten a Personal Record) by at least a few seconds.  While the kids have been getting better and better, I can only assume that, since I've been running with them every day, I've also been getting better.  But I've got to say, it sort of seems like they're getting faster and I'm staying at the same speed because damn it if it doesn't ALWAYS feel like I'm huffing and puffing to keep up with them when they don't even seem to be working all that hard!

Yup, this is typically what I look like after a workout with the kids...but at least I'm staying in shape right?

One of the best events we've been to so far was the Curtis Invite...

...which was held at Chambers Bay Golf Course (where the 2015 US Open is going to be played).

The kids got to run across the meadow (pictured above) with the gorgeous Puget Sound in the background.  Granted, it was drizzling the entire time, so the view wasn't quite as nice as it could have been, but it was still a great day for running.  And the kids ran so well, 4 out of the 6 of them PRed, and one missed his PR by only 12 seconds!  All in all, even though I had to wake up early on a Saturday morning to go stand out in the rain for 4 hours, it ended up being a great day out with my runners.  This weekend we have the Fort Worden Invite out in Port Townsend Saturday morning.  Let's do a math problem...
   9am Start Time
+Needing to be there 1 hour before the race for the kids to get warmed up
+2 hour long drive to get there
=Nap Time for Coach A on the bus ride to the race!!!

What's the longest you've traveled for a race?