St Patty's Day

Grand Marshall and Mrs. Marshall for the St. Patrick's day dash.

 It wasn't a big race, by any means 235 people running and quite a few walkers. I loved seeing the sea of green at the starting line.

 I had my best time ever for a 5K! It was a flat, fast course. I also had a mile+ walk back to my car, since the start and end line were not the same. Look at that blue sky! The day was perfect for a run.

I may have to do this again next year.

Mixing it Up!

This past weekend I went to my SIL's near Tacoma, WA. She showed me some paths to go running. It was so nice to mix it up and get a different view. I forgot how much I like to run in different places.(I suggest bringing your smart phone so you can find your way back home!)

I am not used to running in forests. I was raised in this climate but now live in the high desert. It was really terrific!!

 

I had to stop and take a photo of the Puget Sound.

I loved the big mossy tree!

On my way home I stopped by my son's studio and had a workout.

He had my working out on the battling ropes.

Using medicine balls.

Pushing this sled around the parking lot. See the other side of where he is pushing? The short bar running horizontal? Instead of turning the whole thing around he had me pushing down that low. It was an awesome workout!!

And during a short part of my workout he had me wear this weighted vest!!

It really reminded me to be sure and mix up my workouts and not do the same thing again and again.

Yep, I'm sore today!! LOL

How do you mix it up?

I Was Driven Indoors!

I admit it, I love it when it snows in winter. I grew up in Seattle and we got snow once in a while. When we did it was a happy event!!
The snow has been predicted... but I really like the snow that falls happily to the ground and then slowly builds up and makes everything magical and white. That is the snow I want! Instead this is what we got.

You have to look close at this photo to see this was sideways snow. The wind was whipping and overall it was very nasty! That is my house, right there and this is about the spot I turned around. The snow was whipping into my eyes that I would have needed goggles to continue my run!! (what was I thinking?!)

Even Porter didn't like snowflakes going right into his eyes.

I generally despise running on a treadmill, but I have to say it was rather nice to be warm and dry and not to have to put on several layers of clothing. I've extended my aerobics membership to include use of the gym. I guess I could get used to this.

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Took a Spin

So today instead of aerobics we went spinning!! Our instructor wasn't completely knowledgeable, but we love her and will do just about anything she asks. It was a good way to change things up.
I'd sure like to know if any of you spin?

2011 in Review

Ya know, I am pretty happy with 2011. I accomplished way more then I thought was possible. At this point I am thankful I quit working for Weight Watchers as I am sure I would have kept going as I was and not challenged myself to do bigger and better things.

Ran Cinco de Mayo with my daughter - my first 10K that I ran the whole thing.

Followed by a burrito and beer.....

I took a Learn to Run class and met others who wanted the same thing as me. We ran a 5K together.

Hiked Tam-a-Lau trail.

Ran the Widmer Brothers 10K with my son- no walking on this one either.

Hiked Smith Rock for the first time.

Even though it is right at my back door.

Ran The Todd Beamer 10K for 4th of July with my son. He helped me reach a goal of under 1 hour 10 minutes.

Hiked Lava Butte.

Had an adventure in the top of trees. This is when I realized I needed to work on my upper body strength.

I finished my first ever half marathon and ran the whole thing!! I'm not breaking any records with my time but I was thrilled!!

Climbed a really big rock- thankfully I was harnessed in!

I finished the year out by running the Jingle Bell Run 5K in Portland.

 Here are my two biggest supporters!!

I look forward to many adventures in 2012.

2011 Running/Walking

I checked out my yearly mileage just out of curiosity and it seems I broke the 800 mile mark!! This is a combination of running and walking- mostly running the last half of the year. I'm pleased as can be about this. I am hoping to add a few more miles before the end of the year. Woot! Woot!!

Friday Workout

I ended up in a nearby town today and knew I wanted to go running despite the weather. I layered up and this was my view. It was really refreshing to mix things up and not see the same thing day after day.

First snow of the winter~!~!

I mixed things up a bit and did the stairs too.

Woo-Hoo!!

Burned a Few Calories- Rock Climbing!

   Here we are cool, calm and collected before learning how to rock climb. We are at
Smith Rock State Park which has some of the best rock climbing in the country. We also had a very capable guide who not only helped us, but took photos too. He is David Potter from www.SmithRockClimbingGuides.com. I highly recommend him if you ever want to rock climb in Central Oregon.
My hubby and I had been hiking here this spring and watched a lot of rock climbers. He said he thought it would be a fun thing to do. So we surprised him for his birthday.

A beautiful photo of the canyon and Crooked River.

This is the one route I climbed. That was enough for me. That would be me at the top in blue. This is really good exercise too, especially when your legs are shaking uncontrollably! LOL

Hubby on a different more difficult route

Daughter, Rene

The little black speck is my son, Ken

That speck is my dd's boyfriend, Dan

Inspiring Ironman

I haven't ran much after the half marathon so I thought I would join the Redmond group for their Saturday morning run.

You will never believe who is running with them and who I got to meet.

81 year old Ironman athlete Lew Hollander!!  He had just ran the last ironman in Hawaii about 10 days ago! And I believe it was his 21st or 22nd Ironman Championship competition. If you aren't sure what the ironman consists of it is: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 run.

If I ever start whining will you please remind me of this post?!!

And here was the sunrise yesterday morning.

Girlfriend's Half Marathon- Update

I'm so happy I chose this one for my first half marathon. It is a wonderful fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen and it's all women. I dont' think I could have asked for a more scenic city and course.

Gee, was I really that excited to start the race?! LOL

Before the race started several of us ladies were chatting. I was keeping about the same pace with one woman and I noticed she kept checking her Garmen then slowed her pace down about mile 2. She said she wanted to finish about 2 1/2 hours so I thought I'd stick close to her and make good time. Knowing my average training pace I figured I'd finish about 2 hours 45 minutes.

 

Within the first mile I found myself running through the Sunday farmer's market!! Obviously there wasn't a bunch of people shopping yet and if they were I'm sure they figured out that they would need to move. The pace was still pretty slow at this point because the woman who were walking the race didn't start in the back so it was a bit of a bottleneck for awhile.

How's this for a scenic run?! That's the Columbia River which divides Oregon from Washington state.

I told my family they could meet me where ever they wanted but they'd have to get my attention. This was between mile 8 and mile 9. There's the Columbia River behind us.(more gorgeous scenery) I was able to get rid of my long sleeve shirt and gloves that I started the race in. I was  feeling pretty good at this point.

Is this beautiful or what?! Seriously, the miles flew by!! It was a good boost to see the family too and here them say I was doing so well.
At mile 10 my knee started to bother a little and so did my groin. I just dug deep, ignored it and enjoyed the run. Although I am a slow runner I'd been  doing some steep hills while training - I'm so glad! I ran up every hill- never walked! My 2:30 friend ran out of steam on the last hill and although I kept looking for her I didn't see her any longer. (I found out later she was only about 9 seconds behind me)

Right at this point we have 1 or 2 tenths to go. My ipod died about 5 minutes before the end of the race and I'm so glad! Our names were on our numbers and it was fun hearing people use my name to cheer me on to the finish line. The lady to the right of me was slowing down and I was able to cheer her on to keep strong until the end. She told me later, "Thanks, I needed to hear that."
It was amazing!!

A couple things I want to add. For those of you that know me at all, know I can be emotional. At mile 5 there were three women in front of me with a sign on their back that said "I run for a cure, I run for hope. I run for Angie" There was a photo of a beautiful young woman. I wanted to weep as I followed them. My SIL lost her battle with breast cancer at age 29. I knew my best bet was to pass and not cry! My son was teasing me later when I was telling him that story, he said, "Mom, there is no crying while running!"
The other thing I loved that helped the miles fly by was seeing all the terrific clothing and tattoos the women were sporting and the volunteers. One of my favorite t-shirts was "Suck it up Princess"! I remembered that later in the race.

I would encourage you to look for a run in or near your hometown. It can be so much fun and it is only a race against yourself!!
I have 1 more for sure planned for 2011. The Jingle Bell Run in Portland on Dec 4. This is a 5k run or walk. If you want to join our team let me know! We'd love to have you!!!

Thanks so much for all your encouraging words of support. You'll never know what an impact it has had on me.