What's Your Dream?

Today I decided to head into Seattle to run with the Seattle Green Lake Running Group . It was really nice to be able to run with a few running buddies for a few miles. They also pushed my pace for a bit, which was really nice! I noticed that even though I was running way faster than I normally would have on my own that it didn't seem that bad. I think I credit this to the fact that I didn't have my running watch on, I somehow forgot it on my long run! I think not looking down at my watch every few seconds allowed me to take my mind off of it and just run. I was even able to hold conversation, so that really means I put too much on my watch lol. I have read a few articles now saying to leave the watch behind every once in awhile and this definitely backed that up. Stopping for a photo op!  The full run for me today ended up being 15.81 miles. The last 6 were pretty rough for some reason. I felt pretty done by mile 9 and I am not sure why. My legs actually got tired, wh...

Thursday I went for a run, I ran harder than I ever have. I tried to run off the pain and sadness. I had just heard that one of my good school friends had passed away. I tried to run like he could but he was such a gifted runner. He was also one of the kindest, smartest and most genuine people I have ever known.  Thank you for being a part of my life Max. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline No matter what problems you are dealing with, we want to help you find a reason to keep living. By calling  1-800-273-TALK   (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area,  anytime 24/7.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, no doubt! I'm not sure why but Everything took forever this morning, from getting ready to driving into Seattle. So I decided to have a bit of fun with this wonderful song!  Yesterday, along with my run, I started PiYo. I decided to try it for several different reasons, 1) I love Chalene Johnson. 2) I don't like yoga 3) I need to cross train 4) I need to stretch 5) I have no core lol. I have only done one workout and it was pretty short, about 20 minutes. But I feel it in my butt already! Eeps! I am hoping that I like it enough to keep doing it, it could be great no impact cross training for my ultra. I also have another workout on the way that I am excited for, I am not really into weight training and I need that as well in my cross training plans. It's called ChaLean Extreme and it incorporates strength training into a cardio format. Which is why I love Bob Harper but I just really enjoy Chalene Johnso...

Before the winter break I was running the fastest I had ever run. I even made a sub 9:00 pace for my 5k PR at the ESR First 5k . (Which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to PR on a 5k.) I came in second for my age group as well! Not too shabby. My friend Michelle took first in our age group. ;)  Prema, Jordan, myself and Michelle before the race. :) My run today was not so happy. I pushed extremely hard and pushed my pause button several times on my watch to "get this pace". This pace is still 13 seconds slower than that 5k and that 5k I wasn't about to die.  I am still working at it and I will get back to that old pace and better! Hopefully without getting sick on the trail! lol 

This weekend was the first week of longer runs in my training plan. Saturday I was to run 14 and Sunday 8 but I decided to have a bit of fun on Saturday and I ran the Rain Run half marathon with my friend Peter. It was the perfect weather for the run, it was in the 40s and it sprinkled the whole race! I have worked with race directors before and they are just the nicest people! Plus, they put on a really great race experience every time. They don't let the fact that the race is small effect the quality of the support that they give on or off the course. They have nice aid stations and a fun start/finish area. What I also like about The Rain Run is that they don't do shirts, they actually give out umbrellas instead. Fitting, right!? I highly recommend this race.  Peter and I crossing the muddy finish line! Yep, I finished half marathon #25! It was a lot of fun running with Peter as well. It made the time go by so fast! We just chatted and had a great time. I shou...

As you all know I am training for my first Ultra Marathon in April. The Frisco Railroad Run 50 Miler  and I have been reading several Ultra Marathon Books in preparation including Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald .  This book is so full of information that is can be a bit overwhelming. It's NOT a light read, however, it has some really good information in it and I highly recommend it if you are an endurance athlete of any form. Since January 1st I have been working on my Racing Weight. I have only lost 8 lbs thus far but like I said before I do keep record of my body measurements. I didn't take measurements the first week and I sure wish that I had!  In the last two weeks I have gone down 5lbs (out of the 8lbs lost so far) and 6.25 inches over all! According to my scale which measures Weight, Fat %, Water %, Muscle % and Bone % I have dropped from 25.2% Body fat to 23.9% in just two weeks. It's not anywhere near my goal but is definitely a Huge change!  I kn...

Slowly but surely getting back into shape. I'm right at that point when I can tell my muscles are becoming stronger and more defined, my body isn't giggling quite so much (but still giggles a ton) and I'm not craving tons of junk food. But at the point where absolutely none of that is visible to anyone else!  I have managed to take off 7 lbs of giggly fun since January 1st, that that is some physical progress on the scale at least. I keep meticulous body measurements when I am in training as well. I have toned up a tiny bit but not enough to make mention of. All that said, at least I am moving in the right direction!  My main go to resource when I need to lose weight/want to lose weight is MyFitnesPal , I know I have mentioned it before many times but I can't say enough how great of a tool it is. Yes, logging all the food you eat every day can be time consuming but it is also a great way to train yourself to be more aware of what your eating, how nutrient rich (or ...

Oh what a week. I've picked up my training quite a bit this week. My long run on Saturday was 10 miles, it was a bit more rough than I thought it would be, unfortunately. For some reason I just couldn't find my groove. I made it through feeling accomplished though, because I didn't let the struggle stop me from completing the run! New hair for the long run! It was weird, lots of bouncy bouncy hair! I have somehow managed to have pretty long hair since I started running a bit over 4 years ago. It may be trivial but it did bother me quite a bit when I was running.  Today I decided to avoid the massive wind storm that we were having by heading to the gym to workout/watch the Seahawks decidedly lose miserably to the Panthers. Which, as it turns out, only makes working out less enjoyable when you see your team making terrible mistake after terrible mistake! However, I did manage to get in 1 hr 40 minutes of cardio and a bit of weight training. I decided to cross train a b...

What a fantastic weekend! My friend Jordan invited several of his friends and I to spend the weekend in Whistler, B.C. I had never been there but had heard many great things. I am so glad I went! The beauty is indescribable! Photo by Jordan Anderson  This was my second adventure with skiing. Like the first time it didn't go well. I either just don't have the knack for it or I should take lessons. (I'd like to take lessons) I really want to be able to ski!  It wasn't long into the day when I had taken one too many falls and I had to head back to the chalet. But it was so much fun to see the mountains, the snow, all of the wonderful skiers. I can't wait to get better at skiing so that I can go back! My friend Michelle and I right before my last big fall. Michelle and I in front of our Chalet, right at the top of the ski in ski out! As it turns out Jordan knows some very talented people! His friends spent two days back country skiing! WoW! And I can...

The day started off ... On the wrong foot and went downhill from there! I will spare the boring details but I will share a semi comical one. For Christmas I bought Anthony and I adult kick scooters. The idea was to use them to quicken our commute to the bus and back. Yesterday, was the first day that we had used them on the commute to work. Everything went fine in the way into work but on the way home we were scooting along full speed when my front wheel locked up. I went flying! It was probably a good 4 feet of soaring before I graciously landed on my knee and then spread eagle onto the ground face first. With the scooter whipping around to leave a baseball sized welt on my ankle. It was quite impressive to watch I am sure.  Well I am feeling much better today and plan on running this evening.  I did learn something interesting in class last night though. There is a program called Limited License Legal Technicians. I found it very fascinating. Designed to speed up the legal p...

Today is Day 1 Day 1 of my Ultra Marathon training! My first ultra is April 30 in Missouri. I will be running the same race as my first half marathon but the ultra length this time. I am extremely nervous and excited about it. The Frisco Railroad Run , so it'll be really flat! Ha, chose the "easy" 50 mile race. Day 1 of college classes at Edmonds Community College for Paralegal classes. Which I am also really nervous/excited for. I haven't taken classes in several years. But now I am trying to take them working full time and while training for an ultra marathon.  This really is the start of a new year for me. I can't wait to get started!

This year has been so crazy I can't explain it all! I am going to give a super quick run down for the last couple of months. Ragnar- I was able to participate in Ragnar Northwest Passage for the first time this year. It was so different from anything that I have ever done before in my life! It was so so so hard. I thought my total of 17 miles was harder than running my full marathon! This is because of all of the breaks. You run, take a several hour break, run, break, and then run again.  Seattle RnR- I ran the Seattle Rock N Roll Half marathon again this year as part of my Cascadia marathon series. It was hot again this year and I was sick... but I made it through. Derby Dash 5k - This was a lot of fun, a short local 5k, super flat and fast. Anthony decided to run this one with me as well. Ran with friends but no PR.  Beats Half Marathon - This was the first year that the Beats Half Marathon has been run. It wasn't a bad race but it could have been a bi...