2013

Off and on running from January – April. Began weekly yoga practice in March. I love North Portland Yoga!

Stepping it up big time in May.

Five Only 4.5 months till Marathon Day! Three months till a very big swim!

My most recent race: Run Mama Run 10K. May 12, 2013. This race was officially untimed, but I think it took me almost an hour! BIG hills. These four loops within the beautiful Mt. Tabor Park located in southeast Portland were a serious challenge for someone who rarely trains on hills. Before the race, I ran with my oldest son in a 1/4 mile kids run. He was so excited to earn his first running medal!

Previously in 2013:

Hot Chocolate 5K, March 3, 2013, Seattle, WA. 27 minutes flat. Brrrrr. Chilly, hilly course in downtown Seattle. The hot chocolate at the finish was welcome.

Planned events:

Portland Bridge Swim, July 21, 2013, Portland, OR

Every Girl’s Half Marathon, August 18, 2013, Ridgefield, WA

Sunriver Half Marathon, September 1, 2013: Sunriver, OR

The Oregon Marathon, September 28, 2013, Vernonia, OR [Note: I might switch to the Half depending on how Summer goes].

2012

Started off the New Year with swimming and stretching and acupuncture. No running.

1st run of the year: January 21st! Thirty minutes = 3 miles in the neighborhood. The streets always welcome me back.

Run Like a Mother 5K, May 13, 2012, Portland, Oregon. 27 minutes. Great start to Mother’s Day!

Oregon Wine County Half Marathon, September 2, 2012. Bailed. Didn’t run. Not enough training. Boo.

Winter Wonderland Six-Miler, December 1, 2012, Portland, Oregon. 53:38 minutes (8:57 pace) Rainy! Fun! Night race!

2011

2011 Mother’s Day 5K, Portland, Oregon. Cool and raining (of course). Slightly hilly course (I like hills). Results: #10 out of 80 women in my age group, 8:50 pace, #32 overall out of 302 runners (all women)

4th of July 8K in Arlington, Virginia. July 4, 2011. HOT. HUMID. HILLS. Ran with a close friend. 45 minutes. 8K = 4.97096 miles.

Portland Trail Series Race # 1: August 31, 2011. 6.79 miles on trails. Hills (again). Turned ankle (not good). 62 minutes.

Oregon Zoo Turkey Trot, November 24, 2011. Four miles on hilly, soggy roads with lots and lots of other runners. 39 minutes. Ran with friends. Great start to the holiday.

Holiday Half Marathon, Portland, Oregon. December 11, 2011. 2 hours, 10 minutes. Slow and steady. Cold. Jingle bells. Fun!

PRs

• 5k/3.1 miles: 20:10 at age 15 (6:43 pace. McLean, VA. So it was 22 (!) years ago. It still counts!)
• 8K/5 miles: TBD
• 10k/6.2 miles: 46:15 (7:44 pace. Portland, OR. Sometime in 2005)
• 12K/7.3 miles: 59 minutes (8:15 pace. Vancouver, WA.  November 2010)
• Half-marathon: 1:50:00 (8:39 pace. Cascade Half Marathon, OR. February 2006)
• Marathon: 4:29:11 (10:27 pace. Marine Corps Marathon, Washington, DC. October 2001)
• Ultra: 50 K or 50 miler:  Ha! Never attempted. But it’s on my things-to-do-someday list.

History

My running journey has had plenty of ups and downs and breaks for various reasons. I started running at age 14  in P.E. on a dusty outdoor track. I once came in second to the fastest boy in the class. Ran cross country and indoor track for two seasons in high school. I regret stopping, though I didn’t really stop running.

Running is beautiful. It doesn’t take much coordination and requires very limited equipment. One can run almost anywhere. I own a treadmill that lives in my basement, but I much prefer to run outdoors. I’m not very fast, but I enjoy a little competition. I love trails, but mostly run on roads in my neighborhood.

1988: Ran the mile (or was it half a mile?) for 8th grade P.E. class. Discovered I could run! And that I liked it!

1988-90: Ran cross country and winter track (3.1 mile trail runs and 1 mile indoor track, respectively)

1991-92: Running mostly took place during soccer practice and matches

1992-96: College. No formal participation in sport. Random bursts of regular running, but generally limited.

1996-97: 1st real job! 1st real apartment! Real running! I started running “for real” — participating in many 10Ks, lots of fun runs

1998-2000: Peace Corps service in the Dominican Republic. I lived in both rural and semi-urban areas where it was extremely hot and running was generally perceived to be a strange thing, especially by a foreign woman in shorts. Thus, my runs were typically limited to taking place in early morning hours and I rarely completed more than five miles.

2001: Completed my first and only marathon. I trained using the Jeff Galloway method and met a group for long runs on Saturday mornings. This was a very effective training methodology for me, though I tend not to like to take walk breaks. I experienced no injuries while training; however, I developed serious knee pain about half way through the actual marathon, which dramatically slowed my second half. My sister Liz jumped in at about mile 16 to support me and ran the final ten miles with me, jumping out of the road just before the finish. She was the reason I finished!

2002-present: Pretty much a regular runner. Mostly 10Ks and about seven or eight half-marathons. Ruptured my Achilles tendon in January 2009 (playing indoor soccer, which is running but not exactly) and had to take six months off. Two pregnancies, during which I was not a runner! I admire women who keep up their fitness regimes during pregnancy, but I didn’t have it in me. I loved getting back to running after each of my beautiful boys was born. Unfortunately, I’m not a morning person, and between work + kids, it’s difficult to find the TIME to run. I know, I know. I have to suck it up and get up earlier. But it’s hard.