Final countdown...

Today I ran 10.5 miles. Let me repeat that. Today I ran 10.5 miles... as in, consecutively. The half-marathon is next weekend, and at this point in the game I'm as ready as I'm going to be. I had a lot of time to think today - I reminisced about the past 10 months, remembered some of the early races I competed in - back when I could barely run 3 miles, and felt overwhelmed by my accomplishment. One foot in front of the other. Slow and steady wins the race. As cliche as they sound, these statements are my mantra.

I truly believe that with the proper training and commitment, anyone can complete an endurance event. I wish I could convince all of those people out there that think they are not capable that they CAN do it. I am a different person today due to the self-confidence and boundless determination that I've gained from my training. It's a great feeling. Now I'm coming up on the final stretch and can't wait for all of my hard work to pay off. Just one more week to go ....

Vancouver Sun Run!

I ran the Sun Run this weekend in Vancouver. I loved it and hated it. Things I loved: the enthusiasm of the city in embracing this event! Awesome crowd support, organized bands along the route and plenty of water stations, stellar views along an diverse route (city, 2 bridges, etc), running with 60,000 people! Woah! Things I hated: 40 minutes to cross the start line, waiting in line to cross the finish line, and running with 60,000 people! Woah!

This was the second largest race in the world, with a record breaking 59,179 registered runners. My time sucked, mostly due to the walkers and slow runners registering in the incorrect wave. There is nothing more annoying than having to strategically dodge hundreds of people for 5 kilometers! It tends to slow you down. I finished at 68:26, about 5 minutes more than my expected time - but I still did well in comparison to others in my age group and finished in the top 1/3 of women :) Here are some fun photos from the race...

Me and Wacarra patiently waiting at the start line ... for 40 minutes.

The line in front...

And the line behind us...

Here we are - 39:29 - almost crossing the start line!

Around 4k - crossing the Cambie Bridge. Unfortunately I didn't capture the stunning views from the bridge. I was busy running :)

At the 9k mark - heading over the Burrard Bridge. More great views of downtown Vancouver.

Running the last 1k

After standing in line to cross the finish mats, we waited in another line to enter the Expo. Lots of runners, lots of food :) But where is Wacarra???

Bagels never looked so good! I hate that after a big run I always eat all the calories I just burned - I had 3 (hey - they were small).

Yum - bananas!

55,785 people running in Vancouver this weekend!

The 2008 Vancouver Sun Run has broken the participant record this year, with nearly 56,000 people signed up to run! Wacarra and I are heading up Saturday morning, with fingers crossed that we won't hit insane traffic at the border. On Saturday, we have plans to pick up our race packs and have a little fun enjoying the Vancouver night life without a hugely long run to worry about on Sunday. We're staying on Robson Blvd., so I'm sure we'll get some fabulous shopping in over the weekend as well :)

I'll be sure to take tons of photos! Stay tuned!

The first 2 miles are always the hardest.

Another 8+ miler today, much better than last week. I downloaded some fresh music on my iPod which helped break up the monotony. I wish I could've run with my camera today, but I didn't feel like tacking on the extra weight. Here are some shots from after my run.

The parking lot in Madrona where I start my run.

Exhausted but content.

I love my feet. They take me everywhere I want to go and hardly ever let me down. Here I am enjoying a nice stretch after my run. See how close I am to the water? I'm so lucky to live in a city with such beautiful trails. I heart Seattle.

Little buddy is getting old - 11 years! He needs a tune-up real bad. I need to take him in for a check-up before my Vancouver trip in 2 weeks.

8 miles. Harder than 7 miles.

This morning it really hit home that doing these long runs is 90% mental, 10% physical. After an exhilarating 7 mile run last Saturday, I was expecting 8 to be a breeze. Not so. The weather has been crappy all week long, it even snowed twice - including yesterday - and all week I've wanted to stay inside and eat nothing but carbs. What's up with that? Almost every woman I know is complaining they've put on weight the past month. Are we biologically programmed to eat nonstop and be lazy this time of year? I've really got to reel it in!

Anyway, I skipped a few workouts this week, so I was expecting today to be bad. And my inner voice was secretly hoping it'd be raining this morning so I could blow off this run, too. But I woke up at 7 and everything looked fine, so I begrudgingly got my stuff together and headed back down to Madrona to run along Lake Washington Blvd.

At around mile 4, I ran into my friend Wacarra who was just finishing up her own training run with her Healthy Goddess running group. We're like little satellites orbiting around each other, as we always seem to end up running at the same time at the same place, every Saturday! At mile 5, I started to hurt all over. I kept telling myself - only a 5k left! Somewhere around mile 6 I stopped feeling my butt. At mile 7 I was confused - had I really run this far last weekend?! But somehow I made it one more mile. Actually, a bit past 8 miles I think....

My knees are sore and my back is aching, and now I'm curled up on my couch under a blanket watching On Demand. The pain is but a distant memory :) Next weekend, another 8-miler, then 9, then 10 - then the half-marathon. Five weeks to go, the countdown is on...

Spirit of the Marathon - on tour!

Spirit of the Marathon is making another round in theaters! This movie is awesome and very inspiring - a documentary that follows 5 runners (2 elite runners, 2 first-timers, and a 70+ year old man) as they train for and complete the Chicago Marathon. I will probably be seeing this again, it's just a few days before my half-marathon :) Here is a list of cities + dates:

Boston – April 17st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Nashville – April 24th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Indianapolis – May 1st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Spokane/Seattle – May 1st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Los Angeles/Orange County – May 8th 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Denver/Boulder – May 22nd at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
San Diego – May 29th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Atlanta – July 1st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Virginia Beach – August 28th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Philadelphia – September 18th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
San Jose – October 2nd at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Chicago – October 9th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
San Francisco – October 16th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Washington DC – October 23rd at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
New York City – October 30th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
San Antonio – November 13th at at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Memphis – December 4th Time TBD

I can't believe I just ran 7 miles

I remember last summer preparing for my first 5k race when running 3 miles felt like an impossible feat. It just goes to show that consistent training over time really does pay off. On Saturday, I ran the furthest I have ever run - 7 miles - starting in Madrona just north of Blue Water Bistro, heading south towards Seward Park along Lake Washington. It felt surprisingly strong through the whole run, and I believe I could have gone another 3 miles easily. The weather was phenomenal (followed by an especially crappy Sunday) and every runner I passed had a huge smile on their face. I am still experiencing no knee problems (still wearing my patella strap on the left knee - just in case) and am looking forward to 8 miles this coming Saturday.

Since I switched races from San Diego (June 1) to Vancouver (May 4), I am a little behind where I should be this close to the race, but if I feel this strong on race day I should have no problems completing the entire 13 miles :)

In non-running related news...

My boss told me on Friday that unless I do something really stupid (like, I don't know, pull the whole internet down), my Microsoft contract is being extended through the end of June, 2009. We can all breathe a little easier now :)

Cholesterol is down!

I haven't lost much weight since I started running last summer. In fact, I'm only about 5 lbs. lighter despite having run all through the late summer, fall, and winter, and 100 miles since training for my event. Chalk it up to a 32 year-old metabolism, sigh...

Anyway, I went in 2 weeks ago for my yearly physical and was curious to see my cholesterol results. At my last physical, in October of 2006, I was on the high end of normal. My HDL (good cholesterol) was a little low, and my LDL needed to come down. I got my new results late last week and I'm happy to say that my HDL is up and my LDL dropped 35 points! I am now within the "optimal" range and I feel great! Guess all those miles and green smoothies have paid off.

Wearin' O' the Green

Today was the St. Patrick's Day Dash beginning at the Seattle Center in Queen Anne and finishing at Qwest Field in SODO - 3.5 miles in all. This is one of Seattle's biggest races, and I was surprised at how disorganized the whole event was. From the postponed start to the lack of signage along the course, to the completely lame post-dash bash which included a crappy band and packets of BEEF JERKY at the finish line. No bagels or orange juice. No water. Nobody at the finish line to cut off our race chips (I totally forgot and left the race still wearing mine). And then there were the return shuttles ... what a nightmare. You'd think the money raised by more than 15,000 runners paying $30 a piece they could at least afford some decent food at the finish line.

The weather was good though and it was an easy, scenic course. This is my last race until the Vancouver Sun Run at the end of April (50,000 runners at that race - hoping the Canadians are more organized!). For now, I will continue to focus on my Saturday long runs (this weekend was another 6 miler ... almost 10 miles total this weekend, I'm tired). Next weekend ... Seward Park?

Deb and Wacarra, St. Pat's Dash 2008

Waiting to cross the starting line - I can't find Alex among the 15,000 runners on Mercer Ave!

1/2 mile into the race - running under freeway 99

Amazing weather today - I had to stop, turn around, and take a pic. It's not everyday I get to run on the viaduct! As I was taking this photo, someone called out my name. It was ....

Alex!

Deb and Alex