Terwilliger Backwards

There's a chance that I'm biased but I'm beginning to think that Portland might be the best place in the world to run.  Our run started off a little late due to a pick-up snafu that I won't go into.  We ended up starting only 20 minutes late and, since it was around 51 degrees, the extra waiting time wasn't a big deal.  If anything, it made me stretch more than normal and probably helped since we immediately started going uphill.  

We met at the Terwilliger Fred Meyer to run distances ranging from 9 to 20 miles.  We started by running Terwilliger, up past the Chart House and then down to Duniway park where we did a partial lap on the track before heading down to the Waterfront.  The 9 milers turned around before we made it all the way to the Waterfront and then it was just the two of us.  We made a quick pit stop under the Morrison Bridge and then continued past the Steel Bridge for four miles along Naito Parkway...  just us and the semis barreling past!  It started sprinkling some around the turn around point but it wasn't too bad.  We cruised back and were at Duniway Park again before we knew it...  but then the big uphill and the heavier rain started.  

I think we were both a little anxious about how tough it was going to be to have that kind of uphill at the end of a 20 miler.  I must say, though, that we both exceeded our expectations so that was a very pleasant surprise.  As we finally only had one more mile, I felt that drive to hurry up kick in and I somehow managed to make that my fastest mile of the day at 9:54.  It is always nice to finish a tough, long run feeling as though you kicked it's ass.  

Overall, we finished in 3:33:34 for an overall pace of 10:41.  This is right where we should be at this point and I'm incredibly optimistic that I can rock Austin in under 4:30. 

Friday Nights

It is Friday night, I'm home relaxing on the couch after eating a big bowl of pasta instead of being out on the town.  While I realize that this must sound like a huge sacrifice to most, I do not feel like I'm missing out on anything.  Rather, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's 20 miler.  It'll be my fourth run of 20 miles or more...  although two of those were actual marathons.  I'm at the place where I know I can do it but I still get butterflies thinking about it. 

Tomorrow, I'll get up early to make a mug of tea and a bowl of oatmeal.  I'll enjoy those in bed as I slowly wake up.  Then it'll be time to get dressed and prepare my supplies - water belt with two pods of water and three Honey Stingers, Garmin, iPod.  Then it is a short drive to our meeting place to be followed by FOUR HOURS of running.  Sheesh!  The last three miles will be pretty hilly and I'll be pretty tired by then so it could end up being a pretty tough run.  

Once it is over, I'll come home, shower and eat.  I'll put on sweats, drink a bunch of water and put my feet up.  I might even take a nap.  But, more than anything, I'll enjoy basking in the accomplishment of another long run in the bank.  Those miles will serve me well in Austin and beyond as my body learns to adapt.  For some it might sound like a sacrifice but for me it's another opportunity to grow and rediscover how amazing I can be. 

Was that a run or a swim??

Tonight's run was quite the adventure.  It was a downpour when we started out and it kept coming down harder and harder.  As we were about a mile and a half in, we were running down hill up to our ankles because the side of the road had become a small creek bed and there was no sidewalk.  Onya was stopping to shake every block or two and I wished I could do the same.  The rain finally started slacking off after another couple of miles and I found my groove.  

Around the time that I was feeling really good, Ty turned to me and said that he wasn't going to be able to do the second lap around the lake.  His toes hurt and his nipples were chaffing from wearing the old, mesh reflector vest.  No problem, I thought, I'm in feeling great mentally and I'm ready to get this done - I'll just finish solo.  When we got back to the house, we'd done 8.4 so I didn't have much left to do.  I decided to do what I call a chicken run, which is when I never get more than a mile or two from home.  

By this time, the rain had let up and I started to regret not changing into something dry when I had the chance.  That didn't last long, though, because the rain inevitably did start up again.  I was getting cold, my feet were getting stiff and everything felt like it was uphill.  Around that time, I started thinking about why I get so determined to follow my plan and finish what I start.  I was thinking about how my Grandpa was the stubbornest man in the world and how I definitely inherited that gene from him - for good or bad.  Because it was a dangerous night to be out, I had a reflector, a flashing light and a flashlight but no music.  So I kept hearing Tim McGraw's The Cowboy In Me (http://www.cmt.com/videos/tim-mcgraw/26532/the-cowboy-in-me.jhtml) as I was running along. If you knew my Grandpa, you'd know how appropriate of a song that was to hear when thinking of him... 

Around this time, I reached my turn around point...  just over three miles until home!!  I picked up my pace a bit and finished it strong.  My lips were still blue when I got out of the shower but I'm fed and warm again now.  I've realized that the things that make runs miserable for other people are the things that invigorate me and make me push harder.  I really don't mind the rain.  I don't love being cold but it isn't the worst thing.  There's something comforting about running past houses with their lights on and their families  tucked in for the night.  Even though it was dicey at times with the dark and the traffic, it was still a great run. 

Here's what my feet looked like when I got done:

Santa Fe

We are headed to Santa Fe tomorrow for a weekend get-away!  That's the good news.  The less good news is figuring out how/when to fit in our long run of 15 miles.  We have three choices - run tonight after work in the dark and rain, run early early tomorrow morning in the dark and rain or run Saturday morning in the freezery and at 7,000 feet.  As of right now, running tonight is winning.  Then, Saturday, we'll do tonight's 7 miler instead.  The elevation of the high desert can be really challenging for some people and I'd rather not find out if I'm one of those people on a 15 miler! 

Wish us luck... 

Saturday Morning Group

About a year and a half ago, when Ty and I had decided to train for the Portland Marathon, we attended a Saturday morning free group run out of Fit Right NW, a local shoe/running store.  That day, we met Megan.  Two Saturdays later, we went back to meet up with Megan again and also met Krista - and immediately the four of us hit it off!  Since then, I've been regularly running with Krista's Saturday morning running group.  She sends out an email the week before to around 50 peeps (not sure on that number - totally guessing!) with the meeting place and route.  They are usually out and back routes so everyone can start together and pick their poison for the day.  

It was through this group that I was lucky enough to meet Faith and Jody - my training partners for the Eugene Marathon and, now, the Austin Marathon.  Over the past year and a half, I've met a lot of amazing people through this group.  Runners come and go as the hectic-ness of their lives and the distances in their training plans vary.  We saw Jody leave us for Eli's graduate work in Austin and today we're about to wish Luke a great 8 months of working in Alaska (at least he'll be back soon!).  

Luke is one of the more unlikely members of our group.  A regular smoker, his fabulous new-ish girlfriend has inspired him to become more healthy.  He's battled some knee pain but still managed to make a lot of the runs.  Luke usually ends up finding a place right behind the girls and he's had to endure many a conversation about poop, periods and other topics that I'm confident he'd rather not know exist!  My absolute favorite run with Luke ever was an out and back from Fit Right NW up to the top of Terwilliger Hill.  As we were descending, I heard a crinkle-crinkle behind.  I turned around and Luke was munching on a candy bar!!!  Technically, I think it was a Power Bar or something along those lines but still!!  A Gu is about all my stomach can handle on a run and here's this guy eating a CANDY BAR?!?!  Amazing...  I am going to miss you, Luke!

Sometimes running is hard

Look at that bright and shiny pool! This is the view from our living room window...

We moved into our new digs over the weekend. It's a two bedroom apartment in one of those complexes with a pool, a gym, and free cable. It feels like we are on vacation in southern California. I can't wait to host Faith and Jess for the Austin marathon! And anyone else who wants to travel to Austin, for the marathon or just for fun. E and I decided that having a guest room was our number one priority, so come on down!

As a result of all this moving - hauling all of my worldly possession into the U-haul, out of the U-haul, up the stairs - I have been SO tired. Yesterday I took TWO naps. And on Sunday, when I went to do a "long" run of 5 miles, I felt like each leg weighed about a million pounds. It was one of those runs that gets me thinking, "How will I possibly be able to run a marathon?"

Except, oh yeah, I already have run a marathon. Two actually. It's all part of the training I suppose. Some days you just have dead, million pound legs. Thanks, Sunday's run, for reminding me of something very basic: Sometimes running is hard!

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Upcoming posts:

- Austin Marathon Project's brutal new abs workout (y'all are going to love this!)
- Backpacking as cross-training
- Debatable t-shirts that I found at Goodwill

Long run??

It was a rough morning...  between the rain and the monster hangover, I did NOT want to run.  At all.  Much less a long run.  After sleeping in, Ty dragged my lazy butt out for a compromise run...  as in, I compromised by going at all and he compromised by running in slow motion and only 3.5 miles.   

Amazingly, I not only made it all the way home but I even feel TONS better for having done it!!  Now I'm all showered with a cup of tea and football!  Soon, chicken enchiladas will be coming out of the oven...  but that's better suited for my other blog:).